Glossary of Terms

(Terms and definitions are subject to copyright and cannot be used without expressed permission from Beyond the Veil Paranormal Research.)

Alukah - {literally} Leech; A Hebrew vampire myth.

Angel - "Messenger of God" from the Greek angelos. A beneficent being of celestial origin that sometimes intervenes in human affairs.

Astral Body -- A duplicate of the physical human body and generated by the living self, but less substantial. Some think this spirit form can be willfully projected and travel independently of one's solid body along with the person's awareness.

Atavism - Regression to an earlier type, "anti-evolution."

Audible Voice Phenomena (A.V.P.) - Disembodied sounds manifesting as apparent "spirit voices" which can be heard. This term was devised by Dina M. Palazini on April 7, 2009.

Big Rhodey - Rhode Island's Bigfoot, classified for reference as Hominid Hylocomium Temebrosis meaning dark, manlike forest-dweller.

Cryptid - Creature presently unrecognized as authentic by standard zoological science, yet occasionally sighted and reported, leaving at best scant evidence of its existence. Chupecabra, the Lock Ness Monster and Sasquatch are but a few examples of cryptids.

Demon - Entity thought to be of non-human origin, intelligent/responsive, and generally malevolent. In Christian lore, this is interpreted as a fallen angel in league with the devil in his war against the heavenly realm and mankind. The Greek word originally denoted a wise spirit.

Electronic Voice Phenomena (E.V.P.) - Sounds and communications originating from unseen sources, thought to be manifestations of "spirit voices" imprinted on analogue, digital or video audio recordings.

Exorcism - The ritualistic expulsion of a demonic spirit from a human host. This procedure exists in numerous religions and cultures but is chiefly associated with Catholicism.

Exorcist - A person, usually a Christian priest, who has been granted the authority to cast out demons from the possessed.

Ghost - The remnant of a human being (or animal, for that matter) existing in a dimensional plane removed from ours', displaced in time, which manifests in various ways, and sometimes seems capable of interacting with the living.

Incubus - Demon in male form, thought to invade the dreams of sleeping women, sometimes inflicting scratches, welts and even bite marks on the skin of it's victims.

Lamia Navitas - (Latin); Energy Vampire.

Lilith - Hebrew female demon, Adam's wife whom he rejected, the first vampire.

Lycanthrope - A person capable of assuming the characteristics of an animal, most often a wolf, also called shape -shifter. There is a psychological condition which causes the afflicted to believe they have transformed into an animal and demonstrate animal traits, even transforming physical appearance. (We recommend reading, "Man Into Wolf" by Edward and Lorraine Warren.)

Necronomicon - "Book of the Dead" Collection or grimoire of invocations, sigils and forbidden magic rites discovered by the Mad Arab, Abdul Alhazred in the 8th century A.D. This appears in the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft although some have conjectured the tome is rooted in nebulous, but potent reality.

Nosferatu - (Slavic); Undead, vampire.

Ouija Board - (Probably combines the French "Oui" and German "Ja" for "Yes") Commonly pronounced, Wee-gee. Spirit communication device, rectangular board with letters, numbers and symbols printed on the surface,and a plastic planchette used as an indicator. Marketed as a parlour game, it is believed that spirits will influence those using the Ouja Board by creating impulses in the fingers lightly resting on the sides of the planchette, causing it to glide over the board's smooth surface.

Paranormal - occurrences which are anomalous, apart from those which are explainable by current scientific standards.

Poltergeist - (German; banging ghost); Phenomena that seem caused by an invading spirit, with episodes brief in duration but repetitive. Rappings are heard, objects and furniture discovered strangely rearranged, lights turned off and on.

Pareidolia - The perception of a pattern or meaning where it does not actually exist. Considering the moon to have human features is an example of Pareidolia.

Raven - Corvus Corax. Black plumed raptor related to the crow, taken as a "Bird of ill omen" in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar and popularized by Edgar Allan Poe's signature poem. Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest hold Raven sacred as the creator of the world. Ravens have long been regarded as the totem guardians of England's Tower of London.

Sasquatch - a.k.a. Bigfoot. Formal use of "Sasquatch" in reference to a hair-covered hominid can be traced to the 1920s, when the term was used by J.W. Burns, a school teacher at the Chehalis, British Columbia Indian Reserve, on the Harrison River about 100 kilometers east of Vancouver. Burns collected Native American accounts of large, hairy creatures said to live in the wild. Over time, Burn's neologian came to be used by others, primarily in the Pacific Northwest then entered popularized America lexicon.

Simulacra - The Human mind's natural, involuntary inclination to interpret indistinct sights, sounds, smells or tactile sensations as familiar. This phenomenon is also correctly called Matrixing and Pareidola.

Spirit Photography - A general term referring to photographs which display inexplicable anomalies, chiefly taken during paranormal investigations.

Succubus - Demon in female form, thought to distract and torment men through dreams.

Vampire - A person reanimated after death and perpetuating an unnatural existence by feeding on the blood of the living. Among the more celebrated vampires are Vlad Tepish a.k.a. Count Dracula, Countess Elizabeth Bathory, Varney, Lestat de Lioncourt and Barnabas Collins.

Witch - Practitioner of magical arts and pagan rites who has aligned him/herself with the dark forces of nature. This is the standard interpretation. In former times, throughout Europe and North-eastern America, being recognized as a witch was a serious impropriety and harsh remedies were mandated!

Wraith - Spirit of a person that is earth-bound, often attached to a certain location due to trauma suffered in life, particularly as his or her life ended.

Zarcanor - (Slavic, Croatian or Ukrainian); {literally} To draw from; A vampire spirit that drains victims of their vitality until it has killed them. The origin of this term I came across some years ago is not certain and I've been unable to locate further references through an internet search.