So I'm sitting here on my bed watching the channel "Destination America" and there's this advertisement for their program "When Ghosts Attack". The Ad. states that "They played with a Spirit Board and unleashed a blood-thirsty demon!" and here I am thinking, "oh here we go!". I also decided to do some research online on the subject of Spirit/Ouija boards. Let me just ask this: How fucking gullible do you have to be to buy into this shit?
First a bit of history.
The Ouija board (/ˈwiːdʒə/ wee-jə) also known as a spirit board or talking board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0-9, the words "yes", "no", "hello" (occasionally), and "goodbye", along with various symbols and graphics. It is a registered trademark of Hasbro Inc., which markets and distributes the Ouija board as part of its line of board games.
Following its commercial introduction by businessman Elijah Bond on July 1, 1890, the Ouija board was regarded as a harmless parlor game unrelated to the occult until American Spiritualist Pearl Curran popularized its use as a divining tool during World War I. Mainstream religions and some occultists have associated use of a Ouija board with the concept of demonic possession, and view the use of the board as a spiritual threat and have cautioned their followers not to use a Ouija board. Despite being criticized by the scientific community and deemed superstitious by traditional Christians, Ouija remains popular among many people. - Source: Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouija
No one seems to know just who invented the Ouija board but it may have been Elijah Bond, since his name is on the original patent documents as the inventor. It may have been Charles Kennard, but regardless of who actually invented the board, he and Kennard Novelty Company patented the ouija board which became very popular at the turn of the twentieth century. He received the patent on February 10, 1891. He called the new creation "Ouija" because he claims the board told him that Ouija was Egyptian for "Good Luck." Source - "History of Ouija Boards", http://zohrala.com/ouija/history.htm
Both images taken from the Hasbro website - http://www.hasbro.com/shop/details.cfm?R=8F00D4B0-6D40-1014-8BF0-9EFBF894F9D4:en_US
NOW A FEW "EXPERT/BLOGGER/PROFESSIONAL" OPINIONS.
Some people believe that that Ouija boards are ancient and go back as far as 500 BC. Ouija boards as we know them are very young compared to older methods of divination. Similar devices may have existed, but Ouija boards, being a flat surface with the alphabet and numerals on it, with a planchette for choosing letters and numbers, didn't come along until much later.
Our response must be to educate and also respect the purpose of the Ouija Board. Just because it may symbolize an alternative methodology from our own does not make it evil. The intention is evil. A car doesn’t kill a human being. The human being who is drunk and behind the wheel kills the human being. I have no problem in us cautioning users on the dangers of the board. And the board does have valid dangers, whether you’re looking at it from a skeptical or paranormal point-of-view. Dale Kaczmarek summed it up nicely in an article he wrote when he said, “This can be psychologically adverse on the psyche as you will attempt to get more and more information out of the board and you could actually just be using the board as an avenue to the inside of your own mind without realizing it. In other words, you could be asking questions of the board and then your subconscious mind would be using the planchette to answer your own questions!” Source - THE PERCEIVED DANGERS OF THE OUIJA BOARD, http://paranormalresearchsociety.org/paranormalinsider/the-perceived-dangers-of-the-ouija-board/
The Ouija board has been used by thousands of people for spirit communication and is very similar to automatic writing, the only difference between the two being the absence of the board itself in automatic writing. Both forms of communication are very dangerous; as are séances, because they are usually uncontrolled forms of communications. In other words, the individuals that use these channels are usually novices and are unaware of the possible dangers that await!
Most often the spirits whom are contacted through the Ouija are those whom reside on "the lower astral plane". These spirits are often very confused and may have died a violent or sudden death; murder, suicide, etc. Therefore, many violent, negative and potentially dangerous conditions are present to those using the board. Often times several spirits will attempt to come through at the same time but the real danger lies when you ask for physical proof of their existence! You might say, "Well, if you're really a spirit, then put out this light or move that object!" What you have just done is simple, you have "opened a doorway" and allowed them to enter into the physical world and future problems can and often do arise!
Anecdotal stories follow on this blog page. Source - Ouija: Not a Game, http://www.ghostresearch.org/articles/ouija.html
Are ouija boards dangerous? As it's Halloween, it's the peak time of the year for people to dabble with ouija. And - ooh, look - the same old hysteria is beginning to erupt any time someone mentions the dreaded board. You can't move on spiritual forums for people dishing out panicky advice about not touching one with a bargepole, not being in the same room as one or even advising people to not be in the same building as where a ouija board is being used. These warnings are usually accompanied by the traditional tales of a friend of a friend of a friend of next door's ex barman who once knew someone through a third cousin who once tried a ouija board and had their life completely, like, ruined.
Let's have some common sense around this issue. The hysteria surrounding ouija boards is a mixture of Hollywood fabrication, urban legend and religious paranoia, and very well they've done the job too. Let's not forget the origins of the ouija board - it was first introduced by Hasbro as a board game. That's a board game. You know, those harmless, fun things? And indeed from its introduction in 1890 until well past the second world war, it was universally considered just that - a game.
Extensive research by better people than me has turned up not one single documented case of someone being harmed that can be directly attributed to a ouija board. Of course there are rumours, of course there are urban legends. Of course there are people who have frightened themselves badly - but that's not the 'fault' of the board. Of course there are people who can report 'bad things' happening to them on the night they used the board or in the days afterwards - these things are called coincidences, people.
An appropriate, non-hysterical response to a ouija board depends on your original standpoint. If you are a skeptic about these things, then you'll consider the ouija board to be merely a demonstration of the ideomotor effect, and you'll consider that the participants are either knowingly or unconsciously moving the planchette. If you are a spiritualist - a real spiritualist, who has studied spiritualism and understands the basic tenets of the faith - then you will consider that all of spirit is love, that there is nothing in the spirit world that can harm you, and that you can therefore proceed to use a ouija board as a tool in complete safety just as you might use tarot cards, crystal, dowsing rods or a piece of jewellery in psychometry. Source - The Truth About Ouija Boards, http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/nikki-harper/ouija-boards_b_2029365.html
Ok, so with both sides of the argument presented, where I have intentionally posted more of the dangerous/warning opinions, due to the fact that I will be presenting my "It's a fucking piece of wood and plastic made by a toy company" argument.
MY THOUGHTS
Ok folks, let me ask, this; If this creation, this game were so damn dangerous, why would it still be being sold in places like Toys 'R Us, Walmart, Target and Spencers toy departments? Is it a case of "Satan" or some other dark force deceiving the entire logical world and using its dark influence to spread its evil to the masses? Doubtful. As mentioned in one of the blog segments posted above, Hollywood movies, superstition, rumors and urban legends have really worked well to foster the evil and dark reputation of this piece of wood. Films like "Witchboard" (below)
and the more well known "The Exorcist" (Left) have helped to spread the sinister character of the Ouija/Spirit board.
Let me clarify my position on the subject of spirits. I do believe that there are powers and energies that we cannot see at work. Just because I cannot see it, does not mean that it does not exist. Electricity, Electromagnetic energy, gravity, air and ultraviolet rays are all things which I cannot see with my eyes, but can prove to be in existence with the proper instrumentation. This leads me to believe that there may be other energies which may one day be measurable, the instruments with which to measure those energies simply do not exist, yet. Will those energies be what are referred to as ghosts, spirits demons or angels? I do not claim to know the answer to that. However, I do not know of any instruments which have irrefutably proven the existence of any of these "Beings".
I know that many people, the world over believe they have had "negative" experiences which are seemingly the result of using a Ouija board. The key word in this argument, or discussion is "Believe". I am a firm proponent of the philosophy that our reality is shaped by our perceptions of reality. What we believe shapes who we are and how we move through our day to day lives. If I believe that every bad thing that happens to me is the result of a curse, then that will be my reality. If, conversely, I believe that everything good in my life comes from some anthropomorphic omnipotent being known as God, then that will shape my reality. So where do people draw the line?
I have noted that in many of the Anecdotes of people being haunted, harassed or plagued by preternatural beings after using a spirit board involve people going through adolescence, or young adults. Additionally, many of the people who have these experiences, do not go to seek professional medical/psychological assistance. It is known that there are many medical and psychological disorders which can and will cause paranormal like phenomenon. This is not to say that everyone dealing with these types of experiences is crazy or sick, however, until one rules out all logical, and medical/psychological causes of the occurrences I simply cannot be brought to believe that their experiences are real. Though I will concede that to the people experiencing the phenomenon, it would seem very real. One writer in one of the posts listed above talked about coincidences. I would equate the ouija board phenomenae with the three dots or the number 23. If you begin to obsessively look for something, then you will begin to find it and begin to rationalize it, thereby making it part of your perceptions of reality.
In my opinion it boils down to this; If you believe that a plastic pointer and a piece of particle board with writing on it are the gateways to hell, then you will begin to experience negative events in your life which you will then attribute to the board. It is a self fulfilling prophecy. If however, like me you understand that the afore mentioned piece of wood and plastic are nothing more, you can use it for entertainment purposes, which it was designed for. What it boils down to is one word, which I have used repeatedly in this Blog BELIEFS. If you believe something strongly enough then that is what will shape your perception of what is real. I for one do not and cannot rectify in my mind that a board game, manufactured by Parker Brothers and Hasbro respectively can release evil spirits which can have adverse effects in and over your life.
To me, IT MAKES NO SENSE!!
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