You know that one movie where the young adults play with the Ouija board and everything turns out fine in the end? Of course, you don’t, because that movie doesn’t exist. No matter who you are, what religion you subscribe to or what you believe in, don’t mess with Ouija boards.
The Ouija board is a device that a group of friends, acquaintances or strangers might use to try to communicate with spirits. What people seem to not know, unless they’ve seen any scary movie featuring the Ouija board (for example, “Paranormal Activity” or “Ouija”), is that spirits that want to communicate with people via Ouija boards are usually bad.
When my aunt was in high school she got a Ouija board for Halloween. No one in my family is particularly religious, especially my aunt. No one goes to church and no one has shown signs of harboring superstitious tendencies. So when I was told the story of my aunt’s Ouija board experience, I believed them. They simply don’t care enough about creepy or superstitious things to lie to me about it.
Here’s the story: my aunt played the Ouija board with her friends. Nothing bad happened during the “seance,” and she tossed the board in the closet when they were done. The next day, when she came home from school, it was sitting on her bed. She put it casually back in the closet, went into the bathroom, came back, and the board was on the bed again. She was home alone. Some more creepy goings-on happened and she threw it in a river nearby. It ended up at her friend’s house. They ended up burning the board, and it was finally gone for good.
Ouija boards are sold everywhere, from Walmart to Toys”R”Us. Imagine what would happen if a little girl went to Toys”R”Us and saw a pretty, pink Ouija board and thought to herself, “Hey, maybe I can talk to grandma again.” It’s not totally unreasonable to imagine after only a few days with the board, this girl ending up like Samara from “The Ring.”
I’m not against the Ouija board for religious reasons. I’m a Wiccan. Lots of people in my religion believe they can be used for divination purposes. The issue is that not everyone knows how to use them safely. Even experts can make mistakes – think of it like texting and driving or meeting up with someone you met on the internet. Might you get away with it a few times and be O.K.? Sure, but what happens if you don’t? There’s always a possibility of something going wrong. You never know to whom or what you’re planchette is communicating. You never know what’s on the other side, and it’s very difficult to close the door once it’s been opened.
I genuinely urge everyone to avoid the Ouija board this Halloween — and for the rest of your lives. Of course, you don’t need to listen to me. Feel free to do what you want. Think about it, though — if I’m right, you’ll be sorry. That is if you can stay sane long enough to be sorry.
Happy Halloween!