Ecto-Mist
We’ve covered many ghost-related things on the blog, but we’ve yet to touch on ecto-mist. Not to be confused with ectoplasma, ecto-mist is a unique phenomena but one that we see often represented in movies, television, and art to give those spooky, haunted places a little more pizzazz. But, is there any lore behind these ghostly mists...or are they a simple visual cue?
Ecto-mist differs from ectoplasm in a few different ways. Typically, ectoplasma is associated with seances and the manifestation of a spirit’s power. In fact, there are many examples of ectoplasm pouring out of people in seances and mediums. Ecto-mist does not come out of humans and can just mark the presence of a spirit (and is not always the physical manifestation of a spirit). It is typically seen as a light, swirling gray or white mist that moves or changes form to quickly to be a normal mist.
It is very common for these mists to be witnessed and photographed during paranormal investigations. In this way, ecto-mist seems to me a lot like orbs - a small, strange acknowledgement that something in this setting isn’t quite right. That being said, like orbs, ecto-mists are often met with skepticism especially considering many believe they can be easily faked or manipulated.
Some believe that ecto-mists may be remnants of spirits or be actively able to move and change shape to get people’s attention. Why do they appear as mists? Well, perhaps like orbs they are not powerful enough or able to create more permanent or humanoid physical manifestations of their being.
If you’ve listened to our Black Monk of Pontefract episodes, you’ll know that mists were common indicators of ghostly, specifically poltergeist, activity. While these mists do not appear to be animated or conscious things they do tend to indicate paranormal activity.
There isn’t much research on ecto-mists, but they still seem to appear frequently in paranormal media and a fair amount of paranormal investigations. So, what do you think of this strange phenomena? Is it a simple indicator of potential paranormal presence, a hoax...or something more?
The header image is by Flickr User David Ohmer and does not represent ecto-mist. It is entitled Cincinnati – Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum “Morning Light On Geyser Lake” and licensed under Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0).