The Ouija Board

[maximus otter]

Has your Mrs been complaining about me again?.

Very briefly.

maximus otter

 

[mrhundredand11]

I don't understand why Ouija Boards perpetually bring bad luck. The "science" behind them makes sense, like, you're using human antennas to receive impulses through the subconscious from spirits that nudge your hands in different directions. Sure, that could open up doors to anyone who wants to talk (friend or foe), but why does it always seem to be foe?

I've had serious practitioners of the occult arts warn me against ouija boards and they seem to have been right. The one time I messed around with one brought interesting results and severe bad luck. Granted, we did do it in the basement of Bugs Malone's hideout on the night of their demise (the St. Valentine's Day Massacre), but I've rarely ever heard of cases where things go good.

I had a few days of the dark dead hanging around me until I did a big banishing ritual that flushed them out. It was so... surreal. The apartment filled up with smoke (from what I was burning) and then, when I put a heap of asafoetida on the coal, the thick cloud billowed outwards. The very moment it hit the wall, I heard banging on the wall. Granted, it could have been my neighbor unhappy about the smoke, but he's never knocked on the wall before or after, and it happened at the exact moment that the cloud hit the bookcase, as if the cloud had shoved the spirit to the wall.

It was the weirdest feeling to have those entities around draining me, it was like they really weren't happy that I helped summon them in order to ask about their tunnel entrances. That experience could have been completely brought about by me, but, having worked in an occult bookstore, I would perpetually hear horror stories and warnings about the boards. I don't understand why though, is it that no higher spirit wants to interact with them and so the only ones that normally come through are the lower vibing ones?

A competitor witchy store had a cult running in their back room that was formed around an entity that had been contacted during a drunken Ouija board night and, though they had some brief success, it was fleeting and now they're collapsing from lawsuits and firings and sour reputations.

Rarely if ever do friendly entities seem to make contact through the boards. But, like, why?

 

[Delightful]

Rarely if ever do friendly entities seem to make contact through the boards. But, like, why?

Maybe the fear and warnings and negative cultural associations and expectations have something to do with it.

 

[Robbrent]

I don't understand why Ouija Boards perpetually bring bad luck. The "science" behind them makes sense, like, you're using human antennas to receive impulses through the subconscious from spirits that nudge your hands in different directions. Sure, that could open up doors to anyone who wants to talk (friend or foe), but why does it always seem to be foe?

I've had serious practitioners of the occult arts warn me against ouija boards and they seem to have been right. The one time I messed around with one brought interesting results and severe bad luck. Granted, we did do it in the basement of Bugs Malone's hideout on the night of their demise (the St. Valentine's Day Massacre), but I've rarely ever heard of cases where things go good.

I had a few days of the dark dead hanging around me until I did a big banishing ritual that flushed them out. It was so... surreal. The apartment filled up with smoke (from what I was burning) and then, when I put a heap of asafoetida on the coal, the thick cloud billowed outwards. The very moment it hit the wall, I heard banging on the wall. Granted, it could have been my neighbor unhappy about the smoke, but he's never knocked on the wall before or after, and it happened at the exact moment that the cloud hit the bookcase, as if the cloud had shoved the spirit to the wall.

It was the weirdest feeling to have those entities around draining me, it was like they really weren't happy that I helped summon them in order to ask about their tunnel entrances. That experience could have been completely brought about by me, but, having worked in an occult bookstore, I would perpetually hear horror stories and warnings about the boards. I don't understand why though, is it that no higher spirit wants to interact with them and so the only ones that normally come through are the lower vibing ones?

A competitor witchy store had a cult running in their back room that was formed around an entity that had been contacted during a drunken Ouija board night and, though they had some brief success, it was fleeting and now they're collapsing from lawsuits and firings and sour reputations.

Rarely if ever do friendly entities seem to make contact through the boards. But, like, why?

If you look at the great magicians and necromancers of the past, they used to go through lots of rituals before trying to contact the other side, there seems to be a twilight zone inhabited by what can best be described as nature spirits almost like another dimension that you don't really need to visit or stop by and have a cup of tea, but it must be close to this dimension as simple tools like the Ouija board are able to get through

I am still interested in an avowed sceptic having a go and seeing what happens but myself I would rather not

 

[catseye]

It's an interesting point - why don't we hear more about helpful spirits? Everything concerning spirits etc seems to end up with 'die die!' stuff or dire warnings or dark presences. Why aren't there an equal number of helpful messages; messages telling people to go and get help for themselves or go to the doctor, rather than 'you're going to die TOMORROW!' We'd surely give them more credence if at least half of the messages were along the lines of 'There are signs that you are unwell, perhaps pop to your GP TOMORROW!'

 

[escargot]

It's an interesting point - why don't we hear more about helpful spirits? Everything concerning spirits etc seems to end up with 'die die!' stuff or dire warnings or dark presences. Why aren't there an equal number of helpful messages; messages telling people to go and get help for themselves or go to the doctor, rather than 'you're going to die TOMORROW!' We'd surely give them more credence if at least half of the messages were along the lines of 'There are signs that you are unwell, perhaps pop to your GP TOMORROW!'

It's because the whole thing is a parlour game for teenagers to frighten themselves with.

 

[catseye]

It's because the whole thing is a parlour game for teenagers to frighten themselves with.

Kind of what I was hinting at...

 

[Robbrent]

It's because the whole thing is a parlour game for teenagers to frighten themselves with.

Do we have our first volunteer for the "Sceptic does the Ouija Board" experiment?

 

[SimonBurchell]

It's because the whole thing is a parlour game for teenagers to frighten themselves with.

Do we have our first volunteer for the "Sceptic does the Ouija Board" experiment?

I don't reckon so... if I remember right, @escargot managed to accidentally haunt a neighbour's house with a ouija board.

 

[escargot]

Do we have our first volunteer for the "Sceptic does the Ouija Board" experiment?

Nah, been there, done that.

It's self-defeating. The problem is that you never know how seriously the other participants are taking it.
People who believe in it might run off screaming or just be quietly traumatised.
Or you could get pisstakers who'll make it offer to spell out the name of the next Grand National winner or summat.

I don't reckon so... if I remember right, @escargot managed to accidentally haunt a neighbour's house with a ouija board.

That was when Techy's ouija board collection was mounted above his staircase facing his neighbour's house.
While Techy had no trouble, the neighbour's house apparently filled up with ghosts which so frightened his girlfriend that she left him.
Neighbour was puzzled until he saw the display and decided that was the cause of the sudden spookiness.

Since then Techy has had the boards on a wall facing my bedroom for about 20 years and nothing's haunted me.
Well, it wouldn't would it.

 

[Delightful]

I'm always game for genuine and serious paranormal experiments, but they're very hard to set up well with full test conditions etc and so no one really does them.

 

[catseye]

I'm always game for genuine and serious paranormal experiments, but they're very hard to set up well with full test conditions etc and so no one really does them.

I think they could be set up properly but, as you say, hard to do and a lot of people who are doing these 'tests' tend to have an agenda, so don't bother with proper scientific rigour.