MENTION THE USE of a Ouija board to a paranormal research group these
days and you’ll get a lot of head shaking and statements about “opening
portals” and “demonic entities”. Mention it to religious
fundamentalists and you’ll practically see them shudder and back away on
shaky legs, as if the board was created by Satan himself as a means of
enslaving human souls.
How did the Ouija board and similar “
talking boards” get this reputation?
Is it deserved? How is it different than other methods of spirit communication?
EVIL? SAYS WHO?
The
talking board has been around for well over 100 years. Its most popular
incarnation today is the Ouija board, marketed by Hasbro. There have
been many editions over the years and several imitators, but the concept
is always the same: a board on which are printed letters and numbers; a
planchette or pointer that spells out answers to questions when the
users place their fingertips on it.
Marketed as a toy,
the Ouija has been a best-seller for decades. When I was a kid, it was
seen as a harmless, if mysterious and somewhat spooky diversion. It was
especially used around the Halloween season when thoughts turn to ghosts
and the unknown. We never took it very seriously, however. If it did
spell out answers, each user suspected the other of making the pointer
do it... or maybe – just maybe – it was moved by g-g-g-ghosts! But we
never had the notion that it was controlled by demons.
This seems to be a relatively new idea.
Where did this literal demonization of the
Ouija board come from? I can’t say with 100 percent certainty, but I
think this idea came from (or at least was popularized by)
The Exorcist, both the book and the movie.
In this work of fiction,
pre-teen Regan tells her mother she’s been using the Ouija board by
herself, conversing with someone named Captain Howdy. Shortly
thereafter, she becomes possessed by the Devil.
Subsequent movies such as
Witchboard,
The Craft,
and others further promoted the idea that the Ouija was a conduit to
dark forces. Previous to these Hollywood productions, the Ouija was not
generally regarded in this way. But the idea was also latched onto by
many Christian fundamentalists, who tend to consider just about anything
they don’t agree with as the work of Satan.
Then many paranormal
researchers also came around to this way of thinking, but I've never
come across any convincing evidence that would lead to this position.
Yes, we’ve all heard the horror stories from people who claim to have
serious negative experiences with the board. (In fact, you can read some
of them in this site’s
Tales of the Ouija section. Hey, a good story is a
good story.)
But how many of them can be verified? And how many of the tales are the
products of active, highly suggestive, and eager-for-drama teenage
imaginations? Yet the majority of
paranormal investigators today will advise you not to use a Ouija board, taking the same stance as books such as Stoker Hunt’s
Ouija: The Most Dangerous Game.
DEMONS OR THE SUBCONSCIOUS?
For
the sake of argument, however, let’s say that at least some of these
tales of terror are true. Some of them might be. Should we blame the
board? Or should we blame the people using the board? In other words,
where is this negativity really coming from? Is it coming from a demon,
who I guess we have to assume is sitting around with nothing better to
do, waiting for teenagers to sit down at a Ouija board to scare the crap
out of them with a selection of supernatural antics? Or is it more
likely that any effects – supernatural or not – arise out of the
energized subconscious of the users?
If you read related articles
of mine on this subject, you’ll know that I do not buy in to the notions
of demons and possession. These are ancient superstitions – completely
made up – for which there is no reasonable evidence. The idea of the
Devil was created by humans to help humans explain to ourselves the evil
that humans do. The sad truth is, however, that we create our own evil
in the world. We’re responsible for it, not some discarnate demon. We
create it, just as we create good in the world.
And what of the
supernatural aspects? Just as it is now commonly accepted among most
paranormal researchers that poltergeist activity – objects moved
telekinetically, bangs on walls, and the rest of it – is created by the
subconscious of a person or persons, so too can any extraordinary
manifestations in a Ouija session be credited to the subconscious. Why
is it often so negative? Because that is often the expectation of the
users involved. Intention creates reality.
Next page: The Ouija and ghost hunting
Why don’t ghost hunting groups use it to contact ghosts?
