Dictionary of Paranormal Terms - V

Venus
Second nearest planet to the Sun, Venus is the third brightest object in the night sky at a mean distance of 108 million km from the Sun. The planet is covered in an extremely thick atmosphere consisting of mainly carbon dioxide, making observations of the planet's surface from Earth based telescopes hopeless. Almost all the information gathered about what lies below the atmosphere has been gained through the use of spacecraft. The pressure on the surface of Venus is almost 100 times that of the earth, and it's temperature varies little from a uniform 462 degrees celsius.

Voita
One of the many regional names given to the Alma, a large ape-like creature thought to live in and around the Caucasus Mountains in Khazakhstan, Asia.

Vortex
In paranormal terms, a 'vortex' is a manifestation of energy, often associated with ghosts and spirits. There are a lot of theories regarding the exact nature of this phenomenon, some believe a vortex to be a gateway to the spirit world, through which spirits can travel, while others class them alongside orbs, as manifestations of spirits. What are also referred to as vortices can sometimes appear as anomalous whirlwind-shaped objects on photographs taken in allegedly haunted locations.

Voynich Manuscript
A mysterious manuscript that in 1912, was purchased by a collector of rare books in Italy, Wilfred Voynich. Voynich was unable to decypher the language in the manuscript, and later took it back to America with him. The 'Voynich Manuscript' as it became known, consists of a total of 234 pages, and contains a large number of drawings, mostly of flowers. The book contained a variety of sections, including cosmology, biology, astronomy and pharmaceuticals. The manuscript changed hands many times, but despite much concerted effort, nobody has yet been able to decipher what the mysterious manuscript actually means.