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Greece, where female sorcerers would howl their chants, believing that strong vibrations enhanced the power of their words. Medieval sorcerers and magicians also sang their chants in very forceful voices, and the practice was continued into the twentieth century by men like Aleister Crowley, who believed that the sound of chanting could profoundly affect both humankind and the universe. Native Americans also observe chanting in preparation for activities and ceremonies such as healing, hunting, fighting, rites of initiation and funerals.

      In magic, the belief that the success of a spell can depend on the sound vibrations created by chanting dates back thousands of years. It is thought that rhythmic chanting sends out waves of energy that help the magician or witch summon their inner power. Modern pagans and witches still combine chanting and circle dancing to raise a group psychic energy field called a cone of power. When the energy peaks, the group releases it towards their goal, such as a spell or healing.

      CHAOS THEORY

      A principle from quantam physics that suggests that chaos or lack of order does in fact obey particular laws or rules and only appears to be random. The theory was first brought to public attention with the butterfly effect discovered by Edward Lorenz in 1961 (a theory whereby the flapping of a butterfly’s wings might, through a series of events involving climate and location, cause a storm on the other side of the globe). The idea contradicts the traditional Newtonian principles of physics, which states that unseen effects can be predicted through precise measurements, as according to chaos theory even tiny errors can result in enormous unpredictability, far out of proportion to what would be expected mathematically. In a nutshell, what chaos theory means is that anything is capable of affecting anything else - a principle belief of New Age and holistic thinking.

      CHARISMATIC

      Coming from the Greek charisma meaning a gift of grace, charismatic is a term often used to describe someone with psychic and/or spiritual gifts, which can include channelling, healing and the ability to perform miracles.

      CHARLTON HOUSE

      Now a municipal building but formerly a stately home, Charlton House in Greenwich, London, has been the focus of many paranormal investigations by ghost researchers.

      Charlton House was built in the early seventeenth century and sold in 1680 to William Langhorne, a wealthy East India merchant, who, desperate for an heir to his wealth, married for the second time, at 85, to a woman of 17. He died two months later, in 1715, before his new wife conceived. His restless ghost is said to haunt the house to this day, still looking for a woman who will bear him a child. There have also been sightings of a servant girl from the Jacobean period carrying a dead baby in her arms, and of phantom rabbits.

      During World War I the house was turned into a hospital, and in World War II it suffered much damage from bombing raids. Workers found the body of a child walled up in one of the house’s chimneys. Today Charlton House is a public library, and employees and visitors have reported hauntings, especially in two rooms on the third floor: the Grand Salon and the Long Gallery, where a rabbit hutch used to be kept.

      The house has been investigated by the Society for Psychical Research, the Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena and the Ghost Club. Some unusual phenomena have been recorded, including cold spots, unexplained sounds of explosions, objects moving and mysterious voices. In late 1995 an apport is thought to have manifested during a taping for a BBC show on the paranormal. Prior to the vigil, when the lights were turned off, the room was searched. Around 11 pm an explosion was heard in the room. The lights were turned on, and in the centre of the floor was a blue and white teacup, broken neatly and arranged into a circle of seven pieces, as though laid out by someone rather than having fallen to the floor. No one could identify the cup as belonging to Charlton House. The BBC team investigated, and no evidence of a hoax was found.

      Vigils continue to be held to this day, with some investigators saying they make contact with spirits. One of the most dramatic contacts took place on 30 July 1999, with members of the Ghost Club. A loud noise was heard and a test object placed in the room by the investigators, a carved wooden mushroom, flew about ten feet into the air. Again, no evidence of a hoax was found.

      CHARMS

      The word charm comes from a Latin word for a song or chant, but today it is associated with magic and can mean much the same thing as a spell. It is sometimes said that someone leads a charmed life, meaning a lucky or happy one. Many people also wear what they call good luck charms -talismans and amulets. Most people think particular objects are lucky, such as a four-leafed clover, a rabbit’s foot or horseshoe. Whether or not these can bring luck is controversial, but one thing is sure: if the belief is there, the chances for good luck are increased, for the power of the mind actually does the work.

      In folklore the world over there are also various charms against ghosts and spirits. Crossing oneself is a simple charm to ward off evil. Various gems, stones and metals like iron are thought to possess special powers to protect against ghosts. Salt scattered across the threshold or carried in a pocket and silver amulets, jewellery and crucifixes are also considered to be protective charms.

      When a person dies various rituals are thought to act as charms against ghosts. For example, some say that all doors and windows should be left open so that the soul doesn’t feel trapped. The corpse should be carried out of the house feet first, otherwise the dead person may return; and during the funeral, furniture in the house should be rearranged so that if the ghost tries to come back it will not recognize anything. Finally, it is regarded as unwise to speak ill of the dead, in case they return to haunt the living.

      CHASE VAULT

      On the island of Barbados there is a burial vault in Christ Church cemetery known simply as the Chase Vault. In 1807 a Mrs Goddard was buried there, followed in 1812 by Dorcas Chase, a possible suicide. When the vault was opened a month or so later to bury Dorcas’s father, Thomas Chase, all the coffins had been moved from their original places. At first it was thought that the only explanation was grave robbers, but curiously, the seal of the tomb had not been tampered with.

      In 1816 there were two more burials, and in both cases, when the vault was opened, the coffins already there had been moved into different places. Most peculiar of all was the fact that the casket of Thomas Chase, made of lead, weighing 240 pounds, and virtually impossible to move by a single individual, had also been relocated. Each time the coffins were put back in their proper places and the vault sealed with cement, but again in 1819 the vault was opened and the coffins had been rearranged.

      This time the governor sprinkled sand on the floor to see if any footprints would be left and pressed his personal seal into the fresh cement. In 1820 when the vault was opened again, the coffins had been rearranged; some were even flipped upside down, even though the concrete seal was undisturbed and no footprints showed. The governor eventually ordered the coffins to be removed and buried elsewhere and for the vault to be left open. On investigation no water was discovered in the vault that could have shifted the coffins, and the possibility of earthquake movement was also ruled out. The mystery of the Chase Vault has never been solved.

      CHELTENHAM HAUNTING

      See Morton case.

      CHI

      See Universal life force.

      CHIANG-SHIH

      In Chinese folklore Chiang-shih, or ‘hopping ghost’, is a combination of spirit monster and unburied corpse, which vaguely resembles

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