Alien Abduction: The act of having been taken, kidnapped or abducted by creatures or beings from a different planet or galaxy.

Aliens: Creatures or beings that come from other planets, galaxies, universes or even a different dimension. Sometimes referred to as extra-terrestrials.

Amulet: An object that is worn, believed to have the ability or power to ward off evil spirits, witchcraft or disease. Jewelry worn for protection against things considered to be bad.

Angel: A spiritual or celestial being superior to humans in power and intelligence sent to earth as a messenger, protector, or to help someone in their transition to the afterlife.

Anomalous Phenomena: Any strange naturally occurring phenomena that science cannot define or explain.                                                                           

Anomaly: Something different, abnormal, peculiar, or not easily classified. An irregular image that appears on either photo’s or video’s taken by film or digital media.
Apparition: The appearance or image of a deceased person. Often seen from a distance or in the peripheral vision. A full bodied apparition shows the whole body. More commonly, a partial apparition will only appear as a portion of the body such as, from the waist up, arms, or legs. Apparitions can appear to “float” without contacting the ground. They can appear as white, gray, or a solid black.

Apport: The sudden appearance of an object or objects that previously disappeared during a haunting, that seem to come from nowhere.

 Archangel: An order or hierarchy of angels. In medieval angelology, archangels were high ranking angels who belonged to the eighth of the nine ranks of the Celestial Hierarchy.
Pseudo-Dionysus, a scholar gave us possibly one of the best known forms of the Celestial Hierarchy.
1)    Michael-Who is as God, patron of grocers, mariners, paratroopers, police and sickness.
2)    Gabriel-God is my strength, patron of communications and postal workers.
3)    Raphael-God has healed, patron of travelers.
4)    Uriel-Fire of God.
5)    Chamuel-He who sees God.
6)    Jophiel-Beauty of God.
7)    Zadkiel-Righteousness of God.
8)    Raguel-Friend of God
9)    Remiel-Mercy of God.
10)  Sariel-Command of God.
11)  Raziel-Secret of God.

 Asport: The disappearance or movement of an object or objects during a haunting that will reappear again at a later time.

Astral travel/projection: This is a process in which a human spirit can travel outside the physical body. Also known as Out Of Body Experience, OBE or OOBE

Automatic Writing: The ability to write messages or text without being consciously aware of what is being written. Often times automatic writing is done with the assistance from spirits, spirit guides, Angels or other spirit beings. Often used in conjunction with trying to channel a spirit or entity into yourself. This can be dangerous. As with all channeling methods you are opening a doorway and have no control over who or what may come through, and no way to make it leave and “close the door”.

Ball Lightning: An unusual phenomena and exceedingly varied in form. Typical descriptions include a spherical shape of any color and ranging in size from a marble to a football. Normally the appearance of ball lightning coincides with a thunderstorm. The phenomenon can materialize within confined spaces and buildings and their duration can be anywhere from seconds to minutes. It is common for the spheres of ball lightning to appear as if they have a "sense" of direction or "purposeful" motion rather that simply drifting around.

Banshee: Found in Scottish and Irish folklore, this is a female spirit which is believed to be an omen of impending death. It is said that when a banshee is heard outside a home, wailing, screaming or groaning, someone will die within the residence.

Base Line Readings-BLR: The recording of environmental  conditions at the onset of an investigation. Such conditions include temperature, electro magnetic fields, humidity, etc. Used as a control to judge changes during the investigation.

Black Eyed Kids: Children or younger appearing spirits that have eyes black as coal with no sign of an iris or pupil, said to be possible demons or ghosts. A feeling of dread or uneasiness is often felt when in proximity or contact with one of these beings. There has never been and explanation as to why the eyes are black but it is thought to be representative of evil.

Case Study: An in depth investigation of an individual subject or haunting. An intensive analysis of an individual or location stressing developmental factors in relationship to environment in respect to paranormal activity.

Celestial: Relating to, or referring to the Divine, Heaven, the Spirit or a Heavenly place. A god or and angel. The term, Celestial Bodies is used when describing the planets and galaxies as they also refer to the heavens and the sky.

Clairaudience: Means clear hearing, a psychic ability which enables someone to hear voices or noises unheard by other people.

Clairgustance: Means clear tasting, a psychic ability which enables someone to experience a sense of taste associated with a spirit.

Clairvoyance: Means clear seeing, a psychic ability to see an object, people or events not perceived by the 5 senses.

Contagion: The action of being followed by a paranormal entity, such as an earthbound spirit from an investigation or a haunted location.

Cold Spot: A small localized or defined area of intense cold, dropping at least 10 degrees colder than the surrounding area that can not be explained by natural, mechanical or scientific causes. Example, drafty windows or doors, vent systems, breezes or weather conditions.
In the paranormal field it is believed that when an entity is trying to manifest itself it will draw on energy sources, one being the heat energy that is found in the air. As the entity draws the heat out of the air to manifest, that specific location will experience a temperature drop.

Crisis Apparition: Visions of a person or people, to a loved one or close friend, who at the time of their appearance are experiencing some form of crisis or illness. The sick or dying person will send out an image, telepathically, of themselves to someone they have had a close relationship with.                                                                                                                     
      
Crossroads: A point where two roads intersect believed to hold supernatural energy.

Cryptozoology: The study of and search  for animals and especially legendary  animals such as Sasquatch , the Skunk Ape, Mothman, etc. usually in order to evaluate and substantiate the possibility of their existence.

Crystals:  A body that is formed  by the solidification of a chemical element, a compound, or a mixture and has a regular repeating internal arrangement of its atoms and often external planes. Formed in caves, cavities or hollows in the earths surface, growing from natural solutions in a fixed pattern. This pattern will vary with the different types of crystals. The crystals patterns are believed to interact with a persons aura or energy field producing many different benefits. Crystals are often used in healing or communicating during a seance.

Agate-Calming and/or general healer.

Amethyst: Spiritual gem, general healer, helps insomnia, stress conditions or nervousness.

Blue Lace Agate: Helps clear mental and emotional conflict, and calming.

Moss Agate: Helps memory, good for energy, general tonic, helps the skin, blood and digestion.

Jasper: Helps the kidneys, liver, epilepsy, and improves the sense smell.

Malachite: For asthma, rheumatism, and ulcers.

Quartz: Energy giving crystal, good for development, general healer.

Rose Quartz: Relieves migraines and headaches, aids the imaginations and calms the emotions.

Turquise: Absorbs harmful vibrations, a sacred stone and a great protector.

Death: The point in time where all life sustaining functions cease, believed to be when a person either passes on to the next "plane", or remains on the earthly "plane" as a spirit or ghost.

Deathbed Visions: This is a situation that occures at ones death where they are visited by a family member or friend that has already passed or died. Believed to be helping the dying person cross over to the other side, or to be helping the dying person with the transition from life to death. There have been documented cases where people dying will speak to or see other people not visible in the room that have already died.

Debunk: When a simple and logical non-paranormal explanation can account for a reported paranormal event. Even when a genuine paranormal is encountered, because of the ambiguity, an investigator has to reply on the debunking method as a scientific means of explanation.

Deja vu: The feeling of remembering scenes and events when experiencing them for the first time. A feeling that one has seen or heard something before. Something overly or unpleasantly familiar.

Delayed Crisis Image: The appearance of an apparition of someone that has died, hours after their demise. Seeing a person hours after their death.

Dematerialize: To lose or appear to lose form, solidity or material substance. To disappear or fade from visual existence.

Demon: A being or spirit which is said to have not resided on earth in the form of a human. A source or agent of evil, harm, distress, or ruin. An attendant power or spirit.

Demonic Haunting: A haunting by a spirit or entity of power that is not from a human form. Often, these hauntings will start out relatively simple and escalate quickly to stronger activity. Most often affects people or families that are already under great personal stress from conditions such as drug or alcohol use. emotional problems or psychological problems, family or marital problems. The entity will take advantage of the weakened psychological and emotional condition or state of mind.                                                                                                                                 

Demonology: The study of demons.
There are specific "rules" set forth by God that govern what demons can and cannot do. This is scriptural. Some of these rules are, as translated:
1. Demons would like nothing more than to sweep across the Earth and literally destroy all mankind.  God does not allow that.
2. Demons cannot appear in whole/natural human form. They must have some obvious deformity, a missing limb or other body part, a twisted, grotesque face, etc.
3. Demons do not know the future
4. Demons have to be invited in to your life either directly by calling for them, seeking them out, or by allowing them in which is why techniques as seances and Ouija Boards are dangerous.

Demonic Possession: The act by which a demonic  spirit takes over a human being. Can also be in the form of a location where a demonic spirit will take over a building or house, etc

Disembodied Voice: A voice that is heard and has no known source or explanation.

Doppelganger: A spiritual or ghostly double or counterpart of a living person, especially one that haunts its human counterpart.

Dowsing: The ability to use a pair of rods, often metal, to locate sources of energy or most commonly, water.
In the paranormal field, Dowsing Rods are used to locate energy sources that could be of a paranormal nature.

Earthbound Spirit: A spirit bound to the earth plane usually referred to as a Ghost. This can occur for several reasons, an individual may not realize they have died, they may be afraid to move on to the next dimension, they may feel they have unfinished business or they feel they still need to provide or protect loved ones.

Ectoplasm: An ethereal substance associated with the manifesting or dematerializing  of a spirit or ghost. The transparent presence of a ghost or spirit. Ectoplasm usually appears in photo's as a thick white smoke or mist in nearly straight lines. A substance held to produce spirit materialization and telekinesis.

Entity: A generic term used to define a paranormal spirit, ghost, or object.

E.V.P: Electronic Voice Phenomena: Believed that a spirit, ghost or soul can communicate from the "other side",  this is a process by which these communications are picked up on an electrical audio recorder. Usually with "white noise" in the background, these communications or voices are not heard by an investigator at the time of recording.

Something that is heard during the analysis of the information collected during an investigation on an audio recorder.

The hearing of unexplainable voices from an investigation that were not audible by the human ear during the investigation. The ability to record voices from an unexplainable source on an audio recorder, answering machine, TV, or other electronic devices.

Haunting: The event of  paranormal phenomena that can occur frequently in an area, building or location. To visit or inhabit as a ghost or spirit. The spirit of dead person that frequents a location, person or building.

Hot Spot: An area or location where frequent paranormal activity occurs. A place of higher activity of paranormal phenomena.

Incubus: A demon taking male form that seeks sexual intercourse with a woman. An evil spirit that lies on a female in their sleep.

Intuition: The ability to sense or know something without the use of the 5 natural senses; taste, sight, feel, hear, or smell.

Imprint-Imprinting: It is believed that strong emotional events can leave an impression or recording in a location or furniture that can result or cause a residual haunting.

Lights Out: The point in an investigation where all equipment has been set up and all electrical items, eg: lights, heaters, air conditioners, appliances etc, are turned off.  Equipment used by the investigator  during an investigation are more sensitive in the dark and better results are achieved.

Living Ghost: A spirit or ghost that is not the result of a human having lived on earth, sometimes referred to as angels, demons, devils, etc. These encounters are rare and usually very dramatic.

Occult: Beyond human understanding, mysterious or secret. Designating or of certain arts, studies, or practices, as magic, alchemy, or astrology, involving mysterious powers that some people believe can affect the way things happen. Something that deals with or is related to the Supernatural. Usually something that is mysterious, hidden and not easily comprehended.

Orb: Orbs appear to be a form of energy of an unknown source which are believed to be created by spirits. They seem to defy gravity and change direction quickly. Orbs, usually caught with cameras, appear to be dense and emit their own energy source or light. False orbs tend to be transparent, pale white or blue.

Ouija Board: Ouija board, often pronounced "wee-gee" or called weegee box in English is any flat surface printed with letters, numbers,and other symbols to which a planchette or movable indicator points, supposedly in in answer to questions from people at a seance. The fingers of the participants are placed on the planchette that then moves about the board to spell out messages.

Out Of Body Experience: Related to or involving a feeling
of separation from one’s body and of being able to view oneself and othersfrom an external perspective.

Paranormal: Events or occurrences  above and beyond the everyday experiences. Occurrences or events that can not be readily explained by known conventional reasoning or commonly  accepted science.

Pareidolia: The act by which the brain incorrectly interprets patterns of light, shadows or textures as being familiar patterns such as faces, or human forms, usually observed through the peripheral vision area.

Planchette: A device or pointer used with a Ouija Board, used to communicate with spirits or ghosts.

Poltergeist: A noisy usually  mischievous  ghost held to be responsible for unexplained  noises, moving object and sometimes destructive.  They have been known to play pranks.

Precognition:  Having knowledge of an event prior to the event happening.

Premonition: The insight or forewarning of a future event or activity.

Presence: The feeling that an unseen person, spirit, being or ghost is nearby, being there without your knowledge.

Shadow People: Shadows referring to the possible paranormal apparition which appears as a dark human form manifestation. The true nature of this type of paranormal event is still unknown and is the subject of much research. 

Sixth Sense : The power of perception independent of the 5 senses, touch, sight, smell, taste, or feel.

Skeptic: A person disposed to having no decision on the validity of the paranormal, usually discrediting any evidence available. A person that is yet undecided as to what is true.
A great asset to an investigative team being able to broaden the thought process.

skinwalker: the Yeenaaldlooshii

Possibly the best documented skinwalker beliefs are those relating to the Navajo Yeenaaldlooshii (literally "with it, he goes on all fours" in the Navajo language). A Yeenaaldlooshii is one of several varieties of Navajo witch (specifically an ’ánt’iihnii or practitioner of the Witchery Way, as opposed to a user of curse-objects (’adagash) or a practitioner of Frenzy Way (’azhitee)). Technically, the term refers to an ’ánt’iihnii who is using his (rarely her) powers to travel in animal form. In some versions men or women who have attained the highest level of priesthood then commit the act of killing an immediate member of their family, and then have thus gained the evil powers that are associated with skinwalkers.

The ’ánt’iihnii are human beings who have gained supernatural power by breaking a cultural taboo. Specifically, a person is said to gain the power to become a Yeenaaldlooshii upon initiation into the Witchery Way. Both men and women can become ’ánt’iihnii and therefore possibly skinwalkers, but men are far more numerous. It is generally thought that only childless women can become witches.

Although it is most frequently seen as a coyote, wolf, owl, fox, or crow, the Yeenaaldlooshii is said to have the power to assume the form of any animal they choose, depending on what kind of abilities they need. Witches use the form for expedient travel, especially to the Navajo equivalent of the 'Black Mass', a perverted song (and the central rite of the Witchery Way) used to curse instead of to heal. They also may transform to escape from pursuers.

Some Navajo also believe that skinwalkers have the ability to steal the "skin" or body of a person. The Navajo believe that if you lock eyes with a skinwalker they can absorb themselves into your body. It is also said that skinwalkers avoid the light and that their eyes glow like an animal's when in human form and when in animal form their eyes do not glow as an animal's would.

A skinwalker is usually described as naked, except for a coyote skin, or wolf skin. Some Navajos describe them as a mutated version of the animal in question. The skin may just be a mask, like those which are the only garment worn in the witches' sing.

Because animal skins are used primarily by skinwalkers, the pelt of animals such as bears, coyotes, wolves, and cougars are strictly tabooed. Sheepskin and buckskin are probably two of the few hides used by Navajos; the latter is used only for ceremonial purposes.

Often, Navajos will tell of their encounter with a skinwalker, though there is a lot of hesitancy to reveal the story to non-Navajos, or (understandably) to talk of such frightening things at night. Sometimes the skinwalker will try to break into the house and attack the people inside, and will often bang on the walls of the house, knock on the windows, and climb onto the roofs. Sometimes, a strange, animal-like figure is seen standing outside the window, peering in. Other times, a skinwalker may attack a vehicle and cause a car accident. The skinwalkers are described as being fast, agile, and impossible to catch. Though some attempts have been made to shoot or kill one, they are not usually successful. Sometimes a skinwalker will be tracked down, only to lead to the house of someone known to the tracker. As in European werewolf lore, sometimes a wounded skinwalker will escape, only to have someone turn up later with a similar wound which reveals them to be the witch. It is said that if a Navajo was to know the person behind the skinwalker they had to pronounce the full name, and about three days later that person would either get sick or die for the wrong that they have committed.[1]

According to Navajo legend, skinwalkers can have the power to read human thoughts. They also possess the ability to make any human or animal noise they choose. A skinwalker may use the voice of a relative or the cry of an infant to lure victims out of the safety of their homes.

The legend of the skinwalkers tells of God giving the people a gift of transformation that was used only against their enemies. Over time, the people began to abuse this power, thus bringing God to earth to reclaim it. Some gave the power up and others hid with it and passed the knowledge to others.

Some tribes believe that skinwalkers can use the spit, hair, or shoes and old clothing of a person to make curses that will attack that specific person. For this reason many Navajo will never spit or leave shoes outside. They also take great care to see that any hair or nail clippings are burned. Children are advised that if they urinate outside to kick dirt over the spot so that a skinwalker cannot use it to make a curse against them.

Specter: A unusual appearing ghostly figure or image. A visible disembodied spirit or something that haunts  or perturbs the mind.

Spirit: The essence, energy or soul of a living or deceased person, animal or being.

Succubus: A demon taking a female form who seeks sexual intercourse with a human male.

Supernatural: Of or relating to an order of existence beyond the visible observable universe. Relating  to God, a God, demigod, spirit, or devil. Departed from what is normal or usual especially so as to appear to transcend  the laws of nature. Attributed to an invisible agent, spirit or ghost.