  Horror/Scary
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In this newsletter I shall feature several true life experiences of encounters with ouija boards, as a conclusion to "Horror/Scary Newsletter (March 19, 2008)" . I am highlighting these stories purely for writing purposes; a form of inspiration for writers in the horror/scary genre. While some may be sceptical about the power of the ouija board there are enough stories of personal experiences with these objects to give even the most doubtful people pause for thought. I've never used a ouija board, and I do not endorse their use. However I do think they can be a very effective tool for a horror writer wanting to focus on the supernatural aspect of this writing genre.
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When I was 14 years old four girls in one of my high school hostels decided to try one out. My best friend was a boarder at the hostel, and she told me about an hour after they started one of the girls rushed out of the room screaming hysterically. Of course it didn't take long before a crowd of girls was gathered outside the room, whispering and fearful. The night matron arrived, and before she opened the door to the room she told the onlookers to go back to their rooms, taking the girl who'd got out of the room with them. While nobody ever found out what really happened that night and what the four curious girls experienced in the room with the ouija board the room was closed until a priest had come in and "cleansed" the place. The girl who got out the room was sent to another school by her parents, and not one of the other three ever spoke about what happened with the ouija board behind the closed door.
As a writer this story could become an outline for a horror story. It has all the ingredients; four participants, an assortment of onlookers, a matron, a priest, the girl who fled the room in terror... and the ouija board. It is proof that real life can be the greatest source of inspiration for our stories. You needn't take each and every ingredient of the story, and each protagonist can be changed to suit the storyline. I personally don't putting teenagers in horror stories, because I loathe horror films filled with screaming teens! The four girls could be family members or friends, coming together in an attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person who, in life, had a different relationship with each one.
While researching the ouija board material for last month's newsletter I read many stories by people who have used a ouija board. While they are very uncomfortable reading, I believe there's inspiration for anyone interested in writing a horror story about ghosts, spirits, communicating with the dead... or ouija boards. Below is a brief outline of some of the true life experiences I found:
Three young sisters shared a fascination with death and the unknown - they would peruse the obituaries in the local newspaper for the names of recently deceased townsfolk, and together with a few of the local children would hold "séances" in an attempt to contact the recently deceased. Nothing resulted from these gatherings. In their teens they heard about ouija boards. After buying a board they established a routine; two of the sisters would work the board, while the third transcribed the sessions. At first the encounters seemed harmless - they spoke to spirits of the recently dead who told them about their lives and their families. After a few weeks they encountered a being called "Zozo", and this become their only contact through the board. Eventually told them he was the devil, and he was looking for a way to get them. A friend of the sisters told their priest about "Zozo", and he told the girls they shouldn't be messing around with the ouija board.
The girls stopped using the board, and it remained hidden in the attic... until the day a friend of one of the sisters approached them. She wanted to use the ouija board to contact her own sister, who'd died a few months earlier in a car accident. The board helped them make contact with the dead girl. The surviving girl wept and told the spirit she missed her dreadfully, and couldn't bear to live without her. A fortnight later she was killed in a car accident almost identical to the one that claimed her sister's life.
Shortly after moving into their new home, a family discovered they were living with three ghosts. They decided to contact the unwelcome guests using a ouija board, and set the board up in the room in which the ghosts seemed to spend most of their time. They started at 10.00 pm, and the first contacts appeared friendly, warning the girls not to use the board after 11.00 pm. No reason was given. Finding the board so interesting they forgot about the time, and suddenly they were told the spirit wanted to speak to women, and asked the two men to leave they room. They did, and asked the spirit if it was benign. It answered NO, and told the girls it was not really dead, but alive and hunting them - together with another five spirits. The air in the room grew warm and thick, terrifying the girls who ended the session and left the room. They put the board in the cellar, and have tried to get on with their lives. One woman says a benign spirit protects her from the hunting one so he cannot hurt her when she is awake... but when she's asleep the evil spirit appears in her dreams.
This experience dates back to the late 1950s, and the ouija board in question was made of wood, with a pin in the middle of the planchette. The group wanted to raise the ouija board, believing this happened at midnight, so they started their session a couple of hours earlier. At first the answers were trivial and seemingly friendly, but towards midnight the answers became malevolent and peppered with obscenities. Soon midnight struck, but nothing happened. One of the group commented the spirits around them were obviously not strong enough to lift the table. Immediately the table lifted off the floor, rising slowly with all hands upon the board. The table began to tip and sway, so the group lifted their hands off the table. It slammed down hard on the floor. So unnerved was one woman she got up to leave the room. As she opened the door the planchette flew at her from across the room. Had she not ducked when her friends called out a warning it would have hit her in the face.
A woman brought a box of personal effects to a thrift shop, telling the owner her husband had brought the Devil home, and was now unable to work and she needed money to feed her children. The owner paid her for the box, and when she went through it found a very old ouija board. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she took it home. She told her best friend about the board, and the women met the following day. There was no planchette, so they made one out of cardboard, coloured it tan to match the board and painted an eye on the middle. Shortly after they started using the board the homemade planchette moved to spell the words "I am here". Excited they asked its name, and it told them they'd soon find out. Puzzled, they asked it if it was good or evil. The response was intriguing: "I am what is in you, what has been in you and what will be in you. I am forever". Over the next couple of hours the board told them all sorts of details about their lives and their families. During the next few day the women found themselves communicating with the board, unable to tear themselves away from the entity they'd encountered. Then the friend asked the board if her husband loved her. When it replied with a question, asking her what she thought she was stunned, and asked it if he was faithful to her. He told her he wasn't. Horrified, she asked it if she knew the women, whereupon it answered: "Many." Unable to control her tears she asked it what she could do. It told her: "Kill him, then kill them."
Her friend seized the board and threw it in her fireplace before lighting it. As it ignited a thick black smoke and terrible stench filled the room. Terrified, the women stared as the flamed engulfed the board, which suddenly emitted a low and furious growl. Her friend almost fainted at the sound, but they forced themselves to watch it burn until it was a pile of ashes. Now the shop owner understood what the women meant about the Devil being in her home, and to this day she suffers terrible nightmares. Her friend's marriage survived the discovery of her husband's affairs, and it was many months before the fear subsided enough that the friends dared meet again.
Even if you do not believe in the supernatural power of the ouija board such is the stigma attached to this object it can affect a gentle or fragile soul. This letter was sent to a clinical psychologist:
My son who is 21 got into a Ouija Board and since has had some really off the wall ideas that people are with him... he sits by himself, as if he is talking to someone. This weekend has been extremely bad. He has hardly eaten. He goes upstairs and sits on our deck and then he will go downstairs and sits on the porch. He has had very little sleep. I am at my wits' end...
The reply was chilling:
For most people the Ouija Board is harmless fun, just as having your cards or palm read. In rare cases, the Ouija Board (and thousands of other experiences) can trigger psychiatric symptoms in individuals who are psychiatrically fragile - that is, moderately to severely depressed yet trying to work/relate, others at risk to develop psychiatric disorders yet haven't had an increase in symptoms, or people so stressed that it doesn't take much to put them into a major psychiatric reaction. Your son may have fit one of those categories before his experience with the Ouija Board.
Obviously, the experience has moved him into a serious psychiatric state. You are describing a variety of significant psychiatric symptoms including paranoia, possible auditory hallucinations, a loss of social/personal functioning, and social isolation. These symptoms are very serious and associated with a possible psychotic reaction. He may have been frightened in his experience with the Ouija Board, triggering the release of neurochemicals in the brain that produces the paranoid ideation.
He is currently overwhelmed by his experience. He will need psychiatric consultation and treatment. Also sadly, these symptoms can get worse. I would recommend seeing a psychiatrist as soon as possible. You might encourage him to seek help by focusing on the physical issues created by his symptoms -- the sleeplessness, loss of appetite, weight loss, poor concentration, etc. Right now, he is experiencing a type of paranoia that will make him quickly threatened by any focus on the ouija Board or challenge regarding his imaginary friends, spirits, etc.
After preparing these two newsletters I do not believe the ouija board has any place in life, but it could be an excellent tool for a horror writer's next story.
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A thinker never sleeps 
It might be harmless... but I don't think it's ever a good idea to take that risk.
It's very easy to dismiss Ouija Boards as silly toys, but as I feel the above stories prove it is a very dangerous piece of equipment. I don't want to say I have a healthy respect for it, because the mere thought of being under some unseen force's control terrifies me. I absolutely agree - it's not worth the risk, but it is still a great tool for any horror/scary writer interested in writing a story about the supernatural. Thank you for you contribution!
Acme
Whoa! Ouja Diva  I could feel pricks of excitement raise the hairs on the back of my neck as I read the excerpt featured in this insightful edition of your newsletter: Ammianus Marcellinus' "The Later Roman Empire" (A.D. 354-378). Thanks again for another ace write which I will keep for future reference 
Glad you enjoyed it, A!
CandyStaiNeCane 
Wonderful. I always learn something from your newsletters Sarah, and gee this brought me memories of my own Ouija Board experiences. Thank you for educating us and delighting us with your most brilliant newsletters. I can't wait to see what you have in store next. I always look forward to yours.
Thank you for the support and your very kind comments. Have you thought about perhaps using your personal experiences in a Horror story? Not only would it be a great story, but you'd probably find a lot of people might just decided not to succumb to the temptation of the Ouija Board.
K. Medeiros
On the topic of ouija boards in horror, some of the scarier experiences I have heard do not focus on the spirit interaction but the fact that the owner could not destroy the board - be it by fire, tools, etc.
No this is something I've not heard about before - thank you for telling us about this. Again, another great idea for a horror story. The board could survive for generations, used by some supernatural being as a way into our world...
JubeCube ~ official homeowner!
Hi Sarah,
A couple of my friends and I use a ouija board quite frequently and some of our experiences have been quite scary.
Hmmm... not sure this is a good idea, especially in view of the things I've learned doing the research on the Ouija Board. Please be careful - these things can be dangerous.
schipperke
I won't allow Ouija boards in my house. I have heard too many stories from religious people and regular people to take any chances of opening any kind of 'gates' Real life is scary enough! Excellent newsletter.
Very wise, Schip. These things are gread fodder for a horror writer, but I wouldn't want one to be a part of my real life.
jcmiller
WOW! How creepy is it that the first newsletter I open talks about ouija boards... I was just talking to a spiritual medium about how to get rid of mine! And to top it off, you mention Sylvia Plath, one of my most favorite poets. I think this means I should get back to it! Thanks so much for helping to light the fire under my @$$!
I wonder if it's creepy... or coincidence? A sign that you must get rid of yours - sooner rather than later?
scarlett_o_h
Interesting and informative newsletter. I had a very weird and frightening experience with a home-made ouija board in my teenage years and have advised against meddling with them ever since. I'm not sure my story would be suitable but as it's a horror newsletter...hmmm. Thanks for another great one.
Write your story and forward it to me - I'll certainly highlight it in a newsletter, as long as the rating is no higher than 18+. The idea of a home-made board is even more scary than a mass-produced one - makes the story even more terrifying, because perhaps there was "A Force" behind the creation of the board...
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Horror/Scary: April 16, 2008 Issue [#2333]
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