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Experiences With The Ouija Board (IHTM)

Hi Henry, yes we were lucky enough to find our little sweet cottage in Deux Sevres, cheap in the scheme of things, but not cheap to us! Well our notaire chappie was very good and spoke good English too but as to whether he was the French scholar we should be trusting is another matter.

'Eleanor' has come through the board on several occasions since then with short say three word sentences only, always little pearls of wisdom or completely random stuff about France. One message said, speak to Duval. Now you will be just as incredulous as we were when I tell you about two months after that message (bearing in mind we did not know any Duval connection and although it sounds like a common enough French name, there certainly isn't that many Duvals listed on the internet) We received a letter from our French Bank Credit Mutuel informing us of the new manager there - yes his name Christian Duval. I am quite happy to believe it was coincidence but it certainly gives you that spine chill feeling.

We did debate for some time regarding the language that was used but just decided there is no answer to it. Incidentally, we only speak a little French and certainly have little or no knowledge of Middle English.

glamour_dust - thank you for your comments. My honest answer I just don't know what to believe about it all and as you can see from the above, we have received further messages. I have kept notes of the times we have used the board. The last time we got together was 12th May and on checking the message that came through was:

YOU WILL FIND A SOLUTION / SELL / LET CLIVE WANT / DO VISIT THOUARS / CLIVE WANTS TO GET A CAR / LIN THIS REF

Obviously not quite so eloquent or accurate and you have to smile about the car bit, who wouldn't want a car. We have been to Thouars on many occasions, its our nearest town, so 'do visit Thouars' doesn't mean much either. As most at people at given time might have we had plenty of problems, some minor some not so, so 'you will find a solution' is a little ambiguous to say the least too.

I've no wish to keep going on about my own personal experiences, bore you all to tears lol. I have shared the main points with you all. If anyone is interested in hearing what little more there is please pm me.

:p at James :lol:

Sorry my posts are long, I'm a typist so can type as fast as I think and I get carried away sometimes :roll:
 
No Hokum surely it doesn't matter which 'spirit' came through for us,

I disagree. As I said, billions of dead people and you happen to contact a well known historical figure, who when questioned provides incorrect information in modern English.

Hence we soon realised that this needed backing up and we asked for 'proof' that it was her.

Yet the answer you got was an incorrect date of death. How is that proof?


I'm not attacking you personally, I'm just skeptical about this kind of thing and a story in which you contact someone famous who then provides the vaguest details as proof does nothing to change my position.

There is a story about someone who suddenly began speaking an ancient language, even though they claimed never to have heard of it before. Turns out they had been in a library once where someone was reading a book about this civilization and had subconsciously absorbed the information. This has been mentioned several times in FT. And then there's the many reports of people who begin spontaneously speaking another language or talking in an accent.

Let's apply Occams Razor here. What's more likely, that one of the group had once read something about Eleanor Aquitaine and for some reason their subconscious bought this up during the ouija session, or that you just happened to contact the spirit of a long-dead historical figure who tells you things like 'NOTHING IS CHEAP' ?
 
There is a story about someone who suddenly began speaking an ancient language, even though they claimed never to have heard of it before. Turns out they had been in a library once where someone was reading a book about this civilization and had subconsciously absorbed the information.

Although I agree with your last paragraph about the likelihood of the event happening, Hokum; I thought you should be careful about offering that story as 'proof' of the contrary.

I mean, that seems just as unlikely and difficult to prove as the theory of a long-dead historical figure speaking through the ouija board.

I'm sure this 'absorption' theory is still just that a theory. I doubt that kind of thing can be proved. For example, how could they possibly find out that on one day years ago, a stranger just happened to be reading a book about a certain civilization, that someone just happened to walk past and glance at and automatically suck up the information like a vaccuum?
How on earth could they have got this information. It must have just been offered as a theory. (One that interests me and has merit but is still not proof that spirits/ past lives don't also exist)

Just wanted to add my 2 cents :)
 
Well I think its a healthy starting point on IHTM to have a level of belief in what the original posters are relating. Thats probably not always deserved, but be that as it may.

The fact that the Ouija sessions went on to yield further information that could be applied to the sitters and their lives sheds a different light on this and largely discounts the thought I had on the matter, that there was a decision point GSG and/or her partner were at re:the big step of buying up property all over France, and someone at the table was giving a gentle push.

Can I ask how many sittings and over how long a period of time you were using the board?

I've no wish to keep going on about my own personal experiences, bore you all to tears lol. I have shared the main points with you all. If anyone is interested in hearing what little more there is please pm me.
GSG - post anything else that you think is related on this thread, thats where it belongs.
 
eris1369 said:
So did she communicate in English, French or Latin? I'm assuming English...
That's another weird bit-would spirits automatically aquire a 'universal language' or something like that? I don't think Eleanor, or indeed, any of the English royalty at that time spoke much English. They were all Normans...

When I was 10 years old I spoke only in English, and did so with a strong northern accent. After thirty years of experience, my accent has more or less disappeared, due to living elsewhere for most of my life. Furthermore I can now speak French quite well.

Also, these days I use words and phrases etc, that did not exist when I was a kid.

Maybe Eleanor has continued to aquire new words/phrases and improved her language skills over the past 800 years too.

Why assume that Eleanor's mind-set was frozen at the point that she shuffled off this mortal coil? ;)
 
Good point Boggart - That's similar to what I was thinking but forgot to write.
What point would it be to communicate in old/middle english if the person you're trying to communicate with wouldn't understand?
If we are to believe in spirits, then we could also believe that speech and literacy skills of spirits are not limited to one life 800 years ago.

I, myself am sceptical of people claiming famous spirits or past lives but that doesn't mean that famous spirits wouldn't communicate with people just as regular spirits.
 
Although I agree with your last paragraph about the likelihood of the event happening, Hokum; I thought you should be careful about offering that story as 'proof' of the contrary.

I mean, that seems just as unlikely and difficult to prove as the theory of a long-dead historical figure speaking through the ouija board.

I'm sure this 'absorption' theory is still just that a theory. I doubt that kind of thing can be proved. For example, how could they possibly find out that on one day years ago, a stranger just happened to be reading a book about a certain civilization, that someone just happened to walk past and glance at and automatically suck up the information like a vaccuum?
How on earth could they have got this information. It must have just been offered as a theory. (One that interests me and has merit but is still not proof that spirits/ past lives don't also exist)


There are further details about the story in an issue of FT, though I can't remember which it might be.

It was merely an example however, I certainly never claimed it to be 'proof of the contrary' and I never stated that I believed it was the truth, just that it was an alternate theory.
Personally I find the idea that ouija sessions are influenced by the people involved to have more merit than contact with spirits, but I admit I have no proof that is correct. Either way, both ideas are interesting.
 
Hokum,

I certainly never claimed it to be 'proof of the contrary' and I never stated that I believed it was the truth, just that it was an alternate theory.

sorry it came across that way - it did sound directed at you but I actually meant people in general should be careful of using what is also just as strange an explanation (in this case absorbing an ancient language from a split second glance at a book - without proof of this having taken place) in attempt to 'debunk' any attempt at a paranormal explanation.
I said you, but I meant it in more of a general sense (ie the people who put forward this alternative theory in the first place)

I am familiar with the story and understand the point you were trying to make - again, sorry
 
Hokum thanks for saying its not a personal attack on me, I do not take it as such. You are quite rightly doubtful about the whole thing. I am too, its why have posted about it on more than one forum. I would also like it borne in mind that the planchette moved very quickly and very accurately and if I may take it that I am to be believed about us not having much information other than we had heard of A of E then I hope you understand that for any of us to have given such information so quickly, without hesitation, is interesting.

Quote:
Hence we soon realised that this needed backing up and we asked for 'proof' that it was her.
Yet the answer you got was an incorrect date of death. How is that proof?

I never at any point indicated this was proof of anything, I asked for 'Eleanor's' proof. The date given for her death was wrong, as I found out in my own research of her. The date given means nothing exept to say it was wrong!

rubberchick like you I think as regards the language used, it makes no difference does it. If we believe we were in contact with Eleanor of Aquitaine then anything else is surely possible. I can't get it across more clearly other than to say what happened, happened. Four family members, three of which had heard of this woman, one had not, are convinced we gained information, whether correct or incorrect, through some means other than being directly responsible. Oh dear, I am struggling with this, I hope you understand my/our standpoint.

Can I ask how many sittings and over how long a period of time you were using the board?

Probably only about 3 years ago. I lost my first 'transcriptions' which were usually just total random letters, with the occasional random name which meant nothing, with few questions being sensibly responded to. Eleanor put her first appearance in August/Sept 2004. It is something we have tried about once a month, if that. Sometimes absolutely nothing at all happens.
 
Just want to add my 2 pence worth. I have never tried one of these boards or even been present when one is used - it scares me to be honest. However, I have a friend who is a bit of a sceptic. That's not to say that he doesn't believe in the paranormal, but he always looks for the scientific explanation - which to be fair I do myself. Anyway, he has used one of these boards on one occasion and the group apparently made contact with a spirit - the glass was certainly moving about and answering questions. My friend John started laughing and saying that people were moving it around and accusing people who he thought it was. Eventually the group got annoyed with John so they decided that whenever he accused someone of tilting the table that they would leave the circle. I know this is the typical story regarding this matter - when he got down to the last 2, him and a girl, he started to get a bit agitated. He realised that the glass was moving in directions that could only have been caused by him. However, he still refused to believe that something paranormal was going on and accused the remaining girl of causing the movement. She left and table and he was the only one left. The glass continued to move and spell things out. After a few seconds John jumped up and left the room in a hurry and ran all the way home. I heard this story from the girl that was the last to leave the table before John. When I have tried to talk to John about this occurrence he refuses to be drawn into the conversation. All he will say is that something (not him) was loving the glass and that he will never take part in anything like that again.

Not stone cold proof I know, but it was enough for me. I have never fancied taking part in anything like that and after seeing my friends reaction when I raised the incident it has made me even more resolute. I have known John for about 20 years now and he is the most honest guy I know. I have no reason to think that he would have been in on some kind of scam. This happened probably about 12 years ago. I havent tried asking him about it recently. I will have a word with him at the weekend when he has had a few beers and see if there is any chance of getting more info from him.
 
When I was 10 years old I spoke only in English, and did so with a strong northern accent. After thirty years of experience, my accent has more or less disappeared, due to living elsewhere for most of my life. Furthermore I can now speak French quite well.

Also, these days I use words and phrases etc, that did not exist when I was a kid.

Maybe Eleanor has continued to aquire new words/phrases and improved her language skills over the past 800 years too.

Why assume that Eleanor's mind-set was frozen at the point that she shuffled off this mortal coil?



That was sort of what I was getting at-if we assume that Eleanor actually is speaking to modern people, in a modern language, would that then imply that there is some sort of life/learning experience going on over there on the "other side", or perhaps that a "spirit" is automatically able to communicate in any language after death?
 
That's a very good point. Does "telepathic" communication (for want of a better term) have an indentifiable linguistic form, or does it bypass that part of the brain and communicate at a much deeper, unversal level?
 
v. interesting question. Very often, when people do experiments of that nature, they try to project images or impressions rather than linguistic constructions, although there's no "proof" that that works any better, and the parapsychologists may be working on as many suppositions as anyone else.
 
GAH! :x i've said this before and i'll say it again,
This ouija stuff is NOT a game you are potentialy contacting beings from another realm who are known to lie about who they are and prey on people to gain access to this realm.
Read up on it please people and stop toying with things you dont understand. :(
 
BIg_Slim - What don't I understand? I have done masses of reading up on it and research. I have posted about it on several forums and got many different views. I choose to believe based upon many years of reading and research that no harm comes to people because they tried playing what was (is) essentially a game. If we choose to believe in spirits/demons then I am of the opinion that if they are of a mind to harm then they have the ability to come through without the use of a piece of cardboard with letters on. Also, I have spoken to 'mediums' on the subject and their contrasting views were very interesting to the say the least. Some congratulating us on being so successful, some warning of demonic possession and some with blatently disbelieving faces, nodding politely.

I have come to the conclusion that it is essential one is of sound mind, is not taken to depressive or suicidal thoughts, has a relatively settled, happy home life, and generally not easily frightened or 'fragile'. If any of these things apply then indeed because of the state of a person's mind, and how much they rely on what comes through on 'the board' then that is the part that potentially causes problems.

Now as stated, I choose to question what it is that is happening. I am open minded and would love to believe that we spoke to Eleanor of Aquitaine. At the moment all I can say is what a very positive, interesting and truely thought-provoking experience it has been for us.

I thank you for your view and this is my view.
 
GirlSeeksGhosts said:
BIg_Slim - What don't I understand? I have done masses of reading up on it and research. I have posted about it on several forums and got many different views. I choose to believe based upon many years of reading and research that no harm comes to people because they tried playing what was (is) essentially a game. If we choose to believe in spirits/demons then I am of the opinion that if they are of a mind to harm then they have the ability to come through without the use of a piece of cardboard with letters on. Also, I have spoken to 'mediums' on the subject and their contrasting views were very interesting to the say the least. Some congratulating us on being so successful, some warning of demonic possession and some with blatently disbelieving faces, nodding politely.

I have come to the conclusion that it is essential one is of sound mind, is not taken to depressive or suicidal thoughts, has a relatively settled, happy home life, and generally not easily frightened or 'fragile'. If any of these things apply then indeed because of the state of a person's mind, and how much they rely on what comes through on 'the board' then that is the part that potentially causes problems.

Now as stated, I choose to question what it is that is happening. I am open minded and would love to believe that we spoke to Eleanor of Aquitaine. At the moment all I can say is what a very positive, interesting and truely thought-provoking experience it has been for us.

I thank you for your view and this is my view.


I have done many sittings, with results varying from nothing, to hours of communication. Some were nice, some were hostile [glass moving too fast or off the table etc, strange dreams afterwards, one satanic voice talking etc]. However whatever the reason for success, I agree with GirlSG that if you are of sound mind you have nothing to fear. I generally treat "them" like you would a very clever animal, with due respect but when its finished we can take it easy. I even make up my own "closing rituals" when need be and all worked fine. If you dwell on any threats etc, and are easily worried you shouldn't do it for obvious reasons. However lets not be too patronising towards people who don't have these problems. I am of the same opinion as GSG but have also more than 30 years of paranormal/occult/spiritual/ experience. What are you gonna do, tell me not to mess with things?
I say "go!" GirlSG, you've got it sussed!
 
BIg_Slim said:
GAH! :x i've said this before and i'll say it again,
This ouija stuff is NOT a game you are potentialy contacting beings from another realm who are known to lie about who they are and prey on people to gain access to this realm.
Read up on it please people and stop toying with things you dont understand. :(
A reasonable general warning, certainly, but with respect I'd say most people on here are aware of any potential risk.

And how much of it does any one of us understand? Experimentation and experience is a good route to deeper understanding, with the caveat that if you have any doubts or uncertainties, don't go there in the first place.

Agree with GSG and Dingo - if you're of a solid mental constitution, and you do your homework first, there's nothing to fear. Be aware of, and respect, yes, but not fear.
 
TommyK13 - thank you for posting your story. I would like to hear if John is prepared to say anymore about what happened.

Thank you to H-James, stuneville and Dingo667 - really interesting points well made and thanks to anyone else who posted, the whole thread has given me yet more insight as to what may be happening and I really appreciate people sharing their thoughts about it.

"Explore the mysteries of mental telepathy and the subconscious with this time tested favorite" and "with reasonable patience and judgment it will satisfy your greatest expectations" (William Fuld Talking Board set 1972) :hmm: :spinning
 
OK, first i would like to say sorry about comming over all knowing and all like i was the expert on this.
My experiances and people i have talked to experiances,
were mostly the same IE an evil enitity claiming to be someone else,
and lo and behold the deatails are always wrong... i mean dates etc.
if you are happy with doing this go ahead, just always be dubious about
who the entity says it is.
and again sorry people about loosing my cool over this subject.
I just DONT want to go through that again. PEACE
 
GirlSeeksGhosts said:
TommyK13 - thank you for posting your story. I would like to hear if John is prepared to say anymore about what happened.

Thank you to H-James, stuneville and Dingo667 - really interesting points well made and thanks to anyone else who posted, the whole thread has given me yet more insight as to what may be happening and I really appreciate people sharing their thoughts about it.

"Explore the mysteries of mental telepathy and the subconscious with this time tested favorite" and "with reasonable patience and judgment it will satisfy your greatest expectations" (William Fuld Talking Board set 1972) :hmm: :spinning

I will ask him the next time I see him and he has had a few beers. I actually saw him last night (and he had had a few beers) but I totally forgot to bring the subject up. We are both going to a Christening on Sunday so will probably get the chance then. Although I will make sure I ask him after the Christening has finished and we have moved on into town for a few beers. Probably a bit disrespectful asking about this kind of thing in a Church/at the reception afterwards.
 
GirlSeeksGhosts said:
Who is there - ELEANOR
Eleanor who - ELEANOR AQUITAINE information about yourself, when did you pass over - 1402. Where are you buried - NORMANDY
Who were your children - JEAN CLAUDE - DEAD SON
RICHARD 1
(Long Pause at this point)
Eleanor are you still there - YES
1323 FIRE WESSEX ENGLAND RICHARD DELT REVENGE SARACENS
(47 AQUITAINE) FRANCE WILL BE KIND CLIVE - GOODBYE

OK, let's look at the historical facts - Eleanor died and is buried in Anjou, not Normandy. (There's a very nice statue of her on her tomb in Fontevraud abbey) She had 10 children, one name John, or Jean in French, but not Jean Claude, a rather modern sounding French compound first name.
"Richard 1" is the name historians gave him - he would have only been known as Richard to Eleanor. Her native language was Occitan, and her name was written Alienor in that language. In England she would have spoken Anglo-norman. One might imagine that a disembodied spirit could learn idiomatic modern British English, but can you really believe she forgot what her son was called and when and where she died?
As long ago as the mid-19th century, experiments have shown that participants in things like Ouija boards are moving the board themselves,
see:
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRel ... motor.html -

You could make a device such as Michael Faraday did that would show that someone is giving "Eleanor" a little help in sending you messages!

I suggest giving a good swift kick in the shins under the seance table!

Best,

Mark
 
Quoth markbellis
experiments have shown that participants in things like Ouija boards are moving the board themselves


Harrrummpphhh, I suppose next you'll be telling us that UFO's aren't really piloted by extraterrestials !!!!

Really !!! The very idea !!!
 
Mark - at the risk of sounding contradictive, I have moved on slightly from worrying about the accuracy of the information given and am more interested as to how any type of information is given whether incorrect or correct. It also strikes me that if I were going pretend to be Eleanor coming through I would at least get one very basic fact correct ie date of death, or place of burial, or that I had lots of children. If Eleanor was speaking to us some nearly 800 years later I guess she may have found out that her son historically became Richard I. The whole thrust of my point in posting is to say that no-one pushed the planchette (maybe ideomotor effect?? I dont know). We couldn't have made this information up as we didn't really have much of a clue about her anyway. It simply is a case of you choosing not to trust what I have said and you have every right, I don't believe everything I read ;) But I repeat I have never said it was E or A speaking to us. We still do not know how that information was given. If you have read carefully all I had to say on the matter we undertake the whole thing very seriously, we have wasted many hours with nothing coming through at all. My parents, my hubby and myself are really rather past playing silly games on one another too.

:p @ Prof_Pretorius :lol:
 
ouija

Again apologies GirlSeeksGhosts,
you seem level headed and clued up on this matter.
my initial responce was to what we would refer to as (noobs)
who would just rush in and make a complete arse of the whole thing.
i still say its not a toy tho :O.
It messed up my life a fair bit.
BUT that was in conjuntion with a black magic spell cast on me and my brother when we were kids by our cousins as a game. (that was kids playing about too).
Theese things are not to be toyed with.
 
The facts related are not disputed, but the interpretations are!

Firstly, note that the only correct information given - that Eleanor had a son named Richard - could be learned just from watching popular shows on TV - saying that she died in Normandy is a good guess, but not the right one, indicating that the "entity" giving the info had the sort of knowledge about history one would expect from the average resident of the British Isles, but not from the former Queen of England herself.

Now, the other three participants have told you they had no prior knowledge of the facts related. That may be, but since the story of Robin Hood and other stories which features all the named characters is so widely spread in popular culture I think it unlikely!

They said they did not push the planchette, but if you look at the link provided above, Michael Faraday said the mediums he investigated were "very honorable", but he still demonstrated they were the ones doing the pushing.

One of the things that makes me wonder is that if no one is pushing the planchette, why do you have to touch it and look at the board to make it work? James Randi and Penn and Teller have done experiments where blindfolded ouija boarders have been unable to produce any messages.

In order to show that no one is pushing the planchette, you would have to do what Faraday did with his cards or at least do a blindfold test - you'd have to make sure no one does what's called a "nose peek".
 
BIg_Slim - Me, level-headed :lol: I guess over the past couple of years a lot of people have warned me of the potential dangers of using a Ouija and I do get cross (quite wrongly) when people have automatically assumed I do not know or realise what may or may not happen.

Mark - I have read about trying the board blindfolded - we have not tried it but the next time we get together we will and, as is my nature, I will truthfully report as to how we get on, or not, as the case may be. Since nothing happens sometimes anyway, or we only get random letters not making sense, I guess the experiment will need to be carried out several times.

Out of interest I at first thought how bad it is our knowledge of history didn't include anything much re E of A. But I feel better now I have realised there are plenty of people around who have never even heard of her :eek: As for comparing someone like Robin Hood, certainly everyone I know would have heard of him but I do fully understand the point you making.
 
markbellis said:
Her native language was Occitan, and her name was written Alienor in that language. In England she would have spoken Anglo-norman. One might imagine that a disembodied spirit could learn idiomatic modern British English...
Hence the question I asked on the previous page, to wit:
stuneville said:
That's a very good point. Does "telepathic" communication (for want of a better term) have an indentifiable linguistic form, or does it bypass that part of the brain and communicate at a much deeper, unversal level?
markbellis said:
... but can you really believe she forgot what her son was called and when and where she died?
Which is an entirely reasonable question :).
 
stuneville - I believe that if the spirit of Eleanor of Aquitaine came through and passed on information to us - what is there to say that our own influence didn't tarnish this information. I mean to say if the spirit did her best to influence the way the planchette moved but our own senses and ideas (bias) were trying to kick in subconsciously albeit with the wrong info. I don't know, can't wait to report again.

Anyway, I must again thank each and everyone of you for posting and helping me to understand what may or may not be going on.
 
GirlSeeksGhosts said:
As for comparing someone like Robin Hood, certainly everyone I know would have heard of him but I do fully understand the point you making.
The thing is, Eleanor, John, and Richard all appear in popular adaptions of the Robin Hood legend, so if you've heard of Robin Hood, there's a good chance of knowing about Eleanor. As another poster noted, she was also played by Katherine Hepburn in a movie, and has appeared in numerous works of popular fiction, as well as documentaries.
 
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