Paranormal Activity

The Paranormal

To paraphrase Shakespeare, there are more things in heaven and earth than we can possibly account for. Those that we can identify, understand and categorize into tidy groupings fall under the realm of the "normal". Those occurrences that modern science is unable to account for and explain in terms of the natural world are relegated to the realm of "paranormal".

Does that mean that paranormal activity is merely the product of overactive imaginations? It would seem foolish to disregard what we may simply not yet understand. Some scientists who keep an open mind on the subject prefer to think of the paranormal as part of the natural world yet to be properly explored and understood.

Major Types of Paranormal Activity

The complete catalog of paranormal topics is far too large to address in a single article, but here are some of the major highlights in the field.

Hauntings

Ongoing paranormal activity in a specific location is generally categorized as a haunting. There are basically three categories of hauntings, including:

• Intelligent hauntings: These hauntings seemingly involve activity and communication with "thinking" spirits.
• Residual hauntings: These hauntings are caused by residual energy that replays itself like a historical recording. There is no conscious interaction between the spirits involved and their human observers.
• Inhuman hauntings: These are the most frightening paranormal infestations typically attributed to demons, elemental/nonhuman spirits and poltergeists.

Spirit Encounters

Encounters with ghostly spirits come in many forms, including:

• Shadows: Dark masses that suddenly appear and disappear
• Orbs: Balls of light that appear to travel on their own
• Apparitions: Filmy body shapes, with or without details
• Poltergeists: Unintelligent spirits that generate somewhat mischievious physical phenomena such as moving objects and sounds
• Angels, Demons and Others: Good and evil spirits respectively, as well as elemental beings that fit no other category

ESP

Extrasensory perception (ESP) deals largely with the untapped powers of the human mind. Parapsychology breaks these powers down into a variety of psychic abilities, including but not limited to:

• Clairvoyance: The supernatural ability to gain knowledge about people, places and events
• Precognition: A particular branch of clairvoyance that involves receiving information specifically about the future
• Telepathy: The transfer of information between people without using any of the five known human senses
• Psychokinsis aka Telekinesis: The ability to move objects solely through the power of the mind
• Mediumship: The ability to communicate with departed spirits
• Astral projection: Also referred to as out-of-body travel where the soul exits the body to return at will without causing death

Unexplained Mysteries

The number of unexplained mysteries in the world are too great to count. They include many types of phenomena. For example, consider all the reports of strange activity in the area off the coast of Florida known and the Bermuda Triangle. There is a laundry list of strange sightings and disappearances in the area. Pilots often report that their instruments stop working when passing through, and some even describe wild storms that immediately clear upon leaving the geographical area.

Other unexplained mysteries involve sightings of creatures and objects that defy conventional perceptions.

These include reports of such things as:

• The Loch Ness Monster
• Big Foot
• The Abominable Snowman
• The Chupacabra
• UFOs

Finally, there are the old legends to consider, such as the existence of vampires, werewolves, ghouls, zombies and more.

Capturing Evidence of Paranormal Activity

A variety of electrical equipment is used to gather evidence of the paranormal.

Common tools of the trade include:

• Cameras: Including infrared for night vision and thermographic cameras to detect heat/energy signatures, as well as standard digital, video and 35mm cameras
• Digital audio recorders: Used to document all sounds during an investigation for later review
• White noise generators: Used to create random sounds that parapsychologists believe spirits might use and reorganize into coherent words aka electronic voice phenomena
• EMF detector: Measures common electromagnetic radiation levels, and is believed to measure those same fields when emitted by a spirit
• Digital thermometers: Used to track sudden temperature fluctuations that might indicate paranormal activity
• GPS: Global positioning system; most recently used to map out locations displaying paranormal activity
• Computers: Used to review digital material gathered and analyze potential evidence of the paranormal

Paranormal Research Societies

There are hundreds of paranormal research societies dedicated to studying phenomena that conventional science either cannot explain or refuses to acknowledge. Many conduct field research at locations believed to exhibit a variety of paranormal activities. Others prefer to analyze purported evidence in a laboratory setting.

The following websites provide listings of active paranormal societies you can contact if you ever have need of help.

• The Atlantic Paranormal Society
• New York Pennsylvania Paranormal Society