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The name given to the search for the ark upon which the biblical Noah reportedly rode out the universal flood. Many conservative Christians believe the story of Noah and the Flood in the Book of Genesis (Chapters 6-8) to be a literal report of historical events. In the story, Noah and his family and a…

Renaissance term for a primordial life force. Archeus (pronounced “ARK-ee-us”) was first coined by 16th-century German philosopher Paracelsus. He used it to refer to his own concept of a life force that gave life to all other organisms and individuals. Like Paracelsus’s concept of medicine, which he saw as a fight against the invading organism…

Objects materialized out of thin air, usually by a spiritualist medium. Apports became an important part of the spiritualism craze that swept much of the Western world in the late 19th century. The conflict between science and still strongly held mystical and religious beliefs led to an unprecedented interest in the mystical in all strata…

A supernatural manifestation of a dead person or animal or even of a live person or animal living too far away to be within normal range of the observer. Contrary to common belief, most apparitions are of the living (not the dead) and few are visual. Most involve the sensing of a presence, sometimes using…

A theory proposed in i928 by the Cambridge University physicist Paul Dirac that predicted a partner for the electron that would have a positive charge to counter the electrons negative charge. Dirac was the first to speculate about the existence and behavior of subatomic particles consistent with both the special theory of relativity and with…

Devices that their inventors claim will overcome gravity in some unspecified way outside our normal understanding of machine design. Rockets, gliders, balloons, and heavier-than-air planes are ways by which we overcome gravity to fly or, in the case of space rockets, escape from the Earth’s gravitational held (or, in general relativity theory terms, escape from…

An old belief that animals have some form of psychic understanding with human beings and that they use some method, other than normal animal to human communication, that involves perhaps a sixth sense. Stories have been told to suggest that this rapport exists not only between domesticated pets and their owners but also between humans…

One of several types of mysterious “falls,” anomalous items that fall from the sky, often associated with UFOs. Angel hair has been described variously as glass-like filaments that dissolve when touched; spiderweb-like fluffy masses that fall on bushes, streets, and trees; cottony, radioactive fibers; silken threads as long as 50 feet; metallic, tinsel-like strands; and…

Title of book and movie about an alleged haunting in the 1970s. On November 13, 1974, a young man named Ronald DeFeo ran from his house in Amityville, New York, screaming that someone had murdered his family. DeFeo himself was later convicted of shooting his parents, two brothers, and two sisters. The next owners of…

An umbrella term used to describe an extraordinary physical or mental state, not usually experienced in daily life. Such states comprise hypnagogic hallucinations (as in daydreaming), fantasizing, hallucinations, hypnosis, trances, deathbed visions, spirit possession, and out-of-body experience. Such states occur among all peoples, and are usually brought about by changes in body chemistry, which can…