The term paranormal is used to describe those phenomena that occur outside of what is deemed to be a normal experience or scientific explanation.  When discussing all things paranormal, the subject matter usually revolves around ghosts, unidentified flying objects, extraterrestrials and cryptids; which are creatures that people have claimed to have see,, but go against scientific studies, and whose existence has never been proven. Researching the paranormal has proven to be quite difficult, because of the overwhelming lack of evidence to support the numerous claims of paranormal activity. Investigation done into the paranormal, is conducted by parapsychologists. This area of science however, is not looked upon with much respect by the National Academies of Science, or the National Science Foundation, and since there have been no experiments that have yielded any significant results, it is looked upon as a pseudoscience. 
     When a person is said to be “in the paranormal state”, this implies that are able to see, hear and feel things that aren’t there, or that are not visible to the “normal” human eye. These people, who are able to access the paranormal state, are supposedly seeing ghosts. A ghost is said to be the spirit of a dead person that is “stuck” between this plane of existence and the next, possibly because of some tragedy or disaster that has befallen them. A ghost hunter believes that often a ghost does not know that they are one, and must have some kind of awakening or resolution in this world to be able to be released into the next. Ghosts are able to only be visible to certain people, and it is these people that are able to help them find out what they need to be free to move on to the next existence. A ghost needs to know that they are dead, before finding the rest they are searching for.
     Paranormal activity is said to happen when spirits from the “other side” cause things to happen that cannot be scientifically explained. Often this is communicated by some as an “energy” being felt, or a “presence.” Some have said that they felt an extreme cold come over them during paranormal activity, and have seen objects move or be displaced by an unseen force. When studies are being conducted to detect paranormal activity, there is certain equipment involved. These include but are not limited to, digital voice recorders, motion detectors and environmental measurement devices. An EMF detector, which stands for electromagnetic field, are used as they are used to detect electrically charged objects, and supposedly, ghosts and spirits are said to manipulate electromagnetic fields to be able to interact with their surrounding environment. Night vision equipment is used to try and capture paranormal objects through the use of infrared or ultraviolet light.
     Since paranormal activity has been so difficult to gain evidence of, it is most likely to remain a mystery for a long time. It is unable to be reproduced in a controlled setting, and therefore renders no answers to the question, does paranormal activity exist.