Before beginning any study of ghosts and related paranormal phenomena, it is strongly advised that you make yourself aware of terms that are used in the field of paranormal investigation. By definition, the things you will be investigating are beyond the realm of normal or scientifically explainable phenomena so you need to be aware of what it is you might be seeing or experiencing. The best way to do that is to have someone who has and knows the terminology give you a reference that you can look at and go back to as questions come up.

To that end and as a service to those seeking answers, we have put together this terminology page. It covers a wide variety of words and descriptors used in paranormal investigation circles. Some of these words have their base in ancient cultures such as the Greeks or the the Romans while others have been used in certain ethnic centers such as in the case of the Celtic Gaelic or Anglo-Saxon words still used in Britan, Scotland, Ireland and Wales to this day or words of the Germanic languages that are still is use currently but literally cross borders and are identifiable and understood across different cultures. The fact that these words have crossed oceans and can now be found in America to describe similar things is really no surprise since the United States is composed of so many immigrant populations.

This terminology page is not meant to be the definitive word on the subject and should be considered to be fluid and ever changing. Some words have been altered somewhat or their explainations changed as time as evolved or as new information comes to light through research. Some words are part of the very fabric of nations and groups of people and have become part of the folklore to whom they belong. Additionally, you will find that different paranormal research groups may have subtle differences in their definitions of a word but they agree on the basic meaning of the word. Use this terminology guide as a starting point from which you can begin your own education on the subject.

A

Animism: A belief system in which all things have a "soul" or "spirit" and a connection to the physical being from which they are derived. For example, the fruit from an apple tree has a soul as do the seeds within the apple and all other parts of the tree as well. Although we think of them as separate, animism would say that the fruit, the leaves and the seeds still maintain a connection to the tree that gave them life and that each possesses its own spirit or soul. Most commonly found as a belief in tribes or early cultures although it is still held in some remote populations of the world today. European tribes such as the Germans and Celts held animism and deity worship as their "religion" until the time of the expansion of the Roman Empire and the introduction of their belief system which would eventually lead to Christianity becoming the accepted religion of the Holy Roman Empire.

Ankou: The "King of the Dead". In Celtic folklore, the last person to die in a village or town is given the responsibility for one year following their death of collecting all the souls of those who die in that same area. It has many forms including a spectral cart follwed by two ghostly figures, a tall, thin figure with white hair, a skeleton with a revolving head to see everything or, in more recent times, a hearse carriage with skeletal horses and corpse like figures as driver and pall bearer. The ankou may be seen by witnesses entering the house and collecting the soul or may knock at the door or emit a shriek or high pitched wail which has been reported to have been heard by witnesses. May be related to banshees.

Angels: Angels are believed to be messengers of God. The term "angel" is derived from the Greek angelos and the Latin angelus. Angels are thought to have been transferred from Persian culture into Judaism and Christianity and can also be found in Islam. Indeed, angels appear to be in some form in almost every culture in which a belief in an afterlife of some form can be found.

Apparition: Apparitions are manifestations of people or animals that are visible to the naked eye and appear solid or real. More often, they are seen as humans or animals than objects. They can be divided into the following categories:

Crisis Apparitions- Apparitions that appear to persons as people that they know in times in great distress or as precursors to circumstances where death is occuring or imminent. May also appear after death to convey messages of passing to loved ones as a means of closure. These apparitions may appear to be waking dreams or lucid dreaming but the message conveyed or the emotion perceived is vividly remembered by the witness.

Deathbed Apparitions- Those things seen by persons going through the process of dying. Most often reported are specific loved ones coming to take the dying through to the other side (usually family and friends who have already passed), religious figures acting as guides such as angels. Another interesting part to this experience is the mention by the person experiencing death of needing to "catch" something like a train, boat, plane or bus to go somewhere without knowing exactly or mentioning where that somewhere is.

Collective Apparitions- Apparitions seen by more than one person at the same time. Animals may also be witnesses to this type of apparition.

Reciprocal Apparitions- Occur when the agent (the person who appears as the apparition) and the percipient (the person witnessing the apparition) see eachother simultaneously. Often occurs when the agent has a strong desire to be with or near the percipient. May be generated by lonliness, longing, love or worry. May be seen as a collective apparition and may be related to OBE's or thought projection.

Automatic Writing: Writing that is done in an altered state of consciousness by a person who acts as a conduit for disincarnate spirits or the spirits of deceased persons. The "conduit" (living person through whom the spirit interacts) is unaware of what is being written and the spirit writes using the hand of the conduit to communicate. Often, the style of handwriting will be different from that of the conduit, the writing style and useage may not be consistent with current grammar. It is unclear if these spirits actually "take over" the conduit briefly to write or if they subconsciously control the hand of the conduit to write what they intend to convey. Related to Automatism.

Automatism: Unconscious movement of muscles related to spirit intervention. Most common forms are automatic writing and automatic painting. Seems to be related specifically to creative endeavors such as painting, drawing, writing, speaking, playing of musical instruments, dancing and even singing. The conduit is moved to begin doing some activity in which they have no formal training or normal interest. The conduit then performs the endeavor in a professional and learned manner. The conduits often report feeling as if they were guided by someone while performing. May be related to Past Life Experiences, Past Life Regression, Memory of previous lives.

B

Banshee (a.k.a Bean-Nighe, Bean Si): The Banshee is a female harbinger of death or death omen in Irish, Scottish and Celtic folklore. The Banshee attaches itself to a family and then appears whenever a death in that family is about to occur. The Bean Si (Irish) is said to be a beautiful young woman with flowing red hair and a gray cloak over a green, red or white dress. Her eyes are red from crying for the person about to die and she emits a mournful crying that is unmistakeable as sorrowful. Although less prevalent in America, tales about the appearance of Banshees in the United States do appear dating back to the 1700's. See also Little-Washer-By-The-Ford.

Barghest (a.k.a Barguest): The Barghest is a large ghostly dog or bear which is believed to be a death omen in parts of Britan. The specter is known by various local names depending on vicinity such as "Shrieker" or "Trash". Similar sightings of large spectral dogs have been reported in the United States since the early 1800's, especially in the southern and eastern states. See also Black Shuck.

Bilocation: Appearance of the same in person in two different places at or about the same time. May relate to Astral Projection, Thought Projection, OBE's.

Black Shuck: A large, black spectral demon dog in British folklore that appears as a harbinger of death. Also has been reported in the United States although size and other characteristics are somewhat different. The name "Shuck" comes from the Anglo-Saxon terms, "scucca" or "sceocca" which referred to demons or Satan. Also known in Norse myths as the Black Hound of Odin(Woden). The dog is said to be about the size of a calf with large, glowing yellow, red or green eyes. He is often seen as headless although the eyes can still be seen where they should be. Other names include; Galleytrot, Old Shuck, The Hateful Thing, The Churchyard Beast, Hellbeast, The Swooning Shadow and the Black Dog or Torrington. In the United States, large spectral dogs have often been seen. There are numerous stories of these animals acting as either guardians of something, messengers of impending death or helpful entities that assist the living. There are also stories of packs of ghostly dogs that are said to attack the unwary. These dogs leave indications that large cannines were evident but they are never seen.

C

Corpse Candles: Strange lights that move above the ground and seem to stop over or at places where death has or will occur such as cemeteries or even homes. Celtic in origin.

Corpse Lights: Phosphorescent lights seen floating in mid air, especially at night. They can be white, red or blue primarily or other colors and can be seen indoors or outdoors. They have been reported to hug the ground, float in air, hover over roofs, or even over the bodies of persons who are dying or may soon die. Other names for this phenomena include: Corpse Candles, Jack-O'-Lanterns, ignis fatuus, corposant, fetch candles or fetch lights. They may be naturally forming as a byproduct of decomposition in marshes (swamp gas) or as some other form of naturally occuring phenomena which we do not yet understand having to do with atmospheric conditions.

Crossroads: These areas where roads meet or intersect have often been related to ghosts and hauntings. Sometimes, they are associated with protection from spirits by confusing them as to which direction they should go. Other times, they are associated with evil spirits and demonic entities who enjoy leading travellers off their course and confusing them. In the medieval period up to the 1700's, those condemmed to death often had their bodies posted in cages at crossroads to keep them from finding their accusers or those who brought them to justice and doing them harm. It was believed that the spirit would get confused by the various directions and be unable to find its way back to carry out its vengeance on the living. This was also believed to doom said spirits to staying around the place where their bodies were for an indefinite period. As protection, crossroads were seen to be the safe zone for all sorts of paranormal activity because of the similarity between the crossroads and the cross related to Christianity. It was believed that this shape could keep all things ominous and evil at bay.

D

Demons: Spirit entities that can be of either a good or bad nature. It is believed that demons have the ability to intervene in human affairs. In Christianity, demons are always negative and the servants of Satan. These entities are not now nor have they ever been in human form. The name "demon" is derived from the Greek "daimon" which means divine power. Ancient greeks considered them to be guardian spirits. The most famous of these demons since the widespread acceptance of Christianity were the succubus (female demon) and the incubus (male demon).

Direct Voice Phenomena (DVP): Direct Voice Phenomena is when a disembodied voice of a spirit is clearly heard without the use of a medium or channeler. In the early days of mediumship, these voices of spirits often seemed to come from mid air and may have been accompanied by other sounds such as drums or blaring trumpets.

Doppelganger: Derived from the Germanic language and means "double-goer", doppelgangers or spirit doubles are the manifestation of an exact duplicate of a person in different locations simultaneously. This is also known as bilocation. The two types of doppelgangers are the death omen doppelganger and the projected doppelganger. It was once believed that seeing one's spirit double was a portent of death for that person within the year.

Dzibai or Midewiwin: The Medicine Society of the Ojibwa tribe peforms this ritual as a means to speed spirits from the earthly realm to the Land of the Ghosts. It is believed that the spirits of the dead stay among the living because of their desire to be close to their families and loved ones. These spirits can interact during this time and cause problems if not assisted to the Land of the Ghosts. This ritual helps send the spirits along to where they need to be.

E

Ectoplasm: A substance that can be solid or vapor in appearance and state which is sometimes reported as being produced by mediums. Ectoplasm is most often a milky white color and smells like ozone or the air after a thunderstorm.

Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP): EVP's are the recorded disembodied voices of what is believed to be spirits. These voices are often not heard while recording is being performed but are heard when the recording is played back. Related to Instrumental Transcommunication.

Exorcism: Exorcism is the expulsion of ghosts, spirits or demons from a person or place where they are causing disturbances. This process or rite has existed since the earliest days of man's history and is performed in one way or another throughout the world. It is by no means a western practice alone. The Catholic Church has long had the Rite of Exorcism and has priests specifically trained to perform this rite. There are those who contend that many who are believed to be "possessed" or under demonic influence are merely suffering from some sort of mental problem. Still others believe that many who are diagnosed with various mental maladies are in fact possessed.

G

Ghost: Ghost has become an all encompassing term that many believe relates to anything paranormal having to do with ghosts, spirits, entities or haunting phenomena. It is often applied as a blanket word to cover anything unusual. The standard definition of a ghost is that they are believed to be the disembodied spirit of a deceased person. More often than not they are perceived through the senses other than sight by making noises, generating smells, touching or other sensory stimuli. Ghosts can be seen but this is on rare occasions. Almost every culture thoroughout the word believes or has believed in the ability of ghosts to return to the realm of the living for one reason or another. Sidenote: At CRPIS, we believe that the word "ghost" should be applied as a category of phenomena and not directly to all paranormal phenomena. Ghosts are non-interactive "memories" of people who once were living that go about mundane activities they performed while alive, often without any recognition of witnesses nearby. They are different from spirits in that they do not interact, do not communicate and seem to have no awareness of the physical reality around them. Ghosts may make appearances on anniversaries of some specific event or tragedy and then not be seen again. They seem to be imprinted on the very fabric of space and time and like a film loop, replay the same actions again and again over time as conditions allow.

Ghost Hunt: Ghost hunts are basically non-formal field investigations in which an area that fits the template of locations or sites condusive to paranormal phenomena are checked out to see if anything is occuring that can be documented and studied. These sites might be reported by the public or just seem to fit the profile that investigators look for paranormal activity to occur in. They are basically "fishing expeditions" to see what, if anything, might be out there.

Ghost Hunters: This term has often been applied to anyone studying the paranormal world of ghosts, spirits and haunting phenomena. There has recently been a shift to get away from this label as it has become an almost derogatory term. Most groups who act in a professional manner and exercise good field investigation practices tend to stay away from this term as it has become a label for newcomers to the field who are often inexperienced or others who are sloppy in their work, ethics and protocols.

Ghost Lights: Unexplained luminous phenomena. Balls of light or irregular patches of lights that can appear yellow, white, red, orange or blue. The color may change while being observed, they can change size or shape and often appear at sites either randomly or at regular intervals. Research conducted by the Ghost Research Society in Illinois has found that there are consistancies in reported sightings. These common traits include the lights appearing in rural areas, they are unable to be captured and appear only from certain distances or angles to the lights, they react to outside stimuli such as sound and light, they are often accompanied by a buzzing or humming sound and they are often associated with local folklore relating to some sort of tragic death, etc. An example of this can be found in any of the numerous tales of conductors falling off trains, losing their heads and their ghostly return to look for it by lantern with the ghost light being the light from said lantern.

Guardian Spirit: A protective spirit some believed is attached to a person from their birth. Another name for this would be the Guardian Angel. This belief is widespread throughout the world and throughout various cultures although it may vary slightly. The general belief is that this spirit is attached to a person and its duty is to keep the person from harm and allow that person to navigate their life with as little trouble as possible.

H

Haunting: The repeated manifestation of various phenomena that can be experienced through the senses that is thought to be caused by ghosts or spirits attached to a site or location. The CRPIS has expanded on this definition a little. Hauntings fall into basically two categories: Residual (Past) Hauntings or Active (Present) Hauntings. Residual hauntings are the leftover energy from an event or life that imprints itself on a structure or location and repeats itself in the same way over years or even centuries. They are most often unaware of witnesses or the surroundings, they do not attempt to interact with those witnessing the event and the pattern of activity may vary slightly but most often remains the same. Residual hauntings are ghost-like in nature. Active Hauntings differ from residual hauntings in that the entity or entities involved seem aware of their surroundings and of witnesses. This type of haunting seems to be more related to spirits as there is often interaction with witnesses, attempted communication, sensory observations and rather than a repetitive pattern to activity, the activity can and does change depending on the circumstances, witnesses, time, etc. Active hauntings appear to be the work of entities that are sentient, intelligent, rational and communicative and they may even seek to attract attention to the phenomena.

Both types of hauntings may involve apparitions but the more commonly experienced activity from witnesses will be in the form of sensory information. A cold chill, a feeling of being watched, feeling a hand on your shoulder, hearing someone whispering your name when nobody is there, etc. Witnesses who are sensitve to emotions, etc. may experience a flood of emotions and feelings such as anger, hate, rage, love, sadness or distrust. People may be pinched or slapped or even tickled. The easiest way to remember the difference is RESIDUAL=NON INTERACTIVE, ACTIVE=INTERACTIVE.