Terminology

Afterlife - The belief that the human soul or spirit survives after it leaves the body from cause of death. How the spirit survives will depend on which culture you are referring to.

Apparition - A visual appearance of a dead person, living person, or beast.

Cold Spot - An area where the temperature is lower than the surrounding environment.  Cold spots are believed to be created when a ghost is presence within that area.

Disembodied - A spirit that is functioning without a body.

Disembodied Voice -  A voice that is heard that comes from no physical body.

Electromagnetic Field (EMF) - An electric and magnetic energy that radiates from radio and light waves to gamma and cosmic rays.

Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) - The recording of spirit voices on audio tape. These voices are no heard at the time the audio is being recorded.

EMF Detector -  A device that measures and detects changes in the electromagnetic field. 

Gauss Meter - A device that is used to measure the electromagnetic field, also referred to as EMF detectors or magnetometers.

Ghost - A ghost is believed to be the soul or the life force of a person.

Ghost Hunting - The investigation or search of ghosts, poltergeists, apparitions, or any other paranormal activity for science, or ghost removal.

Haunted - A person, place or an object to which a spirit is attached.  The spirits can be human or inhuman in nature.

Haunting - Paranormal phenomena such as apparitions, unexplained sounds, smells or other sensations that are associated over a lengthy period of time with a specific location.

Imprint - Apparitions of people and things of the past that are made up of energy that exists in the area of activity. Imprints are not actually conscience of themselves and their surrounding's, unlike an actual spirit or ghost.

Intelligent Haunting - Paranormal activity that takes place around a person or location that is caused by an intelligent or conscious spirit

Matrixing - When the mind attempts to manifest images  as something they are  not.

Orb - A spherical shaped, translucent mass of energy resembling a ball or globe of light.

Paranormal - Phenomena which seem to defy the known laws of science.

Parapsychology - Refers to the study of paranormal phenomena.

Poltergeist - A German words that means "Noisy or mischievous ghost."  A destructive spirit that has the ability to move objects by solidifying the ambient air which results in the movement and/or teleportation of objects.

Shadow People - These entities are a deep black color and are can be in the form of a thick or misty cloud, but usually in the shape of a human. These are one of the rarest paranormal phenomena to be captured on photographs. Most of these ghosts are found in peoples homes and are evasive and sneaky in nature. Sometimes they even play pranks on people.

Specter - A ghost or apparition.

Spirit - Spirits are believed to exist in an invisible realm that can only be seen under certain circumstances or by people with special abilities.

Vortex - This is a swirling funnel shape when in motion. They can also appear long and narrow and having a tread like design. Some theorize this is a vehicle to transport spirits in the shape of orbs from their realm to ours. 

White Noise - A hiss-like sound, formed by combining all audible frequencies.

 Written by Jason Montgomery Paranormal columnist for Southern Indiana Paranormal Investigators