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I've flat out refused to be anything to do with Ouija boards during a ghost invest to my team, they know and are respectful about where I stand on that. We had someone want to join us once on an invest who was also trying to sell Ouija boards through us and I refused him.
Get a Luigi board instead.
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When Ouija boards (a made-up name designed to sound foreign I would imagine?) were first produced there was a huge spate of preachers ranting against them, this may be the origin of the automatic "don't touch it" reaction from the older group. I tried it once when I was about 8 with my cousin and I was fairly sure that I was controlling it without intending to. But the marker moving on its own sounds poltergeist-y, especially if the group was younger. I don't think I'd go there again, it sounds as though it's a process that can bring out bad activity, perhaps something therapists would be interested in.
 
... Ouija boards (a made-up name designed to sound foreign I would imagine?) ...
... I think the name comes from oui-ja French and German for yes.

There are multiple stories about how the name "Ouija" came about ...

"Talking boards" as instruments of automatic writing dated back 'way before the Ouija version appeared. In fact, there were mass-produced boards with movable stylus / indicator devices prior to the Ouija's introduction. The Ouija was the first such board to be patented (by Elijah Bond in 1890). Charles Kennard was one of the assignees (persons accorded manufacturing / marketing privileges) on the original patent, and a William Fuld would become the long-time manager of Ouija production and marketing.

Having set the cast of characters, here are some excerpts from one history of the Ouija:

https://web.archive.org/web/20180828223423/http://museumoftalkingboards.com/history.html

Charles Kennard stated that he named the new board Ouija (pronounced wE-ja) after a session with Miss Peters, Elijah Bond's sister-in-law: "I remarked that we had not yet settled upon a name, and as the board had helped us in other ways, we would ask it to propose one. It spelled out O-U-I-J-A. When I asked the meaning of the word it said 'Good Luck.' Miss Peters there upon drew upon her neck a chain which had at the end a locket, on it a figure of a woman and at the top the word 'Ouija'. We asked her if she had thought of the name, and she said she had not. We then adopted the word. There were present Mr. Bond, his wife, his son, Miss Peters and myself."

The theme of consulting the board itself for a name is one of the most common explanations of the name. The bit about the locket that displayed the same name given by the board is rarely cited. I don't know when the locket bit was first alleged.

For twenty-six years William Fuld ran the company through good times and bad. When interviewed about the Ouija he was amusingly frank. He was a Presbyterian, didn't believe that it was a medium of communication with departed spirits, but at the same time thought that the Ouija was a reliable advisor in matters of business and personal life. ... "The talking board named itself." He said. "We didn't know what to name it, so put the question up to the board and it spelled out O-U-I-J-A. We hadn't any idea what it meant and scratched a long time before we found any clue. Finally we discovered that it was a very close approximation of an Egyptian word which meant good luck."

Fuld's version continues the theme of the board naming itself. The bit about "ouija" correlating with an Egyptian (often claimed to be an ancient Egyptian ... ) word or phrase for "good luck" is another commonly encountered tidbit.

Another common claim is that "Ouija" is a composite of the French and German words for "Yes." I don't know when or where this purported explanation originated, but it seems plausible based on the spelling.
 
An additional Ouija terminology fun fact ...

The label "planchette" (more or less French for "little plank") is uniquely associated with the Ouija board's indicator device.

It was long claimed that the device was so labeled in honor of a French spiritualist named "M. Planchette". Apparently this person's first name has never been given in full. No one's ever located any records or evidence verifying the existence, much less the fame, of any 19th century spiritualist / medium named Planchette.
 
An additional Ouija terminology fun fact ...

The label "planchette" (more or less French for "little plank") is uniquely associated with the Ouija board's indicator device.

It was long claimed that the device was so labeled in honor of a French spiritualist named "M. Planchette". Apparently this person's first name has never been given in full. No one's ever located any records or evidence verifying the existence, much less the fame, of any 19th century spiritualist / medium named Planchette.

Wasn't Planchet a character in The Three Muskateers? (Yes I've read the book and not just watched Dogtanian....)
 
The label "planchette" (more or less French for "little plank") is uniquely associated with the Ouija board's indicator device.
It has amused me for quite some while that the Russian word for tablet (as in iPad, not aspirin) is планшет (planshet). Following this to its illogical conclusion, if this thread is to be believed, all the words I can see on my tablet screen must be either the product of my subconscious or the work of malevolent spirits... :hyper:
 
Further to my musings about the creation of a Ouija spirit through concentration, could it be a form of mass hysteria that leads people to believe something malevolent has been conjured up? Mass hysteria has physical effects, after all, and certainly seems real to the sufferers no matter if there is something genuine in existence or not.
 
Further to my musings about the creation of a Ouija spirit through concentration, could it be a form of mass hysteria that leads people to believe something malevolent has been conjured up? Mass hysteria has physical effects, after all, and certainly seems real to the sufferers no matter if there is something genuine in existence or not.

It's a very localized "mass", but I think so ... If the people involved make the essential transition, crossing over into credulity and taking it seriously, any perturbation or unexpected outcome can set off a panic.
 
Yes, the same thing that makes people "panic" in isolated rural areas, that heightened suggestibility that has all sorts of primal fears bubbling up. Difficult to do a scientific study on, or not? Or is there one already?
 
I certainly think there is credibility in the thought that people can create a spirit by thought, which could lead to hysteria.If that was the case, it's still pretty spectacular in itself that we are able to do that.However like any experience it's got to be based on an individual's experience and situation otherwise we could say UFOs are weather balloons and chinese latterns,all Bigfoot sightings are men in suits or walking bears, ghostly knocking is the plumbing. My point is that these things are explanations but there are experiences people have that are real and hard to explain with logic.With out harping on too much about my own experience{which I am doing I apologise!}for the people that were on the board to contact a spirit that must have came from my subconscious is pretty astonishing, as I was the only person in the room who knew of the "spirit" and his story.How does that happen?II'm not on the board or even talking. I am not even thinking of the person who the spirit claims to be. We could have created the whole thing but how? 30 mins on a board and we create a 3 spirits without trying?There is also the fact that I may be exaggerating and people don't believe my account, that's fair enough, I've been there too. There are details I have deliberately left out of the experience, as I don't know if any relatives of the person may read this and identify the story.
 
I certainly think there is credibility in the thought that people can create a spirit by thought, which could lead to hysteria.If that was the case, it's still pretty spectacular in itself that we are able to do that. ...

Agreed ... Whether or not the spirit is truly an entity independent of the participants versus a mutually-induced imaginative construct, it's remarkable that a small group of people can bring forth a shared focus sufficiently clear to treat as another party - particularly one treated as sufficiently "here and now" to warrant fear.

Related to this point ...

I don't believe such accounts of disturbing amateur encounters with supernatural phenomena are peculiar to using the Ouija board. The same sort of panicked outcomes are associated with other such procedures (e.g., the Bloody Mary / mirror exercise).

My guess is that the strong correlation between such panic incidents and the Ouija board has more to do with the Ouija's providing a convenient means for dabbling with such matters than anything specific to the Ouija board itself. In other words, the Ouija board's notoriety is a result of the Ouija board's common availability and amenability to casual first use.
 
Agreed ... Whether or not the spirit is truly an entity independent of the participants versus a mutually-induced imaginative construct, it's remarkable that a small group of people can bring forth a shared focus sufficiently clear to treat as another party - particularly one treated as sufficiently "here and now" to warrant fear.

Related to this point ...

I don't believe such accounts of disturbing amateur encounters with supernatural phenomena are peculiar to using the Ouija board. The same sort of panicked outcomes are associated with other such procedures (e.g., the Bloody Mary / mirror exercise).

My guess is that the strong correlation between such panic incidents and the Ouija board has more to do with the Ouija's providing a convenient means for dabbling with such matters than anything specific to the Ouija board itself. In other words, the Ouija board's notoriety is a result of the Ouija board's common availability and amenability to casual first use.
To these points, if it hasn't been posted before. "Bindelof" never existed..
https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Dr-Bindelof-Enigma-Phenomena/dp/1933665130
 
To these points, if it hasn't been posted before. "Bindelof" never existed..
https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Dr-Bindelof-Enigma-Phenomena/dp/1933665130

As far as I know, the series of Bindelof Phenomena incidents never involved a Ouija board. Automatic writing was involved, but received via other means (pencil and paper left out on the seance table; spelling out a message by calling out the alphabet until the mystery presence indicated a "hit").

https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/bindelof-phenomena
 
As far as I know, the series of Bindelof Phenomena incidents never involved a Ouija board. Automatic writing was involved, but received via other means (pencil and paper left out on the seance table; spelling out a message by calling out the alphabet until the mystery presence indicated a "hit").

https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/bindelof-phenomena
Right, no Ouija board involved, but still possibly a "mutually-induced imaginative construct ", although capable of generating paranormal phenomena according to the participants.
 
It has amused me for quite some while that the Russian word for tablet (as in iPad, not aspirin) is планшет (planshet). Following this to its illogical conclusion, if this thread is to be believed, all the words I can see on my tablet screen must be either the product of my subconscious or the work of malevolent spirits... :hyper:

Wonderful! Thanks for telling us this, Krepostnoi. There's got to be a nice paranormal/sci-fi story brewing in there somewhere. :D
 
Wasn't Planchet a character in The Three Muskateers? (Yes I've read the book and not just watched Dogtanian....)
I was unfamiliar with Dogtanian and had to look him up. I think he looks like Cyrano.
 
Ouija warning!

(again)

This is a humorous ouija-themed gif with a slightly racy message.
Not exactly new: however I feel its advice is still relevant.
 
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There is still a misunderstanding to my reluctance to be anywhere near an Ouija board. I have no clue whether it channels the sprint world, or even if there is a spirit world. But on a purely local basis it, like certain drugs, seems to have an ability to permanently affect those who fool about with it. Perhaps psychiatrists should study it.

But not knowing exactly why something is dangerous is not a good reason to suggest it isn't dangerous. If our primitive ancestors worked on that basis they'd never have survived long enough to be our ancestors.
 
I have no clue whether it channels the sprint world

I would never keep up! :exercise:

Meanwhile, anyone mining the first page of this thread* may find some links long-dead.

I can help with the strange case of Victor Hugo's table-turning and the "posthumous Shakespeare play."

Last section on this page.

*escargot, ever a good miner, liked it today!

I may look for the full transcript of that mad play, when I get a moment. It should be in the Public Domain, Shakespeare, Hugo or whatever!
 
There is still a misunderstanding to my reluctance to be anywhere near an Ouija board. I have no clue whether it channels the sprint world, or even if there is a spirit world.
Ouija boards, don't channel spirits, plz read this article: How Ouija Boards Work

But on a purely local basis it, like certain drugs, seems to have an ability to permanently affect those who fool about with it.
You are making a misattribution error, unfortunately, like many senior citizens who think that drugs turn you into some sort of slobbering homicidal maniac. For example, a great many schizophrenics self-medicate with heroin, and so some people misattribute heroin as driving people crazy. The drugs are just a symptom. So too when a gullible loon plays with their ouija board and then uses that as an excuse to fully express their inner fruitloop.

Perhaps psychiatrists should study it.
Psychiatrists are involved in administering drugs more than other forms of therapy. This is a job for psych studies, and lo and behold, yes, they have investigated ouija boards. Again, please read the article above.

But not knowing exactly why something is dangerous is not a good reason to suggest it isn't dangerous. If our primitive ancestors worked on that basis they'd never have survived long enough to be our ancestors.
Caution is often a good idea, but please remember that many of our ancestors were basically like this person: LINK
 
Ouija boards, don't channel spirits, plz read this article: How Ouija Boards Work

You are making a misattribution error, unfortunately, like many senior citizens who think that drugs turn you into some sort of slobbering homicidal maniac. For example, a great many schizophrenics self-medicate with heroin, and so some people misattribute heroin as driving people crazy. The drugs are just a symptom. So too when a gullible loon plays with their ouija board and then uses that as an excuse to fully express their inner fruitloop.


Psychiatrists are involved in administering drugs more than other forms of therapy. This is a job for psych studies, and lo and behold, yes, they have investigated ouija boards. Again, please read the article above.


Caution is often a good idea, but please remember that many of our ancestors were basically like this person: LINK

Well, that's us told.
 
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