Do Ouija Boards Really Work? Spoiler Alert: They Don't.
afterlife,
confirmation bias,
demon,
devil,
facilitated communication,
idiomotor effect,
ouija boards,
spirits
Ouija Board Rule #1
Never play with the Ouija board alone. This is for your safety both physically and mentally. Ouija board experiences are occasionally extreme and should this occur you will need someone with which to support you, both during and after the occurrence.
Ouija Board Rule #2
Do not allow the planchette to count down through the numbers or backwards through the alphabet. Doing could result in the spirit escaping from the board, allowing it to terrorize you and the other players indefinitely.
Ouija Board Rule #3
Always place a silver object upon the Ouija board before playing. Silver is known (ahem) for its power to repel evil energies.
Ouija Board Rule #4
Never, ever mention ‘God’, as it is believed that entities contacted through the Ouija board are generally ‘evil’ in nature. Some may appear "good" at first, but it is likely a demon who is playing tricks.
Ouija Board Rule #5
When you are done playing, say ‘goodbye’. Failure to close the Ouija board session by saying ‘goodbye’ may result in the contacted entity remaining present long after you have finished playing.
Pretty scary stuff. So what's really going on?
The movement of the pointer on the Ouija board can be attributed to something called the ideomotor effect. Humans might not be aware of it, but suggestions can be made to the mind by others, by observations, or by other mediums – and these suggestions can influence the mind and affect motor behavior.
According to The Skeptic Dictionary, tests devised by American psychologist William James, French chemist Michel Chevreul, English scientist Michael Faraday, and American psychologist Ray Hyman have demonstrated that many phenomena attributed to spiritual or paranormal forces, or to mysterious "energies," are actually due to ideomotor action. Furthermore, these tests demonstrate that "honest, intelligent people can unconsciously engage in muscular activity that is consistent with their expectations" (Hyman 1999). They also show that suggestions that can guide behavior can be given by subtle clues (Hyman 1977).
So, when people go to play the Ouija board, they know in advance of what it’s supposed to do, they (often) expect it to give some sort of results, and unconsciously, they guide the pointer so that it gives “answers”. There are no demons. There are no spirits. It’s just a piece of plastic/cardboard. Nothing more.
After all “If there really is an afterlife, I'll bet the best way to contact it is through a plastic, mass-produced board game from Milton Bradley! --Mad Magazine”
References:
http://skepdic.com/facilcom.html
http://www.skepdic.com/ouija.html
http://www.skepdic.com/ouija.html
http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Ouija-Learn-How-to-Play-the-Ouija-Board-with-this-Ouija-Board-How-To-Guide
http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa090699.htm
http://www.skepdic.com/ideomotor.html
Posts
When I was a child , My friends and I played with the Ouiji board. I was afraid at first. Anyways this was when I was 10 I am now almost 30 . But I still remember this coincidence or not. We said if you are real then call us. Literally as we finished saying this the Phone Rang I laughed and said wow that was scary ..I answered it because they were afraid , no one was there . We were the only ones home at the time. and this is before everyone had cell phones. We contined to play asked if that was him calling he said yes, then the lights flickered like there was a short in the electrical system or somehting. We were a little freaked out. So we through the board across the room into her closet and shut the door. Two days later my child hood friend was dead , suicide.
omg that is scary as fuck, thats crazy how can it just move, why doesnt the world talk about this i mean there has to be a warning on the box at least
my friend and I were playing with a ouija bored today, the pointer was moving all across the bored very fastly. spelling out random words we could not understand. we were also playing with my friends step mom. every time she touched the pointer. the pointer went nuts. scattering all across the bored. once we finally said goodbye. my friends step mom hands were ICE cold. and our hands were beat warm.
it was like the spirit was using her to contact.
Just like to say this; have you ever played those of you reading? If you try to push the planchette consciously , it will trip up and it is obvious it was pushed. If you play, don't go in thinking "This is all rubbish!" because it most likely won't be someone pushing ;) Happy Ouija games! Stay safe.
i want to try this, because my friend told me it actually worked on him, but it was scary. and I m not sure if i should give it a shot too... it sounds fun, but if its not all bull, the chances of things going wrong is wayy higher than "staying safe"
Well me and my friend did't now what it was when we first saw it in her house so we opened it and shaked it all up we went upstairs and told her parents and there only reply was that they said "you let him out" i was so scared!
omg. scary.
steve french
my firend started laughing histariclly after we used one and then all the stuff on the table flew at hom and he broke his arm in thre places so we just threw it away and forgot to say goodbye, 2 days later his parents found him pinned to the wall dead with the kitchen knives
I was playing with the Ouija board and at first everything was going good we were talking to a little girl when she spelled help and repetedly going to qf she then proceeded to say he wanted to hurt us then things got weird the Planchette was going so fast it was slipping from our hands it was saying things like it wanted me and it didn't like us and we asked who is this it replied qf and when the planchette went to the g my closet door slammed open and there was a lot of pounding and stumps and ever since then bad stuff has been happening I took it as a joke but this isn't a joke don't mess with the Ouija board
I just bought one and i'm kind of scared to use one but i don't really believe some of the stories that are being told and i don't want someone to get hurt.
do not mess with these things. they are real and u will regret it. your inviting evil spirits. me and my friends did it. nothing moved or anything. but we were all scared. we felt it. there was something there and it was not good. we tried and tried. my friends dog came in barking like hell. that dog hadnt been in there in a looong time. it was terrified. and just sat there and looked at us in fear. we put it away. that day nothing went well. it was terrible. i went home that night and there was something in my room. there were shadows going past my door. and right before i fell asleep twice. something whispered right in my face. the second time it was fuckin piseed as hell. this is no joke. dont do it..
you crazy idiots
Its hard to believe these stories all over the internet a buddy of mine has tried it so many times id say over a hundred times on his own, with people and out of his head on drink and drugs and he has never had an encounter with ant spirit and this fella loves all these kinda things, can any1 say they hav a story like this were they have tried it so many times and nothin hapened. I hope it works i wana try for myself but cant get any1 to do it i would ask the friend iv been talkin about but he moved to a different country. Like some1 whispering into ur face and loads of shadows goin past your door that would be some fukin scary shit and u say it as it was like it was nothing to u
Iv played it all of my life and yet nothing has ever gone wrong. If you follow the rules, Nothing is really scary. They can lie and i'm sure they can follow you and hurt you too, But as long as you do the right things then your just fine.
i believe in ghosts but i think this is utter garbage
ive played the ouija board recently with some friends and i didnt believe it was real at all but once i played i found out different. me and my friends talked to what i believe was a demon and ever since ive played the ouija board i feel like someone is watching me and following me wherever i go it is a very uncomfortable feeling i regret ever playing it.
Ouija board is no joke, anyone who says its fake doesn't know jack, I am 23 I started playing at 14 with my best friend then more and more then even alone at times, I will never in my life touch one of those things again, evil is real and it's scary, at that time in my life I was against god, and for the devil, and if you allow it a demon WILL attatch itself to you and it will NOT leave until it is done screwing with you. I get chills to this day just thinking about the things I went through. It's unexplainable, most people think I was crazy. But I know it was real. So please be careful to anyone who's thinking of playing. If you are a believer you just might have something bad coming your way. Hopefully not. You don't want it.
I'm really into these things I love it but wen I speak about ghosts demons n devils I feel very uncomfortable and I feel strange lyk sumone is waiting 4 me 2 get hurt I'm goin 2 buy an ouija board and av an experience 4 myself I'm only 15 but I'm a person who's lyk ill try everything but if sumthing goin wrong I'm really paranoid u name anything about ghost ects its happened 2 me but its really called a lifetime experience
its all fun and games till someone gets hurt but listen the ouija board is a way to talk to spearets nothing more close the door when you done or your going to get hurt demons lie they trick you they cnive and thrive on pain so always close the door even if you have to force it shut you and who ever is playing with you if you DON'T you will get HURT or even DIE but if you CLOSE THE DOOR NOTHING WILL HAPPEN o yeah one more thing BE RESPECTFUL THE HOLE TIME and never play if your SCARED never play if your BORED or if you think it is a JOKE because then your asking for TROUBLE
I've tired playing the Ouija board by myself and I do see spirits I'm currently living with my bf and his mom and I know the house wasn't haunted when I moved in and since I tried playing. By myself I've felt a presence around me today I seen a guy in the corner of my eye and I know this is the guy I've been feeling around me but oddly the Ouija board didn't move for me but I said goodbye but it was days later and I still feel him and seeing him but I have played it with my sisters and friends it always worked. But this time playing it alone wasn't smart since I've played alone Ive been having bad dreams about going to hell and bad thoughts of killing myself I myself I warn whoever want to try some scary fun to always say goodbye and if they don't want to say goodbye say it for them because the territory I've been dealing with is scary and Iregret ever playing
me to a girl with black hair and black dress been watching use my friend becky got hurt my friends were scared and act like it was aj joe and wont work then it got scary any i almost died if i didnt move never play with mirrors around
I cant believe that all these people would make up such a crazy story to scare people. I tried the ouija board it does not work.
I've played it nothing happened. My friend Audrey...he's a drag queen...got sliced with a mcnugget...no joke...
If u think its garbage try it yourself its really shit bro.
Play from 11 to 3 and you might have to wait 15 20 minutes but when it works theres nothing fake about you can smell weird shit and all kinds of crazy shit
Honestly? Demons? Devils? Lol. Try it with a group of friends blind-folded. And have one mate, not playing or touching just look on to see what happens. 100% of the time it will be mumble-jumble. What does that tell u? The human mind is far more powerful than anyone can imagine. Wake up people. But sure, if it makes you feel better....the devil made me do it..lol. And some of the stories above, are just the rantings of small minds. Sorry, but true.
I'm calling bs