A - I
Angel
A spiritual being believed to act as an attendant, agent, or messenger of God, conventionally represented in human form with wings and a long robe.
Anomaly
Something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected.
Apparition
A ghost or ghostlike image of a person.
Astral Body
Intermediate between the intelligent soul and the physical body, composed of a subtle material.
Automatic Writing
Writing said to be produced by a spiritual, occult, or subconscious agency rather than by the conscious intention of the writer.
Banshee
A (usually) female spirit whose wailing warns of a death in a house.
Clairvoyance
The ability of perceiving things or events in the future or beyond normal sensory contact.
Deja Vu
A feeling of having already experienced the present situation.
Divination
The practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means.
Doppelganger
An apparition or double of a living person.
Dowsing
A technique for searching for underground water, minerals, ley lines, or anything invisible, by observing the motion of a pointer (traditionally a forked stick, now often paired bent wires) or the changes in direction of a pendulum, supposedly in response to unseen influences.
Ectoplasm
A supernatural viscous substance that supposedly exudes from the body of a medium during a spiritualistic trance and forms the material for the manifestation of spirits.
Electronic Voice Phenomena
Sounds found on electronic recordings which resemble speech, but are reportedly not the result of intentional recording or rendering. These may be the voices and sounds from spirits, not heard at the time of recording, but present on review.
Also known as EVP. Extrasensory Perception
The faculty of perceiving things by means other than the known senses.
Also known as ESP. Exorcism
The expulsion or attempted expulsion of a supposed evil spirit from a person or place.
Ghost
An apparition of a dead person which is believed to appear or become manifest to the living, typically as a nebulous image.
Guardian Spirit / Angel
A spirit that is thought to watch over and protect a person or place.
Haunt
When a 'ghost' regularly manifests itself or activity at a location on a regular basis
Intuition
The ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning.
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J - R
Lucid Dream
A lucid dream is any dream in which one is aware that one is dreaming.
Materialisation
The process of coming into being; becoming reality
Mediumship
The practice of certain people - known as mediums - to purportedly mediate communication between spirits of the dead and other human beings.
Near Death Experience
An unusual experience taking place on the brink of death and recounted by a person on recovery, typically, though not limited to, an out-of-body experience or a vision of a tunnel of light.
Out Of Body Experience
A sensation of being outside one's body, typically of floating and being able to observe oneself from a distance.
Also known as OBE. Orb
Spherical light anomolies found in photographs, videos and sometimes seen with the naked eye. Many believe orbs to be a efficient form for spirit energy to take. Others believe it is just dust, droplets and other minute reflective particles.
Ouija
A board with the alphabet on it; used with a planchette to spell out supernatural messages.
Paranormal
Denoting events or phenomena such as ghosts, extraterrestrials telekinesis or clairvoyance that are beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding.
Parapsychology
The study of mental phenomena which are excluded from or inexplicable by orthodox scientific psychology (such as hypnosis, telepathy, etc.).
Past Life Regression
A technique that uses hypnosis to recover what practitioners believe are memories of past lives or incarnations.
Phenomenon
A fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause or explanation is in question.
Planchette
A small board supported on castors, typically heart-shaped and fitted with a vertical pencil, used for automatic writing and in seances.
Poltergeist
A ghost or other supernatural being supposedly responsible for physical disturbances such as making loud noises and throwing objects about.
Possession
An event in which it is said that animas, demons, extraterrestrials, gods, spirits, or other disincarnate entities take control of a human body, resulting in noticeable changes in health and/or behavior.
Premonition
A strong feeling that something is about to happen, especially something unpleasant.
Psychic
Relating to or denoting faculties or phenomena that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, especially involving telepathy or clairvoyance.
A person considered or claiming to have psychic powers; a medium. psychokinesisThe ability to move objects by mental effort alone.
Reincarnation
The rebirth of a soul in another body.
Remote Viewing
The practice of seeking impressions about a distant or unseen target using subjective means, in particular, extra-sensory perception or "sensing with mind".
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S - Z
Seance
A meeting at which people attempt to make contact with the dead, especially through the agency of a medium.
Soul
The spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.
Spirit
The non-physical part of a person which is the seat of emotions and character; the soul.
Spirit Hypothesis
The belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living.
Spirit Photography
A type of photography whose primary attempt is to capture images of ghosts and other spiritual entities, especially in ghost hunting.
Stigmata
Marks corresponding to those left on Christ's body by the Crucifixion.
Supernatural
An event attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature.
Superstition
Excessively credulous belief in and reverence for the supernatural
Telekinesis
The supposed ability to move objects at a distance by mental power or other non-physical means.
Telepathy
The communication of thoughts or ideas by means other than the known senses.
Trance
A half-conscious state characterized by an absence of response to external stimuli, typically as induced by hypnosis or entered by a medium.
UFO - Unidentified Flying Object
A mysterious object seen in the sky for which it is claimed no orthodox scientific explanation can be found, often supposed to be a vehicle carrying extraterrestrials.
Urban Legend
A humorous or horrific story or piece of information circulated as though true, especially one purporting to involve someone vaguely related or known to the teller.
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Note: Many definitions are taken from the Google dictionary function.
