My stories today are going to revolve around my interactions with an Ouija board. I have had many but a few stand out to me and I would like to share them. Some of these stories involve two friends of mine that have actually passed away. If you are easily offended by the talk of paranormal correlations with death and things like that... please don't read any further. I will say that my stories are told to the best of my ability and are 100% honest. I know that ghost stories like these are fun to read and laugh about, but these are actually some of the scariest moments of my life. I will only share stories that include friends and people that can back them up.
If you aren't familiar with what an Ouija board is I will give you a small history lesson. In the mid 19th century, a new movement was created in America: Spiritualism. People began to question what happened after death and pressed for ways to communicate with loved ones after their passing. Many sought out spiritualists that possessed methods of breaking the barrier between our world and the afterlife. Spiritualism was heavily frowned upon but famous people throughout America's history relied on mediums to communicate with their loved ones. One person that I found interesting was Mary Todd Lincoln. After the passing of her 11 year old son, she sought out mediums often and conducted many séances in the White House. In the 1880's, a "game" was developed that really gripped the attention of Americans. They called it the "talking board." The origin of the board is unclear, and it was usually made by hand. People used paper with the alphabet written on it and usually a drinking glass as a planchette. The popularity of this game spread by word of mouth and soon a businessman known as Charles Kennard saw an opportunity to make a lot of money. What I found interesting was that Kennard actually turned to his sister, who was a very well-known medium, in hopes that she would help him develop the feel of the board. Here is the creepy part: the first edition of boards that were made were actually made from recycled wood. Do you know where that wood came from? Coffins. Mhmm. Nastaaay. It is said that the name of the board originated from the French and German word for "yes" which is "Oui" and "Ja" but it is also said that Ouija is the ancient Egyptian term for "Good luck." So the boards began to sell like crazy and now they're actually available in toy stores! I actually bought mine at Books-A-Million for like $30.00. So, if you're trying to summon Satan, it costs less than a meal at Olive Garden, I'm just sayin'! But don't do that, ok? It's just not cool.
This bad boy is a First Edition.
The first time I ever saw an Ouija board was when I was around 6 or so. The memories of that night are actually fuzzy because it was so long ago but I recall my older sister having a sleepover and she and her friends were playing with it in the hallway of our parents' house. I remember that my mom had told me that I couldn't go near it. I guess if you had a bedtime before 10:00 pm then you couldn't talk to the dead. My loss, right? I just remember being fascinated with it, but being too young to play with them... I just watched from a distance secretly hoping that I would witness a possession so I could get out of my bath time. I don't remember any questions asked or any responses or even how legit those responses were. All I know is that some terrible things happened that night. After playing with it for a while, my mom asked the girls if they would like to ride with her to pick up the pizza. On the way back from getting the food, the entire back glass of my mom's car shattered. Yes. Just completely shattered for no reason. After that, I was never quick to want to play with a board or even look at one. An Ouija board was actually never "allowed" in our house so I don't know who that particular board belonged to but needless to say it was never on our Christmas lists.
A few years later, I was probably around 13 when I was introduced to the board again. My best friend, Bethany, had one and shared some positive experiences that she had had with it. She was more familiar with the way that it worked and me being the eager little shit that I was, I was ready to learn! We messed around with it a few times, but nothing ever happened other than a few knocks and bumps here or there but I was intrigued and it wasn't enough for me. Not long after that, I had a sleepover with Bethany and another best friend of mine, Alayna. Now, if you are familiar with Alayna and uneasy about stories about her, like I mentioned before, please don't read any further. However, she was a huge part of my life and so are our memories so I am going to share this story. If you did not know her, she was a very silly, likable person. She loved to laugh and make others laugh. It was one of my favorite qualities in her. However, on this particular night, Bethany had explained to her that the Ouija board was no laughing matter. That it was actually a portal to the "other side" and that her jokes would not be taken lightly. If you don't know, there are unspoken rules to the board. Never ask questions that you don't want to know the answers to. For example: never, ever ask "When am I going to die?" This was explained and we were all aware of this rule. We began playing... asking silly questions that preteens would ask. "Who am I going to marry?" (By the way, my answer was "Cody" who was my middle school crush at the time so I find that pretty interesting) "When will I lose my virginity?" We won't go into those responses. "What am I going to be when I grow up?" "What will I have for dinner tomorrow night?" And then Alayna did it. She blurted out the question "How old will I be when I die??" The room fell silent and there was a sudden shift. Something that I could not explain. I remember completely taking my hand off of the planchette because this cold chill came over me and I wanted to be done. Jokingly, Alayna kept her hand on and it slowly went to the numbers "1" and then "8." I remember looking at Bethany, who removed her hand as well, and had a very uncomfortable look on her face. Alayna quickly laughed this off and assured us that it was all pretend and that we were taking it too seriously. After sitting in a few seconds of silence, my dog began to go crazy. She was downstairs at the time and we were there alone while my parents went out to dinner. The three of us made our way down the stairs, practically joined at the hip and to the kitchen. When the dog saw us she immediately turned towards us and began barking and growling. It was something I had never seen her do and it scared me beyond belief. She cornered us against the cabinets and would not stop. She wouldn't let me touch her or let us move around her. This went on for about 15 minutes and finally she stopped, stared at us for a second, and walked away. And though we shrugged it off, I remember lying in bed that night and not being able to get my mind off of it. Did we really let something in? We didn't speak of it much after that.
The Ouija board sort of became a sleepover tradition. It was a way to break the ice and get a few laughs out of some silly questions. One night, the three of us stayed at another friend's house, Whitney, and introduced her to the game. It started out funny as usual and the rules were explained to everyone once again. We went around and took turns asking questions and actually did not get much activity that night. When it came to Alayna's turn she asked "You told me how old I will be when I die, tell me how?" Suddenly I became furious. I quickly turned to her and scolded her, telling her to stop asking questions like that. I remember her laughing at the fact that it upset me and hugging me, telling me that I was being ridiculous and that I was taking it too seriously. The planchette began to move. C-R-A-S-H. We stopped playing it for the night. For a while, actually.
Now, whether or not this has anything to do with Alayna's accident, I would not be able to tell you. Could it be coincidence? Yes. She was a prankster and it is possible that she could have been trying to spook us. All I know is, when I received the call that she was gone, at the age of 18, that was the first thing that came to mind. And I think back to that night often and still get one of the most uncomfortable feelings. I miss her dearly and mean no disrespect with these stories of her. Bethany and I don't actually share these stories often, but it is something that lingers still in our friendship and something that we have yet to be able to explain.
A couple of years later, in High School, we played it with a larger group of friends. We told them of our past experiences and the answers we'd gotten. It was around Halloween, so everyone was pretty stoked and in the paranormal spirit. For some reason, I cannot remember a lot about this night. I remember the board giving us very vivid answers. I remember us asking the name and it was very clear with a first name, although I cannot remember what it was. I do remember that it was a girl. When we asked how she died it spelled "DIRT" which was weird but we continued. We then asked where she lived when she was alive and it actually spelled out "Florida." We had a few guys in the group that were skeptical. This could have been anyone moving it, which was true. So I went to my laptop and started googling. Sure enough, there was a story from a small town in Florida where a little girl was actually taken out of her room in the middle of the night, strangled, and buried while she was still alive. Once again, this could very well be coincidence or someone already aware of this story. But from the looks of the stories we found, it didn't seem like it had made national news. Everyone's reaction seemed pretty genuine at the time. So whether or not this was real, I really don't know. But I know it terrified me to the point that I told myself I was done with the board.
And for a few years, I was. However, I had a friend (and I am not going to actually share his real name for personal reasons) that I really began to get close to. I was 18 at the time and just coming out of a horrid break-up. For a short while, he was my very best friend. We did spontaneous things together and had frequent sleepovers. (He was very respectful, so don't get the wrong idea!) One night, we began swapping paranormal stories. He had had a lot of experiences similar to mine but had never played with an Ouija board. I told him about my experiences with it and that I wasn't entirely comfortable playing. But of course, I was easily persuaded and we actually went and purchased one that night. He did not believe that someone could actually communicate with the dead through something that could be purchased at Toys-R-Us. We pulled it out of the package and I immediately got a weird feeling. I felt cold all over and was no longer into playing with it. I told him that I would participate but that I did not want to ask questions. So he asked all of the questions. He first asked, "Does Amber secretly love me?" It answered "No." And we had a good laugh. He continued with questions like this and the answers were getting funnier and funnier. And then he asked "When am I going to die?" I remember jerking my hands from the board and telling him that he was NOT supposed to ask that question. "Ohhh nooo," he joked. His hands remained on the board and it responded slowly. "12" We both just looked at each other. I assumed he did it because my hands weren't touching it. Neither one of us could think of the significance of the number. So we brushed it off and eventually put the board up for the night.
I regret saying that about 4 years later, my friend was killed in a very bad accident. I actually did not correlate the incident with board answers until a few months later. He died on the 12th of September.
I do own my own Ouija board. My husband and I actually bought one a couple of years ago for fun. I mostly use it for Halloween decor but do not allow my children to touch it. Even though most only see it as a toy, I firmly believe that any object can be used as a portal to darker worlds. Being such small pieces of such a large universe, we really cannot say why things happen the way that they do. I actually put my board out on the kitchen table a couple of days ago before a Halloween party. I just wanted it there for decoration. When Cody saw it, he made a comment about not having it out since we had been having a lot of paranormal activity going on in the house. I told him that no one was going to touch it that it was just for the party. He mentioned the planchette being on a certain letter during our conversation. A little later he came back through the kitchen as I was getting food and drinks out. He asked if I moved the planchette. Knowing that I hadn't even been over to table, I told him no. As I looked over, though, the planchette had been moved to the word "Yes." I can't explain how this happened, I was in the kitchen the entire time by myself so I honestly don't know. Needless to say, the board was tossed to the side and no longer a center piece for the night!
Thanks for reading, guys! If you have any Ouija board stories, please share them with me!
Until next time -- Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to.
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