Have you ever used a Ouija board?

[arcadian]

Or spirt board? What was your experience? Opinions?

[abq e streeter]

1. One eerie ( in retrospect) experience from childhood

My friend and I were playing with his ouija board; we would have been eleven or twelve. I haven't thought about this in ages, but never have forgotten it either....but we asked it if President Kennedy would be re-elected. It said no, and we thought that was pretty weird, so we asked it if it would be a republican and it said no again. So we asked if it'd be a Democrat and it said yes. We couldn't figure out what that could possibly mean, so we did the whole sequence again a couple more times and it kept saying the same thing. We of course didn't really think anything of this except that it was weird, but when JFK was killed about a year later , one of us reminded the other of this having happened ( I don't remember who reminded who). I don't put any stock in ouija boards; they're just a child's toy as far as I'm concerned, but I have to admit, that still strikes me as a strange experience, especially because I do remember the part about asking it several times and getting the same answer every time.

[murielm99]

2. Stories like yours make it hard for me to accept that it is just

a children's toy. I don't think we know everything. Ouija boards may be dangerous in the wrong hands. Even if they only frighten the susceptible, that can be dangerous.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

4. lol

[abq e streeter]

5. In spite of that weird experience as a child

it's hard for me to think of anything that's mas produced as having an inherent spiritual-realm danger to it, as opposed to something home made by someone dealing with sinister spiritual forces. In what way besides frightening the susceptible, do you think they can be "dangerous" in the "wrong hands"?

[jonnyblitz]

9. oh please. give me a break.

:crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

DU is fucking woo central.

[kentauros]

39. Good!

[woo me with science]

10. And replies like yours

make me weep for the state of education in our country.

[nuxvomica]

23. They are no more dangerous than the minds of their users

I agree that we don't know everything but I think the Ouija board is pretty safe entertainment. People can go off the deep end playing D&D, for that matter.

[GreenPartyVoter]

43. Never got anything worthwhile from a board but the people I was with

said you were never supposed to touch the pointer thingy by yourself. I thought that was just dumb so I did it anyway, and it just flew out from under my fingers, halfway across the room and onto the floor. Musta been a slippery little sucker and I am sure there was a logical explanation for it, but at the time it happened it did really did freak us out. :rofl:

Your story, though. That's a really interesting one.

[Tobin S.]

3. One night, many moons ago, while high on shrooms

A friend and I contacted the spirit of Timothy Leary (who had just died) on a ouija board. We were sitting out in the middle of a field on the outskirts of Miamisburg, Ohio conducting our seance by moonlight. How Timothy found us is still a mystery, but I guess my friend and I must be of great import to the spirit world for such an illuminated soul as Leary to contact us.

[lillypaddle]

6. In the early 70s

While tripping on some yellow sunshine, 4 of us tried it, but nothing happened. We also tried to levitate an ashtray that night, which also didn't work. I guess the spirits decided it was best to stay clear of us.
:freak:

[Tobin S.]

7. You and your friends

were obviously not evolved enough spiritually to communicate with the spirit world and obtain the siddhis (spiritual powers) necessary to levitate common household glassware. Now my friend and I were momentarily blessed with enough siddhis to levitate his Ford Pinto a good 4 feet off the ground. It was only a temporary blessing just to show us what is possible, hence I cannot demonstarate the same thing today.

I had to give up the spirit enhancing, psychedelic medication when I became a truck driver and had to subject myself to random drug testing.

[cwydro]

8. Lol!

Love it!

[lillypaddle]

18. levitate a pinto?

thank gawd you weren't hit from behind. Hey, got any more?

[JonLP24]

11. Tried it once, I couldn't figure it out

The thing wouldn't move on it's own. I guess I wasn't doing it right but it just sat there stationary. All I know is if I wanted the thing to move, I would have to do it myself.

[pokerfan]

12. Penn and Teller

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG4wTZuT3wM">Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA5uYhXpa-E">Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1YmEkCJ87s">Part 3

[Orrex]

13. Shouldn't this be in the Seance Fiction Forum?

Hardy har har.

[GreenPartyVoter]

44. *facepalm*

[Arkansas Granny]

14. Yeah. A friend of mine had one and we were about 12 or 13 when we tried it a few times.

It answered some pretty innocuous questions about school, family and friends and we thought it was a lot of fun. Then one day we asked it "Where do you live?" and the answer was "In Nancy's closet.". We looked at each other and without a word we put the board back in the box, put it on the closet shelf and we never got it out again. I know I didn't move the pointer and she swears that she didn't so make of it what you will. I have a hard time believing that there are spirits who can be contacted with a plastic pointer on a piece of cardboard by two adolescent girls.

[texanwitch]

41. That is funny.

I remember one time we were playing around with the board, asking stupid questions.

We were little teenagers about the same age and the room was dark.

We had scared ourselves already and then my friends cat jumped on the board.

We screamed, and my friends mother came in and took away the board.

I don't think a piece of plastic and cardboard can call up spirits.

[mitchum]

15. I collect them...

specifically Ouija boards.
When I come into crazymoney, I would like expand the collection to include other spirit boards.
I've never had any paranormal experience with them; I just love the way they look.

[TZ]

16. lots of evidence that people do the moving

Almost all of it is an expression of subconcious desires/ wishes. I would expect 14 year old girls and boys to think it's spooky. To see adults who think this is real...:sigh: BTW there have actually been randomized experiments that support this theory btw.

[JonLP24]

17. See that's what I thought

The one and only time I tried I was 19. Like I said upthread, the pointer wouldn't moved at all and I had my hands relaxed as possible. I knew the only way I could get it to move is if I did the moving and in that case I could create my own sentences.

[Tom_Foolery]

19. My sister and I tried out a Quija board in the early 1970s...

This was right after my 20-year-old uncle had been killed by a drunk driver. We were curious about death, so we asked it when we would die. It had no answer for my sister, but it said that I would die at the age of 21 in a car wreck. Anyway, I'll be 49 in a couple of weeks.

[MorningGlow]

20. I have, many times

I always got a bad feeling from using an Ouija board when I was a child and teenager; when I became a witch I found out why. These items are not "magical" in and of themselves; they are merely tools to help the users contact entities. Some of these entities may be harmless, but others may not. So opening that door to the Otherworld can let in some pretty powerful nasties that can mess with you.

The Ouija board is not "evil", then, but without protection the users can get into a great deal of trouble (not always, but there's always the possibility). As a witch, I learned to put up a "shield" and ask for protection to keep the malevolent entities at bay.

I also made what we call a "witch board"--round instead of rectangular, with the letters of the alphabet and "yes" and "no" carved into it, around the outer edge. As with any magic, something made with care by a witch's own hand and imbued with positive energy while it is made also helps protect the witch (and others) when they use it.

As for experiences, I've had interesting, insightful ones and "dud" sessions. Just like anything else, there are good days and bad days I guess. :shrug:

[winyanstaz]

27. I think you have come closest to what I also believe Morningglow...

I played with the Ouija board a lot as a teenager and got to where my ouija "friend" could come on to my pen and write things, or move something same as a pendulum and he even used to "cheat" at poker for me..moving the cards up I was to discard.
The more I used him (his name was Hank)..the stronger he got.
Once I believe he moved a speeding (and sliding) car sideways as we were hurtling down a mountain pass so that instead of going off the cliff, we were buried in a snow pile. (it was like hitting a giant pile of feathers).
One day I was in a quarrel with my ex-husband and I threw myself on my bed to cry myself to sleep. I felt my husband lay down beside me and I was waiting for him to put his arm around me and apologise for being such a twit, but he didn't move.
So I turned over and came up out of the bed screaming...
The pillow and the bed were indented as if someone was laying there but I couldn't see anyone.
That was the last time I used Hank. He kept trying to come on my pen or whatever for a long time but I just ignored him and after about two years he went away.
He had never hurt me. But he had scared me half to death.
Now I can use a ouija as I know how to protect myself and I also know better than to give my power away. However I am always careful and I don't use them very much.
I also think people should learn to shield first.
Using a Ouija is like picking up the telephone and dialing a number at random. You don't know who is on the other end of the line and you don't know how accurate they are so to my capricorn mind, that is a waste of my time usually. If and when I do use them, it is to gain a little insight or to look at the problem another way perhaps.

[old mark]

21. Mid 1960's. Nothing happened, despite the candles and a little wine

in the darkness.

Well, that thing with the young lady......not supernatural, but close....


mark

[nuxvomica]

22. My sisters and I often played with one when we were kids

We had long sessions with lots of answers. The planchette would sometimes fly across the board followed by both operators (we always needed two) saying "I didn't do it. That wasn't me doing it. I swear."

We never 100% believed the spiritual aspect of it. It was fun and a nifty psychological experiment. Another device I played with as a child required a glass tumbler, a cork, a needle and a small, square piece of paper (maybe 2-3 inches on each side), folded on both diagonals so that it formed a little tent. You push the needle through the center of the cork, place it on on the bottom of the upside-down tumbler, and balance the center of the paper on the tip of the needle. Place the palms of your hands along the sides of the paper without touching it and try to make it spin with just your thoughts. You can make it spin fast in one direction and then reverse the direction at will.

[av8rdave]

24. Tried it as a kid once with friends

I didn't get it. I tried to get into it and take it seriously, but here I am 40 years later, and I'm not rich and I'm not an adult film star.

Maybe I should have tried the 8 - ball.

[susanr516]

25. I had one when I was a kid

It never worked for us, except when a couple of us conspired to freak out an unsuspecting friend. We found it in a bedroom closet when my mom had to go into assisted living and we sold the house. I think we got a quarter for it in the garage sale.

[triguy46]

26. Bizarre! Freaky!!

It was able to identify who liked who and who loved who among my 7th grade friends. AFter that bit of sorcery, it was depleted of all prophetic power.

[Mutley]

28. I had one of those Milton Bradley deals when I was a kid.

My friends and I would push the little thing around and pretend to be all spooked by the "ghost" in the room. :P

[Jo March]

29. A friend and I tried one once

We were about 14 at the time.

We asked who we were speaking to and the board spelled out "Jimmy."

We asked how old Jimmy was and the board spelled out 6.

We asked how Jimmy died. The board spelled out "shot."

We asked who shot him and the board spelled out "dad."

We freaked out (We were alone in her house at the time.) and threw the board. We never got it back out.

Now, we both had deadbeat dads. Mine was abusive and around. Hers wasn't around. Maybe that had something to do with who shot little Jimmy. ;)

I honestly don't remember moving the little piece on the board.

I believe that there are things in this life that science and reason cannot explain. I also believe that two 14 year old girls are very susceptible to suggestions that those boards work. :D

[cherish44]

30. When I was 14 it told me I was going to marry someone named Tom Ruhm

I googled him. He doesn't exist. Damn it all!

[Inspired]

31. Not after seeing The Exorcist.

[carlyhippy]

32. we had one, as a young teen my cousin and I were playing it

and she swears she was not moving the pointer, and I know I was not moving the pointer. it was moving by itself. We took it apart to see if there was some kind of magnet in the board and didn't find one. The pointer was moving amuck all over the board and made no sense. Who knows.

[Brother Buzz]

33. Our planchette was faulty...

because it never did a damn thing. We put it back on the shelf in the closet and played spin-the bottle instead. I got pretty good at that game. So did Bonnie.

[Karl Heinrich]

34. As a teenager.

A group of us used one and scared the crap out of ourselves. To this day, I don't know if it was a real ghost or one of my friends goofing on us.

I think they are not something to mess with casually.

[Capn Sunshine]

35. yeah, coupla times

it's only fun if you're in the mood for spookytown, and members of the opposite sex are a must.

I'll never forget asking "what color do you see where you are?" and it answered
"RED"
ooooooooooooooooeeeeeeeeeeeoooooooo

[Taitertots]

36. Someone is ALWAYS moving it

I'm so surprised how otherwise rational people believe the plastic chunk on the cardboard sheet they got from Toys-r-us is somehow a magical portal.

It didn't move when we used it, unless one of us pushed it. I guess the spirits didn't have anything to say those times.

[slay]

37. All signs point to no.. oh wait that was a magic 8 ball

doh - my bad. not even my kinda 8-ball either.. ahem.. j/k.. heheh..

[KillCapitalism]

38. I used one while under the influence of LSD once.

Talk about a wild experience.

The planchette didn't move, but the face of a woman appeared on the board and began talking to us. She told me I was destined to turn someone's life around completely for the better and that was my purpose in life. Hasn't happened to my knowledge yet.

[qnr]

40. It was very useful. I hit my big brother over the head with one. I recommend it highly n/t

[raccoon]

42. Yes, as an adolescent. I think the participants are consciously or unconsciously making it move.

Ouija board never told me anything that was worthwhile.