The term paranormal is a compound of the words para (beyond or outside) and normal. By definition it implies that anything described by this word does not come within what is known, as the normal understanding humans possess. However, this is a very simplistic definition. Similar to words such as metaphysical and supernatural, the term paranormal is not open to a clear and precise definition because there is no universal consensus on what the phenomenon is or what it implies. Unlike something like gravity, that has a precise definition and associated qualities that make it less confusing, paranormal does not offer such a simple viewpoint.
Just to get a wide range of topics that various belief believe come under the broad scope of paranormal consider the following: ghosts, Loch Ness Monster, UFOs, Bermuda Triangle, and so on. You will observe that the list include spirits of people who are no longer alive, a physical location on the planet, an animal that is reported by never witnessed when looked for, and aliens. Due to the religious beliefs of human beings, they are more taken with the paranormal in the ghost bit rather than the UFO part because this represents an opportunity to somehow get in touch with a world that is out of reach while being right beside us.
We all have to die in the physical sense. That is, our body will someday stop working and cease all functions. Some people are of the opinion that the whole business of spirits is just a way to pacify the fears of death being the ultimate end to all existence. Without going in an argument against that, it must be noted that those who do sincerely believe that there is more to our life than just the physical span associated with a living body, such people find deep peace through their beliefs. Another controversial aspect to this viewpoint is that the beliefs are more important to those people who apparently suffer more than others for no reason.
While there has been much exposure through television and other mediums regarding spirits and their deeds, which are often witnessed as physical movement without cause, like a door opening by itself or vessels falling off tables, to floating lights, and foggy or blurred images of what looks like a human form. Whether one believes in such things to be spirits or not comes down to faith, just like belief in god. The scientific community of course completely dismisses this all as fantasy and make-believe because nothing has ever been witnessed in a scientific manner and the whole situation is suspicious because it seems these spirits are deliberately avoiding being studied in a scientific manner.
This further confuses the issue because if the paranormal is consistently witnessed in something like, say a haunted house, then where does it all go when there are people with cameras and recording equipment sitting in the house on the night of expected activity? Since the paranormal is, by definition, beyond normal, then how does anyone truly understand what it means and how it affects us?