Ouija Board
We’ve all heard of spooky stories involving a Ouija board. People report mysterious unseen forces moving the planchette and spelling out various sentences from sweet greetings to demonic threats. Use of the boards has been associated with other poltergeist activity such as objects being thrown around and doors being slammed. Are these mysterious contraptions a portal to another realm or simply a children’s toy?
The history of the Ouija board or talking board goes back to China from around 1100AD. A board very similar to modern Ouija boards was used as a means of automatic writing. The spirits would be called upon by the practitioner to move the planchette in order to communicate a message. The practitioner would allow the spirit to move through them and get an observer to write down the message. They believed the messages to guidance from ancestors for all different aspects of their lives.
Later in the 1800’s the talking board became popular with the rise of Spiritualism. As people in the western world began to break free from the bonds of enforced Christianity they explored new ways of communicating with loved ones who had passed on. Mediumship and clairvoyants became popular but the talking board provided a way for people to attempt to communicate with the spirit realm without the help of a professional. The use of the boards became even more prevalent after World War I and the Spanish Flu epidemic. So many young lives were lost leaving behind devastated friends and family who desperately wanted to say their final goodbyes.
The talking board became mainstream with the introduction of the Ouija board by William Fuld. The patent was eventually taken over by Hasbro who continued to sell the product as a toy for children. Many different versions were released including a bright pink one targeted at young girls.
Mainstream Christianity denounces use of the Ouija board saying that is can lead to demonic possession and unwanted demonic activity. They believe that interacting with these boards is sinful and an act of worship of evil entities. This attitude became particularly prevalent during the Satanic Panic of the 1980’s. Members of other religions and occultists are divided on the use of Ouija boards. Some believe the boards to be useful tools for communicating with deceased loved ones while others believe that the boards are too easily taken over by malicious entities who may attack inexperienced users.
Skeptics believe that the Ouija board phenomena can be explained by the ideomotor effect. This means they believe users subconsciously move the planchette without being aware of it and are able to scare themselves with what the board spells out. Experiments have shown that if users are blindfolded the board will no longer be able to spell out anything coherent. Believers suggest this could be because the spirits need to use the abilities of the users to be able to move the board. Maybe the spirits are not able to move the board on their own but they are able to manipulate the users into relaying their message. Regardless Ouija boards are a very intriguing tool.