clairvoyance — the ability to sense information outside of the normal senses
control — the entity or spirit that communicates through a medium’s body, or the invisible entity used by mediums to channel spirits (sometimes called a spirit-control or guide)
ectoplasm — a supernatural material said to exude from mediums during séances
ESP — extrasensory perception (aka a “sixth sense”), an umbrella term that includes abilities such as telepathy and clairvoyance
mediumship — the ability to mediate communication between spirits and the living; mediums claim to be able to channel spirits
paranormal — beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding
parapsychology — the study of psychic phenomena, including the categories of ESP, mind-matter interaction, and survival after death
precognition — the psychic phenomena of seeing or otherwise being of aware of future events
poltergeist — from the German word for “noisy ghost,” an entity that causes unexplainable sounds and activities, such as moving furniture
psi — in parapsychology, refers to the unknown common factor behind ESP
psychokinesis — the ability to move objects with only one’s mind
retrocognition — the psychic phenomena of knowing information about the past that could not be learned or inferred through explainable means
séance — a meeting where a group of people try to communicate with the dead, often led by a medium
Spiritualism — a social and religious movement of the 19th and 20th centuries, which revolves around the central belief that human consciousness persists after death
telepathy — the ability to communicate thoughts without the use of the normal senses (aka mind-reading or thought transference)
Definitions are synthesized from various dictionaries such as Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster along with the definitions provided in the Garrett Collection’s archival materials.