Many horror movies today use the Ouija board to help find and communicate with the paranormal. The most recent involves the movie Paranormal Activity. Most of us have seen that film, so we know how the board works, but for those of us who haven't I will briefly explain it. The Ouija boards came into effect during the mid 1800's and their name means something like talking boards. It is a combination of French and German words. The Ouija board was patented by Adolphus Theodore Wagner in 1854. He called it a psychograph because it was used to read the minds of people with nervous energy. It wasn't until 1861 that it was used to open communications with the spirit world. The modern boards were developed in 1966 by William Fuld. The new boards have the alphabet, numbers 0-9, yes, no, and goodbye written on them. The planchette is the pointer that moves along the board to spell and write things. The point of the board is to contact spirits. People use this to contact deceased love ones, or just because they want to try it out.
Some people believe that the board is just a toy, especially since it is manufactured by the same company that makes other games like Monopoly. But others disagree and swear by the board. One source I found that claims that its just a toy writes, "that a fully conscious person is controlling it under their own power." They say that the the Ideomotor Effect is to blame. This is a phenomenon where someone makes motions unconsciously. So if someone thinks about something long and hard enough, it starts to happen because of neuromuscular responses. However, most people aren't going to believe this. Especially since your supposed to have more then one person holding the planchette so you know that only a spirit is moving it.
It's hard to prove with scientific evidence whether or not the Ouija boards actually work. People have millions of personal experiences that they will never forget and that make changing their minds about whether or not they work impossible. Sometimes people get such astounding responses they are afraid for their lives, while others get a bunch of gibberish. It's so easy to obtain one of these for yourself. So why don't you try it and come up with your own opinion?
Sources:
http://www.allabouttheoccult.org/ouija-board.htm
http://www.trueghosttales.com/paranormal/the-truth-about-ouija-boards/
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I find this post particularly interesting since I have used a Ouija board. While in middle school my friends and I decided to use a Ouija board, we thought it really worked. We spoke to different people, etc. I find myself to be much more skeptical, since the Ouija board is such a suggestible item.
ReplyDeleteI still have a Ouija board in my house. Once my friends and I played on 6/6/06 and every time we would ask it something it would move to spell out the word "Devil". After that day that's all it would ever spell out. I'm still somewhat convinced that the devil is in my house. Interesting post!
ReplyDeleteOuijia boards scare me to no end. Although I do believe they are probably just toys I do not even want to chance opening up any can of worms that I am not prepared for. Even hearing stories about them freaks me out. My friend and her brother once brought their Ouija board down to their basement and began asking questions. They had asked the board, "Prove that you're here." Suddenly, their dog who was probably one of the nicest dogs I have ever met ran down the stairs and started attacking my friends brother relentlessly. After I heard that I decided to not even bother with them, fake or not.
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