Binghamton Area Paranormal Society (B.A.P.S.) - The Premiere Binghamton Ghost Hunters

 The following is a list of different paranormal terms from various websites. B.A.P.S. selected what we thought would is the most used paranormal terms. These terms are here to help educate the reader.

ANOMALY - An irregular or unusual event which does not fit a standard rule or law. An anomaly is something which cannot be explained by currently accepted scientific theories. Anything weird, abnormal, strange, odd, or difficult to classify is considered an anomaly.

DEMON - Hostile and resentful entity, supposedly of non-human origin, which some believe to be "fallen (from grace) angels."

DEMONOLOGY - One who studies and practices the art of demonology. An individual who specializes in the removal of evil or demonic forces from a given environment using the art of demonology. One who brings demonic forces out of their slumber to be cast away.

ELECTRONIC VOICE PHENOMENON (EVP) - recordings of voice or voice-like sounds that are not audible to the human ear. The frequencies of these sounds are reportedly well below the range of sounds that can be perceived by the human ear. Typically, but not always, they are short having a length of only one word or a short phrase.

ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD (EMF) - Paranormal investigators have found throughout the course of their research over the years that spirits manifest themselves by feeding off of energy. Many times at genuinely haunted locations batteries, and electrical equipment in general lose their "juice" very fast. This is why paranormal researchers pay close attention to certain weather conditions such as Solar-X Rays, Lunar Phases, and Geomagnetic storms.

ENTITY -  A disembodied "consciousness" commonly referred to as ghost, spirit or (if of an apparently malicious or resentful nature) demon. 

EXORCISM - Ceremonial expulsion of invading spiritual/demonic entities from a person or dwelling, present in virtually every worldly culture. The Jewish and Catholic Christian faiths each have a formal 'Rite of Exorcism' to be conducted by the respective Rabbi or Priest.

GHOST - The image of a person witnessed after his/her death, reflecting the appearance of the living, physical body yet less substantial. These forms often seem to exist in a dream-like state of semi-awareness, at times though not always cognizant of their human observers.

HAUNTING -  The manifestation of a ghostly presence, or presences, attached to a specific locale. Hauntings can be categorized into four (usually) distinct types, these being Intelligent (responsive and interacts with people and current time), Poltergeist (likely initiated by pent-up stress on a subconscious level), Residual (replay of a past time with no awareness of time or place) and Demonic (non-human origin).

PARANORMAL - The realm of occurrences and phenomena removed from those to which people are accustomed and comprehend, and presently uncategorized by standard academia.

POLTERGEIST - A general term applied to a variety of site-, or sometimes person-, specific physical phenomena. These can include temperature variations, anomalous sounds, and movement of physical objects. The word 'poltergeist' literally means 'noisy spirit' and was coined back when such phenomena were thought to be due to the presence of some sort of mischievous entity. Currently, poltergeist phenomena are usually considered to be related either to unusual physical conditions at the affected site, or to be related to psychokinesis. Anecdotal reports suggest that many poltergeist focus on an individual under some form of emotional stress.

PSYCHIC - Popular term used to denote a person who regularly uses, or who appears to be especially gifted with, psi abilities. Also refers to general phenomena related to the mind 

 

 

 

 

 Special thanks to:

 http://www.the-atlantic-paranormal-society.com/articles/articles.html#general

 http://www.proofparanormal.com/whatisemf.html

 http://paranormal.about.com/library/blglossary.htm

 http://www.trueghosttales.com/evp.php