Phenomena - Glossary
There are many different types of paranormal phenomena. Here, you will be able to read into all the different types of phenomena that take place. Some things are very common, some things are pretty rare. But they happen. This page has been re-organized recently! We have alphabetized the glossary to make it easier to navigate and it's made for quicker navigation as well! Haunting types have been listed first and are not alphabetized, but placed into an order from most commonly experienced to least common. Please enjoy!
Haunting Types:
Residual Haunting - A residual haunting is nothing you should fear. These spirits do their own thing, mostly repetitively. They do not communicate directly with you, because they do not know that you are there. Hearing footsteps at the same time everyday, or seeing something in a certain place at around the same time falls under this category.
Intelligent Haunting - Interactive spirits that try to communicate with you, and know that you are there. These spirits are amazing to work with!
Demonic Haunting - Demons are the worst kind of haunting. Demons are hostile creatures, that have intelligence. These beings are non-human, and they have never had a human form. This type of haunting can result in scratches, bruises, growling sounds, and the smell of sulfur is common. Provoking demons is not a very smart idea, but sometimes it gets them active. (I would not recommend provoking a demon!)
Poltergeist Haunting - Poltergeists are a very different kind of haunt. These are typically connected to a young, prepubescent person who lives on the property. This means that activity will most likely occur the most while that person is home. Translated from German, poltergeist means "noisy ghost" and that is exactly what they are. These spirits move things around, and make a lot of racket.
Phenomena/Paranormal Activity:
Apparitions - A visual appearance of a ghost or spirit. An apparition can be full-bodied, or as little as head and shoulders. Full-bodied apparitions are the best phenomena in my opinion!
Baphomet - Demonic being; symbolizes the devil. Some of these characters are worshipped.
Black Shuck "Hell Hounds" - Black dogs that appear with glowing yellow eyes. People have reported hearing them growl, and even been chased by these dogs.
Demon - Evil, hostile creatures that were never human. These are scary beings, and do not react well to provoking.
Disembodied Voices - Disembodied voices are voices that can be heard audibly at the time that they were said. These voices can be low whispers, or even loud voices. But just because you or another investigator hears it, does not necessarily mean that you definitely caught it on your audio.
Ectoplasm - This is not a common occurrence, but it is said to be a filmy substance that is projected from the mouths/bodies of a psychic or someone who may be possessed.
Elementals - Small, troll-like creatures. These are said to be very violent, evil beings. They are very much believed in Ireland.
EMF (Electromagnetic Field) - Spirits are said to be made up of electromagnetic energy. An EMF can be caused by exposed wiring, televisions, all kinds of things. When a high EMF spike occurs, while there is a general EMF reading, or none at all, this could be explained as paranormal. You can find the average EMF reading using an EMF Detector, and measure any unexplained spikes.
Entity - "Ghosts." Disembodied people, or human-like objects that appear. The word entity is usually used when describing a hostile type of spirit.
EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) - Voices caught on tape or a recording that were not heard at the time they were caught. They are one of the most common types of phenomena that occur with investigators.
Fairy - A very small, winged creature in some folklore that can be kind or malicious. Some countries believe very much in the lore of fairies. They have also been said to be nature spirits.
Incubus - A male entity that has the power to assault women sexually, and can even leave marks on their bodies.
Lepke - This is a ghost that appears like a real, living person. These are spirits that are very intriguing. You cannot see through them, they appear to be solid. These spirits usually seem to make people think that they have just seen a person, when they haven't.
Lurking Enigma - An occurrence where an entity appears to people who watch it, but it appears in a very unidentifiable form with distorted features.
Materialization - The process of which it takes for an apparition or ghost to appear. It is usually a gradual process, but sometimes happens very quickly. This may occur in a mist, or fog-like substance. (See the Photo Evidence page to see a picture of this phenomena.)
Matrixing - The mind fills in the blanks of an occurrence to make sense of what just happened, or what was just seen.
Orbs - Probably the most common type of spirit photography or captures. Real orbs are balls of energy that give off light. They are not usually seen with the naked eye, but sometimes they can be. Usually they are blue, red or yellow. These can be easily mistaken with bugs, or dust and sometimes when flashes of a camera come in contact with a shiny surface, it creates an "orb."
Poltergeist - This is the German word for "noisy ghost."
Possession - Spirit or entity that takes over the human body and mind. Related to demons.
Radiant Child - An apparition of a child that appears to be glowing or shining when spotted.
Residual Energy - The actual energy within an object or inside a house or room, that creates activity of the same sound or sighting around the same time every day, week etc.
Rods - These are rare occurrences. They're are small, usually golden, and sometimes red lines that appear on video and move around. They are seen where a haunting is occurring. (I have never seen or caught one, but I'd watch out for bugs and try not to mistake them for rods.)
Shade - Spirits that appear who look like someone who has once lived. These can appear commonly to family members, after someone in the family passes. Usually the person will say that they appeared to them in their room late at night. They can be anyone at all, though.
Silken Lady - A female spirit, that appears in a silky dress/outfit.
Stigmata - People who have been observed to be bleeding from the points in their bodies that relate back to the Crucifixion.
Succubus - A female entity that has the power to sexually assault men, and can also cause physical injuries like cuts and bruises.
Vortex - This is something that occurs in photographs. A lot of people mistake the camera's wrist sling that gets in the way of the picture, for a vortex. You can easily tell if it is a wrist sling or not.
Haunting Types:
Residual Haunting - A residual haunting is nothing you should fear. These spirits do their own thing, mostly repetitively. They do not communicate directly with you, because they do not know that you are there. Hearing footsteps at the same time everyday, or seeing something in a certain place at around the same time falls under this category.
Intelligent Haunting - Interactive spirits that try to communicate with you, and know that you are there. These spirits are amazing to work with!
Demonic Haunting - Demons are the worst kind of haunting. Demons are hostile creatures, that have intelligence. These beings are non-human, and they have never had a human form. This type of haunting can result in scratches, bruises, growling sounds, and the smell of sulfur is common. Provoking demons is not a very smart idea, but sometimes it gets them active. (I would not recommend provoking a demon!)
Poltergeist Haunting - Poltergeists are a very different kind of haunt. These are typically connected to a young, prepubescent person who lives on the property. This means that activity will most likely occur the most while that person is home. Translated from German, poltergeist means "noisy ghost" and that is exactly what they are. These spirits move things around, and make a lot of racket.
Phenomena/Paranormal Activity:
Apparitions - A visual appearance of a ghost or spirit. An apparition can be full-bodied, or as little as head and shoulders. Full-bodied apparitions are the best phenomena in my opinion!
Baphomet - Demonic being; symbolizes the devil. Some of these characters are worshipped.
Black Shuck "Hell Hounds" - Black dogs that appear with glowing yellow eyes. People have reported hearing them growl, and even been chased by these dogs.
Demon - Evil, hostile creatures that were never human. These are scary beings, and do not react well to provoking.
Disembodied Voices - Disembodied voices are voices that can be heard audibly at the time that they were said. These voices can be low whispers, or even loud voices. But just because you or another investigator hears it, does not necessarily mean that you definitely caught it on your audio.
Ectoplasm - This is not a common occurrence, but it is said to be a filmy substance that is projected from the mouths/bodies of a psychic or someone who may be possessed.
Elementals - Small, troll-like creatures. These are said to be very violent, evil beings. They are very much believed in Ireland.
EMF (Electromagnetic Field) - Spirits are said to be made up of electromagnetic energy. An EMF can be caused by exposed wiring, televisions, all kinds of things. When a high EMF spike occurs, while there is a general EMF reading, or none at all, this could be explained as paranormal. You can find the average EMF reading using an EMF Detector, and measure any unexplained spikes.
Entity - "Ghosts." Disembodied people, or human-like objects that appear. The word entity is usually used when describing a hostile type of spirit.
EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) - Voices caught on tape or a recording that were not heard at the time they were caught. They are one of the most common types of phenomena that occur with investigators.
Fairy - A very small, winged creature in some folklore that can be kind or malicious. Some countries believe very much in the lore of fairies. They have also been said to be nature spirits.
Incubus - A male entity that has the power to assault women sexually, and can even leave marks on their bodies.
Lepke - This is a ghost that appears like a real, living person. These are spirits that are very intriguing. You cannot see through them, they appear to be solid. These spirits usually seem to make people think that they have just seen a person, when they haven't.
Lurking Enigma - An occurrence where an entity appears to people who watch it, but it appears in a very unidentifiable form with distorted features.
Materialization - The process of which it takes for an apparition or ghost to appear. It is usually a gradual process, but sometimes happens very quickly. This may occur in a mist, or fog-like substance. (See the Photo Evidence page to see a picture of this phenomena.)
Matrixing - The mind fills in the blanks of an occurrence to make sense of what just happened, or what was just seen.
Orbs - Probably the most common type of spirit photography or captures. Real orbs are balls of energy that give off light. They are not usually seen with the naked eye, but sometimes they can be. Usually they are blue, red or yellow. These can be easily mistaken with bugs, or dust and sometimes when flashes of a camera come in contact with a shiny surface, it creates an "orb."
Poltergeist - This is the German word for "noisy ghost."
Possession - Spirit or entity that takes over the human body and mind. Related to demons.
Radiant Child - An apparition of a child that appears to be glowing or shining when spotted.
Residual Energy - The actual energy within an object or inside a house or room, that creates activity of the same sound or sighting around the same time every day, week etc.
Rods - These are rare occurrences. They're are small, usually golden, and sometimes red lines that appear on video and move around. They are seen where a haunting is occurring. (I have never seen or caught one, but I'd watch out for bugs and try not to mistake them for rods.)
Shade - Spirits that appear who look like someone who has once lived. These can appear commonly to family members, after someone in the family passes. Usually the person will say that they appeared to them in their room late at night. They can be anyone at all, though.
Silken Lady - A female spirit, that appears in a silky dress/outfit.
Stigmata - People who have been observed to be bleeding from the points in their bodies that relate back to the Crucifixion.
Succubus - A female entity that has the power to sexually assault men, and can also cause physical injuries like cuts and bruises.
Vortex - This is something that occurs in photographs. A lot of people mistake the camera's wrist sling that gets in the way of the picture, for a vortex. You can easily tell if it is a wrist sling or not.
Johnson, Carl (TAPS)
Paranormal Glossary
http://the-atlantic-paranormal-society.com/articles/general/glossary.html
Paranormal Glossary
http://the-atlantic-paranormal-society.com/articles/general/glossary.html