Paranormal is an umbrella term for phenomena, events, or experiences that appear to fall outside the current explanatory reach of mainstream science — including apparitions and hauntings, unidentified aerial phenomena, cryptids, and a wide range of anomalous or unexplained occurrences reported by witnesses. The term does not assert that such phenomena are supernatural, only that they have not (yet) been satisfactorily accounted for by conventional means.
This page serves as the general entry point into paranormal subject matter on The Vault. For specific reports, cases, and regional archives, see the linked categories below.
Etymology and usage
The word paranormal combines the Greek prefix para- ("beside" or "beyond") with normal, and came into common usage in English during the early-to-mid 20th century alongside the growth of organised psychical research. It is distinct from, though often used alongside, related terms such as supernatural (implying a cause beyond the laws of nature) and occult (historically tied to hidden or esoteric knowledge). On The Vault, paranormal is used as the broadest working category, with more precise terms applied at the level of individual cases and articles.
Scope
The paranormal, as catalogued on The Vault, spans several overlapping fields of reported phenomena:
Ghosts and hauntings
Reports of apparitions, residual hauntings, poltergeist activity, and other phenomena associated with the presence of the dead or of a location's history. This is the most widely reported category of paranormal experience and forms the backbone of most investigative case files.
UFOs and UAP
Sightings and encounters involving unidentified flying objects or, in more recent terminology, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP). Reports range from lights in the night sky to close-encounter and abduction narratives.
Cryptids
Reports of animals or creatures whose existence is not recognised by mainstream zoology — including big cat sightings, water monsters, and humanoid or ape-like entities reported in rural and wooded areas.
Other anomalous phenomena
A broader catch-all covering unexplained lights and sounds, time-slip experiences, psychic and precognitive claims, curses, and folkloric phenomena that don't sit neatly within the categories above.
Belief and scepticism
Reports gathered on The Vault are recorded as witness testimony and investigative record, not as verified fact. Entries may include natural, psychological, or hoax explanations alongside the original report where these are known or credibly proposed. The Vault does not take an editorial position on whether paranormal phenomena are "real" — its purpose is to document encounters, enigmas, rumours, ideas and experiences (E.E.R.I.E.) as reported, and to preserve them for ongoing study and comparison.
The Vault and the EERIE Files
The Vault is the archive and knowledge base of The EERIE Files, a community project for collecting paranormal encounters. Investigative casework feeding into the archive is contributed in part by the Society of Paranormal Studies (SPS), a Kent-based paranormal investigation team.