To Ouija or not to Ouija? I’m about to cross that line for the first time since I was a kid. Folks, don’t try this at home, as they say on TV. Seriously, though, at least be sure you know what you’re doing before you do. Read on…
First, a little history. The Ouija board actually evolved out of a tool for automatic handwriting, a form of spirit communication. At first a basket or other object was used with a mounted pencil as tool for the medium’s communication with the dead. The device evolved into a planchette, a hand-sized heart-shaped plank mounted on two rolling canisters, with the point of a pencil as the third leg. The exact transition of this pencil planchette to the format of a non-penciled version used on a lettered board is unknown, or at least debated, but in 1886 the New York Daily Tribune carried an article about a new “talking board” which was becoming the rage in Ohio.
As the concept developed into marketable products, legal battles ensued. It’s an interesting history. Check out http://www.museumoftalkingboards.com/history.html for more.
In the 1960s the rights to the Ouija board version of the talking board were sold to Parker Brothers, who owns them to this day. There have been many variations of talking boards, both before and after Parker Brothers took over its distribution. In the 1970s as a pre-teen I used the William Fuld version of the board, which is the classic format many of us remember with a faux birds-eye maple background on laminated paper glued onto hardboard. Parker Brothers stopped making this version in 1999, replacing it with the smaller and less detailed glow-in-the-dark version which is still available today.
I well remember my early-teen days using the Ouija with my family in our very actively haunted house. It was incredible how the planchette was constantly responding to our questions, seemingly moving on its own. My mother had explained that it was actually just us moving it through our subconscious, but I had a hard time believing that. Until it all got a little too creepy and then that’s exactly what I tried to convince myself.
The board we used then had belonged to a friend, and I never owned one myself. In fact, I had never really taken them all too seriously until I mentioned one to my husband when we were first dating ten years ago. I thought it might be a good way to talk to the ghost he’d seen in his home, but he was adamant that no Ouija Board would ever come into the house.
Now my husband isn’t exactly afraid of the paranormal, so I was a little surprised. Any time he’s seen our own ghost he hasn’t been the least bit frightened, just amazed. So I did a little homework and apparently the paranormal community had learned much about this little ‘game’ over the years when I wasn’t paying attention. In short, it opens doorway, much as a seance does. If you aren’t controlling the doorway anything might come through and sometimes does. And sometimes, if you haven’t closed the session properly, it doesn’t leave.
The more I’ve learned about the Ouija the more I’ve advocated against its operation by casual users. It’s a tool for communicating with the dead, not a game. In my own book, I Think My House is Haunted!, I strongly suggest not using one if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing, and I mentioned that I was personally not even comfortable enough to use one. That was true then and has been true until a couple of weeks ago.
Over time I’ve listened to the experts, those with a lifetime of experience using the board. I’ve read and I’ve studied. I’ve learned and assimilated. I wanted my own energy in the right place before I started. I needed someone – the right someone – to use it with. And I needed a reason to use it other than my own entertainment.
All the factors have now come together, as I’ll explain in the upcoming series of posts.
Step one was to get a board. I briefly considered one of the new glow-in-the-dark boards simply because a used board comes with an unknown history, and possibly a few attachments to boot. But the new boards are smaller and just not – to me – right, so I wound up on eBay. I decided on a classic William Fuld based Parker Brothers version manufactured in Salem Massachusetts. There were a few available so I tried to get a decent deal on the first one, but lost the auction. The second one I was looking at had an auction that went off at two in the morning, so I waited up, hoping to take it with a last minute bid. I was logged in with seconds to go and my finger on the Bid Now button when something told me “Not this board”. I stopped just short of making the bid, and instead bought a more expensive Buy-it-Now option that I’d saved earlier. I’ll always wonder what might have been attached to that other board, but I’ve come to trust that little voice.
Step two was even harder – talking to my husband. I finally broached the subject, using the “Trust me – I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t know what I was doing” approach. I successfully negotiated outdoor use, which I offered as a compromise and because I think our spirits are attached to our land, not our house. I figured it was a place to start, at least.
The board came yesterday. A used board MUST be cleansed before you use it, and I wanted to cleanse this one before I even brought it into the house. Typically a board is cleansed with prayer, the white light of protection, verbally, and/or with sage. I intended to do them all, but to begin with something more. Any spirits attached to the board had been invited there, and after hearing Chris Flemming’s own Ouija Board story I also believed they could be unhappily stuck on this side of the veil against their will.
As soon as the board arrived I took it to my mini-van to get out of the cold and I put my hand on it. It had energy, almost a heaviness. It was most likely residual, but I’m not one who can tell. Before I cleansed it I talked to the spirits who might be attached. I apologized if they were stuck here against their will and told them they would not be welcome on my land or in my home, but that I would help them cross over to the light if they were ready. I continued with a crossing ceremony, again reiterated than any spirits who remained must now leave, then cleansed the board with prayer, the white light, and verbal protection. Finally I smudged with sage and sweet grass.
I put my hand on the box again. Much better. I brought it in to the kitchen to replace the missing plastic of the planchette, then put the on the back porch. In the meanwhile I did a light smudging on the house – it was overdue anyway.
So there it sits, ready for tonight, or when the time is right.
To be continued…
Living Haunted 