The differences (and non-differences) between the words Supernatural, Paranormal, and Preternatural
The difference (or non-differences) between Paranormal and Supernatural:
There is a very fine line with Paranormal and Supernatural. There was once a time when the terms were interchangeable but in more recent years Supernatural has been limited to cover spiritual and even "outside of science" and is almost religious in nature.
This is actually kind of depressing because one of the fathers of modern parapsychology, Dr. Hans Holzer, did not like that the world Supernatural was pretty much being used to mean "Outside of nature." and "Outside of scientific understanding." But this is not true. The etymology is there. "Super" means "Advanced quality of" and "natural" meaning "Of nature." The word doesn't mean "outside of nature" or "Not Nature" just as Superman does not mean "Not a man" it just means an impressive man. Supernatural means "an advanced quality of nature."
However, one cannot argue against linguistic evolution or prevent it. So though the words "Supernatural," "Paranormal," and even "Preternatural" (a favorite word of Anne Rice) were once interchangeable, the modern ghost hunting community, and even the CW TV show "Supernatural" helped create a more distinct divide between the terms.
And so the word paranormal is more accepted today for things like ghostly phenomena or psychic potentiality. It's just the nature of evolving language.
Supernatural - Used to mean the same as Paranormal and many still try to use it interchangibly, which is technically not actually wrong, just not as accepted today. It used to mean "Advanced quality of nature." Today it's now used to describe spiritual beliefs, Gods and Godddesses, faith magick, and yes, still has some overlap with Peranormal phenomena.
Paranormal - Para as a prefix means "Beyond" or yet again "Advanced" So again we have "Advanced quality of what is perceived as normal (natural)." But thanks to terms like Parapsychology, parapsychological, paracryptozoology, and paracryptid; the word parapsychology now viewed as the more "Scientific" term . And it's the effort to apply science (or pseudoscience) to the mysterious. This includes the potential for psychic powers, ghosts, and other paranormal entities and so paranormal became the favored "Correct" word. Ironically Paranormal's etymology makes more sense for "outside of nature (normal)" than Supernatural though that's how Supernatural is currently being used. But aren't all things ultimately natural, anyway if they exist without human synthetic interference?
Preternatural - Though often treated the same as paranormal, today it is mostly used to describe an enhanced quality of something already considered natural. Something being magnified to an improbable excess. For example, the heightened senses like sight, hearing, and smell in a paracryptid like a werewolf comes to mind. Anne Rice often used preternatural to describe the attributes of her fictional vampires.
So though these terms originally had roughly the same meaning, the language has evolved. You can try to use them interchangeably now but there is a modern distinction and difference that some people may be very conformist toward heeding and give strong pushback against the reversion efforts.
Supernatural - Spiritual and belief based. This includes entities of faith or adversaries of entities of faith, including demons.
Paranormal - The more common term today, often used in place of supernatural. This term is heavily used for things like ghostly encounters and prospect of psychic powers. Paranormal is a favorite term in pseudosciences / Esoteric science because it is believed to be a more serious term for efforts in scientific analysis of claims of the extraordinary. This one can be used as a blanket term and also entail the elements still considered supernatural. It can also be used in place of preternatural in casual conversation.
Preternatural - Hyper or enhanced things that are usually considered mundane, like heightened senses or the ability to jump extraordinarily high or run improbably fast. The exaggerated abilities of some superheroes or werewolves or vampires may fit here. Though the actual condition of werewolfism could fit in Cryptozoology / Paracryptozoology or Parapsychology.
TL;DR: Language is shifting. These terms did used to mean the same thing but now people are trying to box in distinct differences.
