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Vortex is one of those words that sort of makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Of course this will only happen if a person understands what a vortex really is.

If you ask Google to define vortex here is what you get:
The shape of something rotating rapidly
A fluid rotating around it's own center
A passage between an environmental extreme on the Prime Material and the corresponding Elemental Plane
A whirling mass of air in the form of a column or spiral
Any circular or rotary flow in the atmosphere that possesses voracity
Whirling motion or mass
A swirling flow structure within a region of fluid flow
A term used to describe a flash of light, often colored, that can resemble lightening, but is usually bent at odd angles
A narrow tube of spiraling air
etc.

These definitions are taken from websites. But to some a vortex means more, something unearthly. It is a sort of spiritual force that often accompanies paranormal activity in an area that can be a home or any other structure. There are many photographs on the web of people in rooms with columns of swirling light. Of course, these photographs could just as easily represent imperfections or lighter areas of the photo but in this type of case it is claimed that the light is something spiritual. Spiritual not meaning religious but meaning some sort of apparition. There is a second meaning for vortex and this sometimes is used by ufo enthusiasts. It is a point in space that has some sort of altered properties. It is claimed by some that several of these points also exist on Earth and these are places where ufos gather and even extraterrestrial aliens. It is sometimes said that at this points there is some sort of energy field. I have to admit that I don't give too much credence to this because it would have to be proved to me first, but there are those that firmly believe this. One of their favorite spots is the great pyramid in Egypt. This object has been credited with all sorts of power and some say that the structure is some sort of amplifier, but again, I have never seen any concrete proof of anything.

There are more traditional vortexes. These are tornados and water spouts. Anyone knows that you don't want to be caught in either one. Tornados themselves can sometimes be very strange. I remember on that touched down on a Carvel Ice Cream stand, took off the roof and then disappeared into the air again without causing anymore damage in the town. I guess we would have to call the owner of the stand Mr. Lucky or maybe Mr. Unlucky. There are some tame vortexes in your home as I am sure you already know. Just flush most toilets or let the water out of a tub or sink and you can seen the tiny vortex in the center above the drain. I must say that I have never heard of anyone getting hurt by this type of Vortex, but who knows, it wouldn't surprise me if there was a story somewhere on the internet about an injury caused by this.

There are several projects that anyone can access on the web for creating a vortex. One is at http://members.aol.com/overunity/html/emvtxgen.htm. I don't know what the purpose of creating an electromagnetic vortex would be, or even if the device would work. I only refer to it because we are talking about vortexes. I have also heard the term vortex associated with time travel. As a matter of fact there was an old tv show called Time Tunnel where the actors supposedly went back in time by going into a tunnel with a vortex. While this is Science Fiction, there are some who believe that time travel is taking place and this is done by creating some sort of vortex and then entering it. Another example of this, while not purporting to be time travel but dimensional travel, is Sliders. Anyone who has seen this show must have seen the vortex. Could this ever be possible some day? I rule nothing out. Some of the things we have today would have seemed impossible just 50 years ago.

The House of Mystery is a famous place in Oregon. Supposedly a vortex exists over a circular area. The American Indians didn't like to go into that area and called it the forbidden ground. There are optical illusions galore in the area. For example, two seven foot poles are sticking out of the ground, yet one looks several inches shorter than the other. When measured they are both shown to be the same height. When two people stand in front of the poles and walk toward each other one seems to shrink and the other seems to grown as they pass. Supposedly the vortex is bending the light like a lens and this is stated as the cause of this illusion according to John Lister a Scottish scientist that performed over 14,000 experiments in the area many years ago.

Some mountains are said to have a strange vortex. One example of this is Mt. Whitney in California. The vortex is said to exist at it's peak. Since I have never been to the top I will just have to take the word of the climbers who say it is there. Supposedly these types of vortexes may be responsible for some plane crashes also. I guess that a vortex could cause sort of pressure drop under a plane causing it to drop but I am not sure of this.

So now we see that there are many different types of vortexes. The natural, the supposed supernatural and the just plain weird. There are plenty examples of each available. So if this subject really interests you just get online and have fun.