Has anyone here ever experimented with the Ouija board?

Is it proof of the occult, or a simple board game formerly by Parker Bros, now owned by Hasbro?

Ouija boards would cease to operate when my TBM grandmother would walk into a room where women were using one. When they asked the ouija board why did it stop working, it answered because someone there did not believe in it. That someone was my Grandmother.

She refused to have a thing to do with the occult. Including ouija boards, tarot cards, palm reading, etc.

I tried playing with the Ouija board only one time, as a teenager with some girlfriends who lived across the street. We were playing in their basement, and the planchette was flying around the board answering whatever questions we had for it. The questions were phrased that no one else but the girl asking knew the answer to test its authenticity. Our fingers were barely touching it.

Then I went further by asking it questions none of us knew the answer to. By the time we were done playing with that "game" we became so spooked that we ran from the basement out into daylight to get away from it. I've never played it since.

I've followed my late grandmother's advice by steering clear of it.

Seeing as how there is no such thing as any supernatural power or entity, I think it is safe to say it is a silly and harmless pastime.

If it really worked, as I have opined before, it would be an unimaginable source of motive force. Just think of it- a giant Ouija board connected to a massive water pump or construction crane, and all you would need to operate it is a bunch of 13-year old girls. Outstanding. I claim patent priority on the concept.

If it worked that well, you had better believe it, lolol.

Some notable users of the ouija board (from wiki,) were:

*Much of William Butler Yeats's later poetry was inspired, among other facets of occultism, by the Ouija board. Yeats himself did not use it, but his wife did.[52]

*In London in 1994, convicted murderer Stephen Young was granted a retrial after it was learned that four of the jurors had conducted a Ouija board séance and had "contacted" the murdered man, who had named Young as his killer.[53] Young was convicted for a second time at his retrial and jailed for life.[54][55][56]

*E. H. Jones and C. W. Hill, whilst prisoners of the Turks during the First World War, used a Ouija board to convince their captors that they were mediums as part of an escape plan.[57]

So can we take it as a fact that you believe in the power of the ouija board? (I'm supposed to capitalize the 'O' but screw it...)

I thought it amusing that the ouija board would stop working when your TBM GM would walk into the room, but it somehow managed to gasp out the announcement that someone in the room didn't believe.

It works very well at making superstitious and foolish people believe it works.

Beats the $#!% out of me...

Okay, Kirby would say that, and I'm passive-aggressive enough to stick him into this discussion because, well just because...

My take is this is a "trap question" because the alternative "just a game" is minimized and thus rendered trivial when it shouldn't be.

I think it's occasionally an effective way of "accessing the subconscious"; I'm trying to remember another "game" that used a "swinging pendulum" to to achieve the same end. Wasn't that one that Kreskin used?

You're free to look that one up; I've seen enough "coincidences" in the psychic realm that I "tend to be a believer," but if I say that very loudly, the wrong people will think I'm nutso. I might be, but I manage to get myself dressed every morning, go to work, and stay out jail.

SL Cabbie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
I might be,
> but I manage to get myself dressed every morning,
> go to work, and stay out jail.


I rarely reply to your comments, Cabbie, but I always read them, and often times learn something. I confess you are my favorite Cabbie. :-)

So don't you go no where, Ya hear?

^^^ditto, angela!^^^^

:)

though I don't always catch what nuance they're meant to convey. Are they words used in unusual or ironic or problematic ways, do they "imply doubt or ambiguity in words or ideas within the marks, or even outright contempt," or are they "the perfect device for making an insinuation without proving it, or even necessarily making clear what you're insinuating"? (quotes from the Wikipedia entry)

They always make me think about the distance you put between yourself and what you write, and why.

Provisionally, however, I'm inclined to like it...

As for Wiki, I'll never use it as a "final authority"* on anything, only as a lead-in or to offer an overview.

I know my processes as a writer well because of about 30-40 credit hours in both undergrad and grad workshops (although we all have blindspots). My motives are varied depending on the context. If someone else uses a term or phrase, then I'll put it there to a) point to their ownership, and b) present my "voice" as offering possible distance in order that what I say will be perceived as objective. It strikes me as a common practice other writers to use them similarly and the antecendent must be taken into account.

My regrets if something occasionally comes across as obtuse, etc. Identifying them as either ironic or problematic is likely to be accurate (that's an "either/or" analysis).

_______________

/gipper voice on: There I go again...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2018 04:49PM by SL Cabbie.

But yup, Richard. I was taught to use them on rare occasion.

ETA: https://www.dailywritingtips.com/3-erroneous-uses-of-scare-quotes/

EATA: Silly Brits gave it to us ;) https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/72307/who-coined-the-term-scare-quotes-and-why-is-the-word-scare-used



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2018 12:37AM by Beth.

Interesting articles. I just might sign up on that daily writing site :)

Swinging a pendulum is not a 'game' but called dowsing, people also dowse with rods.

I have not tried a Ouija board yet but I have attempted many other ways to access my 'sub conscious'.

The dowsing with a pendulum is one way, body reactions is another. I dowsed in front of my grandkids and embarrassed a number of them with the information I got where they were not being truthful.

Actually, since science has not been able to identify how any of these things actually work, when they do, many other things such as intuition, remote viewing, and various other psychic/intuition techniques may be related to contact with the sub conscious, universal knowledge, or who knows.

Last night in a community class by a hypnotherapist, he taught about 10 of us how to get body responses to questions in the head, heart and stomach. I was familiar with these techniques so not a big deal but most others were not. However, only 1 of the 10 people couldn't tell him how committed they were to their 'undivulged goal' in the three body areas (most of us were not in alignment). Only this same person, admitted he wasn't getting any type of messages from the 3 areas or any thoughts that came into his mind when he relaxed then asked each body area for information.

I have 'never' had a 'demon/evil type issue' using any technique I have used. Others that have not studied this stuff could easily believe any message they may get would be 'creepy' when they get anything that may differ from what they may believe.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2018 12:01AM by spiritist.

Maybe you could go over to the croupier's office and get some more chips...

https://www.ebay.com/p/1966-Milton-Bradley-4722-Kreskins-ESP-Board-Game/1700554994

I know what "water dowsing" is, but honest, that's a pendulum.

#I still have the old "Roadkill" tendencies even when I'm trying to mind my manners.

Interesting ----- I never have seen it before.

Thanks for the information and reference!

I’d suggest asking where buried treasure can be found, or the winning lottery numbers for the powerball. If you suddenly acquire a massive fortune, you’ll know it’s legit.

There was some woman in NJ who won the state lottery TWICE in a row. She won something like 3,000,000 each go round.

I've wondered if she had a secret, or just sheer luck?

She was so over the top with her winnings, that she went flat busted broke and is living in a trailer home park last told.

Easy come, easy go.

It works to the full extent of your imagination.

I know someone for which the planchette would move without her touching it. When that happens, it’s probably time to stop.

I think it means it’s time to investigate the source of the moving planchette beyond the surface of the board. Because ultimately, some natural explanation exists for it moving without someone pushing it.

I played with one when I was in high school. It said that I would get married at 35 to a guy named Frank. I'm now 48, still single, and don't know a Frank.

That said, my sister made her own board and lots of weird stuff happened with it, including the marker glass moving by itself, so...

If I was Frank with you I'd have to change my name :)

I played with it as a kid and got a similar prediction that was garbage. I knew it was garbage even as a kid!

The I Ching on the other hand gives pretty solid appraisal and advice -- but it's advice that is applicable to a wide variety of people and situations.

I have a healthy respect for all things connected to evil. I obey the Bible to stay away from all "divining." No Ouija board, no horoscopes, no cards, palms or leaves.

My trust is in God alone.

Palms? Haven't heard that one. But magic et al? Yeah. I've never liked it. Found it scary as a kid. It was forbidden as a JW. That's never left me. Don't like scary movies. Occult too creepy for me.

Palm as in hand. I was thinking trees. Haha

NG you crack me up!

It's a great gullibility meter. Pretty good score word in Scrabble too.

I always moved the thing myself. If more than one person had their hands on the little plastic device, no one including the participants could know for certain if one of the other participants was moving it. Possibly in the case of the device refusing to move when Amyjo's grandmother entered the room, the person who was moving it previously may have ceased to move it any longer.

I always found it an odd coincidence that the Ouija bourd's spelling could only be as good as were the spelling skills of those playing the game.

If it were for real, why would the participants need to touch the plastic device?

I'm highly skeptical at the very least.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2018 10:05PM by scmd1.

Ouija boards are REAL !!!!!


JC did the same bit on Letterman and it was super/ even better, but I could not locate that video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PCihs67wdo

I never messed around with one but I have had several people tell me they did and wished they didn't. Human beings of course tend to be superstitious and people claim to experience all sorts of things. Maybe people have a creepy experience because they have herd dark things about Ouija boards.

I bought a used Scrabble set at a thrift shop in New Jersey in the early 70s while living in Asbury Park.

It turned out to have extra letters which were obviously hand-made. There were at least eight extra letters, all from foreign languages.

Every time we played with that Scrabble set, the lights would flicker and I would always get a set of letters that spelled evil, grotesque nouns. Occasionally I'd be able to spell and naughty verbs. I don't even want to discuss the adjectives...

I guarantee you, there are things in this world that are spelled out!!!!

///scary/// LOL!

Instead of spewing fake crap you should study the ideomotor effect.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNk8-A1gRMo

Ideomotor or idiomotor?

For that matter, what about idiometer?

Not some junk from a box like a board game or something.

Thanks for the explanation! Based on that it is worth pursuing more ----- my subconscious has significantly more 'information/knowledge' to draw on than my conscious mind.

I have other techniques but need to try this technique also.

Or "the gift of the rod," like Oliver Cowdery had.

It appears he didn’t use it the same way as Joseph.

A wise observation!

https://kotaku.com/the-real-fakery-of-the-ouija-board-1819805308

Why would you think it's real?

Well, that's good in theory but it doesn't pass the smell test because it doesn't explain the spirits.

You have to drink a lot of spirits to believe this crap.

It works best if you play it in the dark.

Tell us why it never works if the players are blindfolded and the board is reversed.

The only game you'd play blindfolded is pin the tail on the donkey.

Surely you jest.

Any board game there are rules to observe.

Exactly! Otherwise the spirits are offended...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_8-Ball

The 20 answers inside a standard Magic 8-Ball are:

● It is certain.
● It is decidedly so.
● Without a doubt.
● Yes - definitely.
● You may rely on it.
● As I see it, yes.
● Most likely.
● Outlook good.
● Yes.
● Signs point to yes.
● Reply hazy, try again
● Ask again later.
● Better not tell you now.
● Cannot predict now.
● Concentrate and ask again.
● Don't count on it.
● My reply is no.
● My sources say no.
● Outlook not so good.
● Very doubtful.
Ten of the possible answers are affirmative (●), while five are non-committal (●) and five are negative (●).

A classic book about the Ouija Board is, *Ouija: The Most Dangerous Game* by Stoker Hunt.

You can read a bit of it on Amazon. I am going to see if my friend has a copy. I would like to learn the history behind it.

I have known people that are really into this kind of thing and they all say to stay away from Ouija and automatic writing.

I was taught as a mormon kid that we were not supposed to use

a ouija board because they were bad, evil, a tool of satan.

One can read accounts that claim that even one innocent session of experimenting with a Ouija Board can result in opening the door to the horrors of demonic possession.

One can read accounts of an angel revealing the location of an ancient record of a people who left Jerusalem and traveled across an ocean and populated the Americas, so who can dispute you?

So many accounts of so many doings!!

The Ouija board was featured on Paranormal Survivor tonight in one of its specials.

About a group of young adults that became obsessed with it to the point of addiction. One of the group went cold turkey, and moved out with her young daughter to get away from the bad spirits that they introduced into their home by means of the "spirit board."

After the group broke up, they ceased all activity with the ouija board. It creeped them out.

Tell us your truth!

You believe in the ouija! Right?

Ouija believe it?!