This by no means is a complete dictionary of terminology. This is meant to provide you with pertinent words to aid in the basic understanding of parapsychology and the ghost hunting world. This list will continuously be updated from time to time and if you wish to help update it please contact us.

Agent - (1) Person who attempts to communicate information to another in an ESP experiment. (2) The subject in a psychokinesis experiment. (3) Person who is the focus of poltergeist activity.

Alpha Rhythm - Electrical activity in the brain (about 10 cycles per second) associated with a state of mental relaxation.

Altered State of Consciousness (ASC) - A term used to refer to any state of consciousness that is different from "normal" states of waking or sleeping. ASCs include hypnosis, trance, ecstasy, psychedelic and meditative experience. ASCs do not necessarily have paranormal features.

Amulet- any item or token said to bring protection from evil.

Apparition - The visual appearance of a person whose physical body is not present.

Apport / Asport - An apport is a solid object that seemingly appears from nowhere in the presence of a medium. Asport is any object the ‘spirits’ or medium makes disappear or teleports to another location.

Astral body - The body a person seems to occupy during an out-of-body experience.

Astral plane - A world some people believe exists above the physical world.

Astral projection - An out-of-body experience, usually brought on by the person having it.

Astrology - A theory and practice which attempts to identify the ways in which astronomical events are correlated with events on earth.

Aura - A field that some psychics see surrounding the living body. Often thought to reflect a person’s personality.

Automatic writing - Writing without being aware of the contents, as when a medium apparently transcribes written messages from disembodied spirits.

Automatism - Any unconscious and spontaneous muscular movement caused by ‘the spirits’. (Automatic writing).

Autoscopy - Seeing one's 'double', or looking back at one's own body from a position outside the body (OBE). Also called a deadly double.

Banshee- a whaling entity said to foresee the coming of death itself Bilocation - Being (or appearing to be) in two different places at the same time (similar to autoscopy).

Black Shuck- a spectral death omen in the form of a ghostly dog, often refered in the Americas as a hellhound.

Blue Cap- a spirit who aided miners in Britain.

Call - Response made by a subject in a card-guessing or other ESP test.

Card Guessing - An experimental test for ESP in which subjects guess the identity of a set of cards.

Case study - An in-depth investigation of an individual subject.

Cerebral Anoxia - Lack of oxygen to the brain, often causing sensory distortions and hallucinations. Sometimes used to explain features of the near-death experience.

Chalcedony- a type of quartze used by the egyptions to chase ghost away.

Channeling - The process by which a medium apparently allows a spirit to communicate through his or her person.

Clairaudience - Auditory form of ESP (compare with Clairvoyance).

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