Lurker- A spirit that wanders the earth in a passive fashion. Most earthbound souls are Lurkers, content to wander the world and observe things as they occur. Lurkers do not break any spiritual laws, as they have the right to be on Earth due to their choice upon death. Although the Estate does not specifically take it upon themselves to see to their needs (as this is more of an issue for COGITO than its subsidiaries), they still maintain a friendly attitude and will not take kindly to the mistreatment of Lurkers by anyone, be they living or dead.

Lost- A spirit that has had its psyche crushed by the weight of its choice. As such, the Lost are incapable of making a decision in the Elevator, and are forced to wander the land until such a day as they can understand the reality of their death. Lost are sad beings, maddened and completely drawn into their own fantasies and memories. Although they are usually harmless, on occasion a Lost will become confused and lash out at the world. These sort of instances make up most of what the living world perceives to be hauntings- unintentional acts of ghostly malevolence, born of pain and confusion. The Estate takes special care when dealing with the Lost, making sure not to upset them or to unduly rush their own internal healing processes. However, should a Lost become overly dangerous, they will not hesitate to quell it.

Breaker- A breaker an earthbound soul much like a lurker, but the similarity ends there. Breakers are not content merely to watch the world; instead, they find the liberation of death to be so enticing that they conveniently forget that they can still suffer the consequences. Breakers are not always malicious, but they are always concerned with fulfilling their own desires in light of what harm that could bring to the world. Breakers manifest in a lot of ways, many of which the world doesn’t ever truly understand. They make use of the expected avenues- severe hauntings, possessions, and the like, but their limits are unknown. In many cases, an unsolvable crime, a mysterious serial killer gone uncaught, or a person’s life being thrown into ruin because of inexplicable reasons can be traced back to a particularly vile Breaker. Not all Breakers are evil, of course, but one cannot expect to reason with them in regards to maintaining the balance of creation.

Gopher- A gopher is the spirit of a deceased human who did not choose to remain on Earth, instead opting for Heaven or Hell. However, due to any number of circumstances, they have been sent back to Earth to accomplish a task. It could be something as simple as bearing a message, or as complex as patrolling the world for the activities of their adversaries. Regardless of their intentions, though, members of the Estate have good reason to mistrust the gophers- the eyes and ears of those who could very easily become rankled at the notion that a group of mere humans would dare to maintain authority over them in any sphere. Gophers are not seen as unyielding enemies as the breakers are, but they are never trusted entirely, and dealing with them often requires a good deal of diplomacy, lying, and evasiveness.

Getting Dinged- Simply put, being killed. This term refers to the sound an elevator makes as it opens, which is an allusion to the experience of awakening at the Elevator Between the Worlds at the moment of one’s death.

Play (him) some taps- To aggressively attack a ghost with the intent of causing it spiritual harm. Refers to the use of Taps, a special type of bullet created by COGITO that can interact with ectoplasmic material in the same fashion it can interact with physical material.

Bounce- To exorcise a spirit from an area, which may or may not include removing them from Earth entirely.

Polly Bounce- To exorcise a spirit in such a fashion that they are permanently removed from a specific location.

Endy- A pronunciation of the acronym NDE (near death experience). If someone is said to be getting endy, it means they have had a near death experience, or have experienced a flashback to their own near death experience. This term can be used as a verb (getting endy), an adjective (sorry guys, I’ve been kinda endy today), or a noun (oh yeah, its okay to talk around Mary, she’s an endy, too).

Acid Endy- A term for someone who has claimed to have a near death experience, but in reality has merely had a hallucination triggered by the brain’s release of specific chemicals as it runs low on oxygen. As with the term endy, this can be used as a noun, adjective, or a verb. Typically, if a person makes claims about hearing a loved one’s voice, seeing a bright light, or anything that does not specifically involve an Elevator or some sort of scary chick working an Elevator, it’s pretty safe to assume they’re just being acid endy.

Downstairs- To say someone is downstairs is to say that they are unaware of the reality of life and death; they are uninitiated, innocent, not an “endy”.

Miff- A pronunciation of the acronym MFF, which stands for “my floating friend”. This is a general term expressing a good natured closeness to a human spirit, but is also used by members of the North American branches to refer to their sanctioned COGITO guardians.

Rule 1- The biggest and most important of spiritual laws, and the law primarily enforced by the Estate. This law is “And thou shall not leave but a footprint, a touch, upon the womb of Adam, or you shall surely be damned”. This law, while strictly enforced by the Will, is often bent by those with the proper know-how. To sum it up succinctly, no ghost can directly interfere with the matters of the material world without drawing the punishment of the Will. While ordinarily it would be enough to let the Will alone punish those that would violate its dictations, this law in particular must be enforced because the negative repercussions of allowing Dark Will to accumulate on Earth in any form.