Apparition
A reported visual presence, often interpreted as a ghost, memory-image or misperceived figure.
Glossary
Terms for Strange Research
A working vocabulary for reading reports without flattening mystery into either belief or dismissal.
Crisis apparition
A report in which a person seems to appear around the time of danger, death or severe distress elsewhere.
Debunking
Testing a claim against ordinary explanations, evidence quality and source reliability.
Folklore
Shared tradition, story and belief that changes as communities repeat it.
Hoax
A deliberate deception, often revealing as much about audience desire as about the maker.
Misidentification
An ordinary thing understood as extraordinary because of distance, darkness, expectation or incomplete context.
Parapsychology
Research into claimed psychic or anomalous mental phenomena, often disputed and methodologically difficult.
Primary source
A document, recording, witness account or object close to the event being studied.
Sleep paralysis
A waking-edge state where immobility, presence sensations and vivid fear can be interpreted as supernatural.
Time slip
A report in which a person feels they briefly encountered another historical period or place-state.