The Top Ten: Paranormal Topics*

10.  Montauk Project -  Alleged mind control and time traveel experiments conducted on Long Island at or near Camp Hero, which is located at the end of Highway 27 in Montauk.  It is now a state park with some areas the old base off-limits.  This is most likely due to dangers and not time travel, though.  The base is listed by the Army as a storage site for chemical weapons, and there are old tunnels filled with water that are downright dangerous, especially to children.  

9.   Bermuda Triangle - Triangular area, Atlantic Ocean, whose apexes are usually said to be Bermuda, Miami, Fla., and San Juan, Puerto Rico. It has been the site of numerous disappearances of planes and ships, and various abandoned ships have been discovered there. Reports of unexplained occurrences in the region date to the mid-19th cent. Non-supernatural explanations cite the area's violent freak storms, the local turbulence of the Gulf Stream, and the quickly shifting topology of the area's seabed. It is also one of the rare regions where magnetic north coincides with true north, which could disorient inexperienced pilots.

8.   Astral Projection -  A skill or technique in which personal consciousness is shifted to an alternate plane where thought becoming action.  Ideas such as OBEs and Psychic Doubles fall into this category.  

7.    Faith Healings - Curing of an illness or disability by recourse to divine power, without the use of traditional medicine. A healer such as a clergy member or an inspired layperson may act as intermediary. Certain places, such as the grotto at Lourdes, France, are believed to effect cures among believers. In ancient Greece, temples honoring the god of medicine, Asclepius, were built near springs with healing waters. In Christianity, support for faith healing is based on the miraculous cures wrought by Jesus during his ministry. Christian Science is noted for faith healing, and it is also practiced in a more dramatic way in Pentecostalism through such customs as the laying on of hands.

6.    Crop Circles - unexplained designs that are imprinted over the span of usually one night in fields of mostly wheat & corn, but also occur in barley, oats, rape (canola), grass, trees, and even snow.  There are many theories to how crop circles are formed, from hoaxes to alien messages.

5.    ESP - Perception that involves awareness of information about something (such as a person or event) not gained through the senses and not deducible from previous experience.  Classic forms of ESP include telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.  No conclusive demonstrations of the existence of ESP in any individual have been given, but popular belief in the phenomenon remains widespread, and people who claim to possess ESP are sometimes employed by investigative teams searching for missing persons or things. 

4.    Spontaneous Human Combustion - Refers to people who have been found burned to death but nearby objects or clothing have not been touched by flame. The burning is usually quite severe. Most commonly single limbs have been reduced to ash, with whole body cases being rare.  The burning tends to happen quickly and seemingly without an ignition source.  Theories vary as to the causes and extent of cases.  

3.    The Occult - Theories, practices, and rituals based on esoteric knowledge of the world of spirits and unknown forces. The wide range of occult beliefs and practices includes astrology, alchemy, divination, magic, and witchcraft and sorcery. Devotees of occultism seek to explore spiritual mysteries through what they regard as higher powers of the mind. The Western tradition of occultism has its roots in Hellenistic magic and alchemy (especially the Hermetic writings ascribed to Thoth) and in the Jewish mysticism associated with the Kabbala.

2.    Prophecies and Predictions - foresight of events that are proved and come to pass, but are beyond the realm of traditional knowledge and logical guesses.  Ideally these predictions are clear, unambiguous, are divined before the event occurs, and the events are not staged to match the prediction. 

1.    Ghosts & Hauntings -  Soul or specter of a deceased person.  Belief in ghosts has been common since ancient times and is reflected in folklore around the world. It is based on the notion that the spirit is separable from the body and can continue its existence after the death of the body. Ghosts are believed to inhabit the netherworld and to be capable of returning to the world of the living, appearing as living beings or in a nebulous likeness of the deceased. They are thought to be especially likely to haunt places or people connected with some strong emotion of their past life, such as fear, remorse, or the terror of a violent death. The traditional visual manifestations of haunting include ghostly apparitions, the movement of objects, or the appearance of strange lights; auditory signs include disembodied laughter and screams, knocking, or footsteps. 

Nikki aka WitchLight - January 29th, 2003

*List is based on Reader Survey conducted from September 2002 until January 2002.