The Ghostly Dictionary

Introduction

The Spirit World can be a difficult thing to understand. With this being said, we have put together a dictionary full of information that will help you better understand the "Afterlife".

Apparitions

The supernatural appearance of a deceased person or animal. It is often too distant to be in the normal range of a persons view and is uncommon to see an appearance. A partial bodied apparition is more commonly shown, such as an arm, or a torso. They often appear as white (or various shades of white/gray) or solid black. Usually apparitions can appear to hover in mid air. It is rare that apparitions show their legs or feet.

Automatic Writing

The most popular form of Automatic Writing is the Ouija Board. This is a very dangerous method, as it can let in demonic entities without the proper care. Ouija Boards appear to be harmless, but can be very dangerous. So, do not use one if you do not possess the skills to know exactly what you are doing. Other methods include just a simple pen and paper. Words will be written without conscience control of what is being written. Often used in conjunction with channeling a spirit in to yourself. This can also be a very dangerous method, if you do not know what you are doing. You do not have any control of who or what you will be letting in. And if strong enough, you will loose complete control of yourself and be surrendering yourself onto the spirits. So please use caution!

Cold Spots

When a spirit or demon makes its presence known, the most common effect will be a sudden drop in temperature. Many mistake a ghost appearance with the simple normal breeze. If the temperature drop is in fact a ghost appearance, the air will drop about ten degrees than the surrounding areas. In most cases, your breath will become visible.

Clairaudience

The ability to hear things not within the regular hearing range. This is good example of ESP. Clairaudience is basically the ability to hear the paranormal as opposed to seeing it.

Demon

According to the Catholic faith, demons are angels that were cast out of Heaven by a God during the rebellion against God lead by Lucifer. There are several levels of demons, each with different powers. Many other faiths have different ideas about what demons really are.

Demonic Haunting

A haunting by a nonhuman entity. These types of hauntings can be very dramatic, as well as very violent. Most Demonic Hauntings start out as a regular harmless haunting, but quickly over time increase to stronger activity. Most often the stress of a family (such as any type of abuse, emotional problems, or mental problems) can make the entity much stronger. It is believed that nonhuman entities take advantage of people in the weakened state. Persons who think they and/or their families ar subject of a Demonic Haunting are to see both Professional Paranormal assistance and counseling help. Never refer to a Ouija Board, as this can make the entity stronger. It will feel as if you are inviting it in to communicate, and things may become much worse.

Demonologist

A person who actively seeks demons and other nonhuman entities both for study and to help people rid them from their lives.

Dowsing

The ability to use a pair of rods, most often metal, held in the hands to locate objects, most commonly water. A y-shaped tree branch can also be used for finding water. In the Paranormal Investigation Field, Dowsing Rods are sometimes used to locate energy sources that could be paranormal in nature.

Ectoplasm

A substance left behind when an entity tries to manifest itself. Although still largely theoretical, it has been photographed on many occasions. Ectoplasm often appears in photographs as a thick mist or smoke in nearly straight lines. Vapor and humidity is often mistaken for Ectoplasm. It is rarely seen with the naked eye. It can, however, be felt as a dense area of cobweb-like strands.

EMF - Electro Magnetic Field

EMF is generated by man-made electric sources such as lights, radios and wires. In paranormal investigations the theory is that entities are largely composed of energy which may be electrically based. By trying to detect EMF it may be possible to locate an otherwise unseen entity. The stronger the EMF detected the greater the paranormal phenomena.

Empaths - Empathic Abilities

Some people are sensitive to the typically stronger feelings a paranormal entity gives off. They may also be able to see people and events that have occurred years in the past at any given location. While feelings are hard to confirm or deny, when recorded along with other paranormal evidence that can be documented, empathic ability can be a helpful investigation tool.

Entity

A generic all-encompassing term used to describe a paranormal object/being that is presumed to be a ghost or spirit. Since no one is yet 100% sure what paranormal objects really are, the term entity is used as a pronoun to include any and all possible things such as ghosts, spirits, poltergeists, nonhuman spirits, etc.

EVP - Electronic Voice Phenomena

The hearing of unexplainable voices during the playback of a recording made on an electronic recording device. The voices can not be readily identified as persons speaking or events (mechanical sounds, background noise, etc) that took place while the recording was being performed. It is sometimes also found on video recorders (not on film however).

Ghost

A spirit or shape of a dead person believed to haunt people or previous habitats/locations. The spirit remains of a living being, strongly attached to the living realm by some form of emotional force. Often ghosts do not realize that they are in fact dead. Other live out the routine of the day they died, and continue this in a cycle. Other ghosts interact with everyday life of the living.

Living Ghost

The manifestation of a ghost or entity, usually a living close family member or friend, that appears a long distance away. This event usually coincides when the other person (the one manifesting) is facing an immediate great stress or life-threatening danger. Some believe this is related to astral projection and out of the body experiences. This phenomena is related to the moment of mortality manifestation.

Manifest or Manifestation

The act of an entity trying to make itself appear in our world. Entities are believed to exist mainly as energy with no physical form. When an entity is trying to make itself appear or make it's presence known in our world it is said to be manifesting itself; trying to make itself into some form of physical state.

Mist

An energy field that looks like a cloud or haze but has a paranormal ectoplasm substance. They may or may not be any particular shape, color, thickness, or consistency.

Orbs

Orbs appear to be a form of energy of an unknown origin. An orb can take different shapes. They can also be seen by the naked eye, but most of the time you only get orb sightings in photographs, and on video. They seem to defy gravity and change directions quickly. They seem to also twinkle. The presence of people make them react. They appear both indoors and outdoors. False orbs tend to appear dense or brighter on film. To increase the probability of you getting a photograph of a genuine orb, it is good to take the photograph at the same time as other unusual phenomenon are experienced, such as sharp changes in temperature, and increases in electro magnetic energy. In a genuine orb there is a nucleus. It has concentric circles or band within. It can be active in the visable realm, but more active in infrared. They appear abundantly in supposed haunted locations. Drops of rain, specks of dust, insects, reflections, as well as many other things can be mistaken for orbs.

Poltergeist

The term is German for "Noisy Ghost". It can be dependent on a certain individual or group of individuals. They usually make the biggest impact on physical objects. They tend to be temporary. In some instances, a poltergeist can appear as the psychic extension of a person, usually most common in adolescent females. They tend to be mischievous and like to play pranks.

Shadow People

Shadows refer to the possible paranormal apparition which appears as a dark human form of manifestation. We say "possible" paranormal apparition since the true nature of this type of paranormal event is still unknown and the subject of much research. Shadows created by IR cameras moving, are often mistaken for shadow people.

White Noise

White Noise is the random non-descriptive static sound produced by various electronic devices. The sound covers and combines all wavelengths and frequencies. In this way it is like the color white which is really a combination of all colors. Hence the name white noise - the combination of all sounds.