How the Compendium Handles Strange Claims
The Anomalous Mysteries Compendium is designed as a public archive, not a belief system. Records are preserved, classified, sourced, challenged, corrected, and revisited as better information appears.
Record the claim. Do not inflate the claim.
The archive may include folklore, witness reports, historical mysteries, disputed claims, and unresolved events. Inclusion means the record is worth preserving or reviewing. It does not mean the claim is verified.
Preferred wording
Use
reported, claimed, attributed, documented in, traditionally associated with, disputed, retained for reference, source needed.
Avoid
proven, confirmed monster, real ghost, guaranteed coverup, undeniable, impossible, science cannot explain.
Record lifecycle
- Lead captured: report, source, submission, or imported reference is preserved privately or in the Ledger.
- Initial classification: domain, subcategory, tags, location, date, and source type are assigned.
- Evidence check: primary sources, secondary sources, contradictions, and possible mundane explanations are noted.
- Public placement: reviewed cases appear in Case Files; weaker loose reports remain in the Unclassified Ledger.
- Revision: records may be corrected, merged, reclassified, downgraded, upgraded, or retained as debunked reference.
What every strong case record should include
Summary
A plain-language overview that does not overstate the mystery.
Known Details
Date, place, witnesses, objects, events, and what is actually described.
Evidence Tier
Source strength from primary records to folklore/internet claims.
Research Status
Reviewed, needs sources, folklore record, disputed, debunked, or open question.
Conventional Explanations
Natural, historical, medical, technical, hoax, misidentification, or cultural explanations.
Open Questions
What source would improve the record? What remains unresolved?
Main domains stay broad; tags carry the detail
The public Visual Index uses sixteen main domains so the site remains understandable. Specific phenomena live as subcategories and tags underneath those domains.
Example
Thought forms, tulpas, egregores, remote viewing, and precognition live under Consciousness & Psychic Phenomena.
Example
Ghost ships, aviation mysteries, local legends, and single-source claims may live under Other & Unclassified until they warrant a better placement.
Example
Falls of fish, blood rain, mystery ice, and strange fog live under Strange Weather & Sky Falls.