In the text, the authors have used some of the words referring to ghostly phenomena in a somewhat loose fashion. They feel that while this is perhaps of no great concern to the general reader, it would be useful to provide a simple listing and definition of some relevant terms.
ANIMAL GHOSTS
Hauntings involving animals account for a maximum of about 5 per cent of reported ghost activity. These reports deal almost exclusively with the types of animal with which humans can have an emotional association and/or those that can be put to some kind of use, e.g. horses, cats and dogs. It is thought that the appearance of some animals in an apparently ghost form may be a portent of the death of the observer. Related to animal ghosts may be reports of supernatural beasts such as black dogs and the numerous alleged sightings of such creatures as big feral cats.
APPARITIONS
Apparitions are the visual appearances of people, animals or things, without their material presence. These manifestations are usually short-lived and they appear, reappear or disappear for reasons that cannot be explained or defined with certainty. Apparitions seem only to be visible to certain people, and, when they disappear, they do not usually leave any physical evidence. They can apparently move through walls, cast shadows or create a reflection in a mirror. Some researchers believe that apparitions are a form of hallucination. ‘Collective apparition’ is the name given when such a phenomenon is observed by two or more people simultaneously.
CROSSROADS
A long-standing belief in folklore is that crossroads attract paranormal activity. Crossroads were frequently used as the burial place for people who had committed suicide because in former times it was not thought that they should be buried on consecrated ground. To ensure that its spirit did not wander, a stake was driven through the heart of the suicide victim. It was also believed that the conjunction of four roads would confuse the spirit. Crossroad burials at least theoretically ended in 1821 when legislation was passed requiring all churchyards to reserve space for the burial of suicides.
CYCLIC GHOSTS
These are ghosts that are believed to manifest themselves regularly on specific dates, especially but not necessarily on the anniversary of their deaths. Vigils organised by investigators on these occasions do not often provide the incontrovertible evidence that they want. In fact, such vigils often involve nothing more than a long, boring and seemingly pointless watch.
The medieval concept of exorcism as depicted in an illuminated manuscript.
DISEMBODIED VOICES
These phenomena involve the sound of human voices without any evident human agency. Many reports of hauntings feature disembodied voices. A common feature of this phenomenon is a warning to the listener – which is ignored at the listener’s peril.
EXORCISM
The idea that an individual can be possessed by a spirit, usually a malignant one, which takes control of him or her, is an ancient one. Exorcism is the practice of a ritual, normally performed by a priest, to drive out this spirit or demon. Many religious groups embrace the idea of exorcism and continue to practice it, albeit possibly to a reduced extent, in the face of growing scepticism about religion. Also, many people whose behaviour meant that they were once thought of as being possessed by demons are now diagnosed as suffering from a mental illness.
GHOSTS
In the simplest terms, a ghost is the manifestation to the living of the soul of a deceased human or animal. Some people claim that there are ghosts of inanimate objects such as ships, aircraft and railway trains, especially those hauled by steam locomotives.
In its early years, photography was gleefully seized on by hoaxers and fraudulent mediums to create a stir; to ‘prove’ the existence of ghosts or to support the case for their own possession of special powers. Even in modern times, purported images of ghostly presences or activities are not generally regarded as providing indisputable evidence. Where researchers accept that deception is not intended, accidental double exposures or technical faults with camera or film are often held responsible. A limited number of well-known photographic images have never been totally explained away either by supporters or sceptics.
The introduction of digital photography in the 1990s provided a wealth of opportunities to create ghostly images for fun or for the purposes of deception, and has only served to make the issue more complicated.
HAUNTING
‘Haunting’ is a word usually applied to a place in which repeated ghost activity allegedly takes place. The nature of the phenomena may be visual, aural, olfactory, a combination of these or just a ‘presence’ sensed in some other indefinable way. Hauntings can also involve temperature variations and the unexplained movement of objects. Generally, the impact of these phenomena seems to lessen with time, which suggests that whatever the force or energy that sustains them, it gradually dissipates.
ORBS
These are phenomena which only seem to have come to popular attention with the arrival and now widespread use of digital photography. Orbs appear to be small, often globe-shaped patches of luminosity not visible to the user of the camera when the picture is taken. While it is claimed by some people that orbs are the souls or spirits of the dead, others argue that they are ‘pieces’ of concentrated psychic energy. Such paranormal explanations are rejected by those who believe that they are simply airborne particles which have been caught in suspension by the camera.
PARANORMAL
Paranormal phenomena are those which cannot be explained within the existing boundaries of knowledge.
PHANTOM
This word is commonly used as a synonym for an apparition. There is a strong sense that a phantom is sinister or threatening.
William Hope, a medium who claimed that he could get in touch with the ghosts of the dear departed.
POLTERGEIST
Many reports of supposedly paranormal activity are ascribed to the presence of poltergeists. The word literally means ‘noisy spirit’. Poltergeists are blamed for a wide range of irksome activities including the movement of objects, the throwing of things sometimes apparently with malicious intent, for causing fires, tampering with equipment, physical assaults and mysterious knockings and other sounds. Outbreaks of poltergeist activity are not usually prolonged and those who have investigated such phenomena frequently argue that an individual is unwittingly responsible – usually a person undergoing troubled emotional experiences or a teenager having problems coping with the transition from childhood to adulthood.
RE-ENACTMENT GHOSTS
These are apparitions that seem to re-enact emotionally charged events of the past such as battles, disasters or murders.
REVENANT
This word is sometimes used to refer to a person who returns from the dead, often after a long absence, in the form of a ghost and apparently with the intention of making contact with the living, usually its erstwhile relations or friends. On occasions it is thought that the revenant wants to impart some advice or information to the still-living. It is thought by some that revenants may be the spirits of those who were never properly buried.
SPECTRE
A word used to refer to apparitions and ghosts or, in a loose sense, to their supernatural entities.
SPIRIT
A spirit can be defined as a paranormal, possibly supernatural, being or essence which can manifest itself in a multitude of different guises. Mostly they seem to want to communicate a message or give a warning to the living.
SUPERNATURAL
‘Supernatural’ differs from paranormal because of the implication that such phenomena are the result of forces beyond human understanding and control.
WRAITH
A wraith is the appearance of a living person which manifests itself as a portent just before or at the actual person’s death.