The Ouija Board

[GNC]

And I thought I was so original! Curses, another marketing opportunity gone...

 

[JamesWhitehead]

You could definitely improve on those!

 

[escargot]

Told you once!

 

[GNC]

Told you once!

It's almost as if they can see us! Truly supernatural.

 

[escargot]

:lol:

 

[escargot]

I've been making shabby-chic xmas tree decorations for a charity craft sale. I think I'll do some little ouija board ones too, bet they'd sell well!

 

[Timble2]

I've been making shabby-chic xmas tree decorations for a charity craft sale. I think I'll do some little ouija board ones too, bet they'd sell well!

You could do ouija board earrings too!

 

[Analogue Boy]

I made up a 3d render of a Ouija Cheeseboard. A large round wooden board with letters, numbers etc carved around the outside. You use a piece of runny brie as the planchette. Guaranteed to break the ice at parties.

Price £80.

 

[Ringo]

I think he's gently joshing you. Saying it was you and that you're not the brightest bulb in the room.

I was just joshing, Tony. All in good "spirits" I assure you.

 

[Ringo]

#mytwocents

As a teenager I was warned against Ouija boards by my mother, who had a few very shocking experiences during the 70's and 80's (have I posted them here I wonder?) The early 70's was the perfect backdrop for this experimentation. Rosemary's Baby had just come out, The Exorcist and The Omen were on the way etc. A new genre of supernatural entertainment was being born. And people jumped right in.

I was a true ghost/afterlife believer from a young age and have posted here many times about my experiences as a child.

However, now in my adulthood, I have spent over 15 years involved in the creating and performing of supernatural and paranormal entertainment and my beliefs have gradually changed. In order to create these entertainment products, I have had to immerse myself in the supernatural on a daily basis and thouroughly research all aspects of the phenomena. I have as a result become a huge sceptic to the whole idea of spirit contact and the afterlife.

I have recently created a parlour show based on this and from what I have read, learned and now sucessfully performed, I have proved in my mind, without a shadow of a doubt, that there is no such thing as genuine spirit contact.

However the more I research and learn about the psychological aspect of these experiences, the more I see a very interesting but somewhat deflating conclusion. People will always believe and even when shown that it is not true, they reject the explanation in favour of still believing. It is scary how much people are willing to believe rather than accept the real explanation.

To those who believe, the YesYes board gives them that proof. To those who are also fragile or impressionable, it will un-nerve and scare them. I have been responsible for creating these responses in my paying guests and can attest to how powerful they can be given the right circumstances.

The experince will depend upon your psychological state and belief system. It mixes all of those weak characteristics from our personal make-up: superstition, fear of the unknown, fear of death, vulnerability.

To claim that it actually does contact the dead is just as silly as saying that it contacts aliens. But to say that it is harmless is wrong. It is and can be harmful just as any powerful, emotional experience can be harmful and upsetting.

 

[Recycled1]

Killjoy! :lol:

 

[Ringo]

That's my middle name. Ringo "Killjoy" Durden.

Don't ask about my surname. I'm not allowed to talk about it.

 

[ramonmercado]

Exorcists and paranormal investigators are urging people not to buy the occult board game Ouija as gifts unless they want to invite demonic forces into their homes this Christmas.

The warning comes as Google predicted that the modern version of the Victorian-era 'spirit boards' will be a sell-out this Christmas.

The search engine company has confirmed the game, purportedly used to contact the dead through spelled-out messages, is one of the top trending gifts on its price comparison list this year following the release of the Ouija horror film last month.

While critics largely panned the film as cliched and horror-free, a Catholic priest based in Dublin who specialises in the occult, warned that messing around with the real thing can be horrifying,

"It's easy to open up evil spirits but it's very hard to get rid of them," the Vincentian priest and exorcist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Sunday Independent.

"People, especially young people and teenagers who are likely to experiment with Ouija boards on a whim, can be very naive in thinking that they are only contacting the departed souls of loved-ones when they attempt to communicate with the dead using the boards. ...

http://www.independent.ie/life/christma ... 85052.html

 

[GNC]

I've been enjoying the second volume of Danny Baker's memoirs, and he took a left turn in one chapter when he abruptly started talking about his personal superstitions, which progressed to the subject of Ouija boards. He mentioned he used to play homemade versions as a kid, usually with someone deliberately spelling out rude words when nothing much was happening.

One day, however, he and his pals decided to take it seriously, and got a result. The glass spelled out the word "CHILDREN" which intrigued them - then it spelled out "STOP NOW" which terrified them. They laughed it off the next day, but looking back on it he and his friends can't help but wonder... what the hell was that all about?

 

[FrKadash]

I used to utilise the Ouija board rather a lot many years ago when I first began getting involved with the occult and the O.T.O. in my teens, but don't seem to find much use for it these days. I remember I used to insult and coerce it, and I wouldn't play or approach unless it moved without physical contact first. I suppose in youth I wanted more regular & explicit proof. I was also too reckless to implement LBRP back then, and probably in some respects, suffered consequences.

 

[titch]

Both ghost hunts i have been on have used the ouija board, but being a natural born coward i haven't taken part, one of the mediums said they had been using the board for years and never seen the board catch fire or anybodys head spin round (but if it ever happened they hoped to get it on video to put on their facebook site)


My next ghost hunt is in march, so can i ask a serious question (for once) how much danger would i be in if i used the ouija board?

 

[FrKadash]

My next ghost hunt is in march, so can i ask a serious question (for once) how much danger would i be in if i used the ouija board?

It's quite a tricky question to answer honestly. I suppose it all depends on the individual and the amount of experience they have with the occult. If you've been working for decades, and you've already been broken in (if you pardon the expression ), then I wouldn't even give the potential consequences a second thought. But if you're relatively new to the whole thing then it can do a lot of damage mentally & spiritually. I knew people when I lived in Bournemouth who really permanently twisted psychologically after Ouija sessions. I would strongly recommend that you open and close with a banishing like LBRP though. I'm sure you'll be okay. Some people can react very negatively to having their perception of reality stripped away in a few minutes, breakdowns aren't uncommon for the truly occult naive.

 

[Loquaciousness]

Both ghost hunts i have been on have used the ouija board, but being a natural born coward i haven't taken part, one of the mediums said they had been using the board for years and never seen the board catch fire or anybodys head spin round (but if it ever happened they hoped to get it on video to put on their facebook site)


My next ghost hunt is in march, so can i ask a serious question (for once) how much danger would i be in if i used the ouija board?

I suspect you go with the same guys I do, HH? Personally, I don't participate because I consider them a waste of time. IF everybody consented to a stack of poker chips being placed on top of the planchette/glass to make sure that the movement witnessed was not caused by voluntary or involuntary muscle movements, I would consider participating. The idea being that if no-one is exerting any pressure the stack of chips should not distort or move.
Last time I was on a ghost hunt, my friend and I were sitting away from the ouija board, where a group of girlies were working themselves into a fenzy, and heard footsteps and banging, etc. above our heads ( we were on top floor ), but no one was interested as they were getting all giggly over the ouija. So often, the 'better' stuff happens away from the ouija or table tipping.
I honestly think that the psychologically damaging effects of the ouija are not caused by spirits or demons, but by a psychosis or neurosis being triggered in the individual, who was already predisposed towards having it anyway.
If you feel this won't be a problem, then by all means go ahead, if you feel comfortable that is. A more profitable use of your time, however, would probably be asking if you can go and do your own exploring near by.

 

[Andy X]

That's my middle name. Ringo "Killjoy" Durden.

Don't ask about my surname. I'm not allowed to talk about it.

You don't work for Avid by any chance?

 

[titch]

My first ghost was with haunted happenings, the second with simply paranormal, but their methods are pretty much the same, on both occasions i have just watched the board being used and there did seem to be strange goings on, but i have a unshakeable fear of the ouija board lurking at the back of the leaking sponge bag i claim as a brain, so maybe its best to avoid the board just because i am so sacred of it.

I would love to ask if i could explore while the table tipping and ouija board was taking place, but on both ghost hunts i have been called a sceptic, if i avoided even watching the board i may be called a skeptic!

 

[Loquaciousness]

My first ghost was with haunted happenings, the second with simply paranormal, but their methods are pretty much the same, on both occasions i have just watched the board being used and there did seem to be strange goings on, but i have a unshakeable fear of the ouija board lurking at the back of the leaking sponge bag i claim as a brain, so maybe its best to avoid the board just because i am so sacred of it.

I would love to ask if i could explore while the table tipping and ouija board was taking place, but on both ghost hunts i have been called a sceptic, if i avoided even watching the board i may be called a skeptic!

I always 'own up' right at the beginning when they ask who the skeptics are, no shame in it! Some people use it like an insult, but it is no such thing. Remember you have paid a LOT of money to be there, so your experience is as important as everybody else's. Usually the crew are happy ( as long as it's safe ) to let you wander.

 

[Ringo]

You don't work for Avid by any chance?

I don't get the reference, Andy. What's Avid?

 

[Ulalume]

I honestly think that the psychologically damaging effects of the ouija are not caused by spirits or demons, but by a psychosis or neurosis being triggered in the individual, who was already predisposed towards having it anyway.

Thanks for giving your opinion on this, Loquaciousness, you being a real trained-up psychologist and all (vs an armchair one like most of us.)

It puzzles me, though - I've never had a negative experience while reading tarot or using a pendulum or dowsing or anything like that, while the ouija board seems to bring up so much nastiness. I'm a neurotic person in general, so it would seem that any method of divination (or contact with the "beyond") would bring it forth. It seems different, though. I don't believe that spirits are actually involved in any such divination, so it's not clear why there's a difference. But then again, I suppose those creepy incidents re: ouija board are only subjective, so that really proves nothing.

All the same, I'm not using an ouija board again any time soon.

 

[Andy X]

I don't get the reference, Andy. What's Avid?

Sorry, was just a stab in the dark. I've spent a long time on the phone to someone called Ringo...surname beginning with 'D' which I didn't quite catch (and who seemed to have quite a Fortean outlook to customer support) - works for Avid Technology, who make audiovisual software/hardware (or one of their resellers). Just wondered...

 

[Loquaciousness]

Thanks for giving your opinion on this, Loquaciousness, you being a real trained-up psychologist and all (vs an armchair one like most of us.)

It puzzles me, though - I've never had a negative experience while reading tarot or using a pendulum or dowsing or anything like that, while the ouija board seems to bring up so much nastiness. I'm a neurotic person in general, so it would seem that any method of divination (or contact with the "beyond") would bring it forth. It seems different, though. I don't believe that spirits are actually involved in any such divination, so it's not clear why there's a difference. But then again, I suppose those creepy incidents re: ouija board are only subjective, so that really proves nothing.

All the same, I'm not using an ouija board again any time soon.

Interesting you should have those experiences. There's been a lot of work done recently, on how ouija boards might access the unconscious (although I am not very familiar with the research). So if you are quite neurotic, maybe that's what is being accessed? It'd be interesting to run some experiments, with different personality types and comparing their ouija board epxeriences. I wonder if there are enough volunteers on here to do this, and if FT would publish the results?

 

[escargot]

TIt'd be difficult to set up. The sample would be well-skewed because you'd only get participants who had an interest or belief in the subject.
People who think ouija boards are are a hoax/waste of time wouldn't take part, although they're exactly the controls you want.

Also, what sort of personalities would you select? And how do you test personality anyway?

Source of scepticism: MA in criminology/research.

 

[Loquaciousness]

TIt'd be difficult to set up. The sample would be well-skewed because you'd only get participants who had an interest or belief in the subject.
People who think ouija boards are are a hoax/waste of time wouldn't take part, although they're exactly the controls you want.

Also, what sort of personalities would you select? And how do you test personality anyway?

Source of scepticism: MA in criminology/research.

By using an established personality test, such as the 16 PF, and as you know will know from your MA every research will have limitations, which the author has to acknowledge in their paper. Obviously I thought about this for about 2 minutes before posting and have not yet developed a fully justified research proposal, mainly because I wasn't pitching for my PHD.

Source of initial musings : M.Sc. Occupational Psychology, and teaching undergraduate research methods for 12 years.

 

[escargot]

Well yup, but I can't get past the idea that anyone who'd want to take part would already be a believer. Nobody who wasn't would have any interest.
Also, people who are convinced by ouija boards and so on might be sceptical of scientific testing anyway.

I bet most FTMB posters have some experience of this sort of thing but we grew out of it and wouldn't waste any more time on it. Or a few perhaps had a fright and wouldn't risk it again?

Personal beliefs about the supernatural are personal and hard to pin down. People and institutions you think should be hard-headedly unsuperstitious and secular, like CERN and NASA, have their own little rituals and foibles. It's both disappointing and reassuring.

 

[titch]

lol where else but this website could you find an MA in criminology/research and an M.Sc Occupational Psychology argueing about how to set up a ouija board test. As a cemetery operative (digger and dumper license) i put forward the notion that my cemetery mortuary will be ideal for the test.

 

[Mythopoeika]

Sorry, was just a stab in the dark. I've spent a long time on the phone to someone called Ringo...surname beginning with 'D' which I didn't quite catch (and who seemed to have quite a Fortean outlook to customer support) - works for Avid Technology, who make audiovisual software/hardware (or one of their resellers). Just wondered...

I was interviewed by Avid nearly 20 years ago. Shame I didn't get the job - it looked interesting.