Superstition & Stupidity

There is way too much to be said about some of the backward beliefs about Ouija, and Talking Boards in today’s society, and the paranormal research field. Since the release of The Exorcist, boards have all but disappeared from modern culture.

WARNING: The superstition page is designed for one thing. To get people to think for themselves. If you get offended easily, just so you know, you’ve been warned. Instead of getting angry, PLEASE just think about it. If you learn but one thing about the board, or more importantly yourself, then it was well worth it.

This is going to be somewhat of an editorial, so if I ruffle some feathers, I apologize ahead of time.

Over the years, I’ve heard a LOT of silly superstitions, and stories regarding the board. Most of the time, if not ALL of the time, the superstition or story came from somebody with SECOND-HAND information who read something somewhere written by someone else, equally clueless. Either that, or they retold a story about the board, repeating crap that they’ve overheard while CLAIMING that they were the one who had experienced it in the first place.

This is how people form their PERSONAL beliefs about talking boards! They believe shit that they overheard by listening to superstitious idiots! Either that, or they watched a horror movie because… They’re always true and factual, right?

Everyone’s clueless!

I’m clueless too. I’m not denying that. I ain’t gonna sit here, and lie to ya. Again, unlike many people, I just have the humility to admit it.

How many stories have you heard about the board spelling out something negative, and then something ‘flies across the room’? Yet, not a single person has documented this phenomena. I mean, even Bigfoot has pictures. U.F.O’s are filmed every day, and you mean to tell me that a scenario as easy to put together as Ouija session or seance isn’t filmed with any sort of bizarre occurrences? I just don’t buy it.

I’m not at all a cynic. I’m sure that things HAVE flown across the room, and whoever had witnessed that told someone about it. And they told someone. And they told someone, and so on. Now everyone, and their brother is claiming to have seen it. Stop telling me. Show me.

There are a lot of superstitions involved in using the board, most if not all of them have not yet been solidified with any sort of evidence. Here are the most common, and each one is as ridiculous as the next.

 

Superstitions I’ve Heard

 

• When you use a Ouija Board, you’re bring otherworldly spirits into this world.

Please tell me you’re not serious. It’s a piece of wood with letters on it. I’ve heard, and seen nothing that even suggests this.

 

• When a spirit counts down using the numbers on the board, or goes through the letters of the alphabet, it’s attempting to escape the board. Don’t let it finish.

Where the hell did this idea come from? Let’s just assume for a second that the silly idea of a spirit is actually trapped somewhere in a thin piece of wood, and interested in escaping is actually true. How is counting, or saying the ABC’s some magical key to release them from their prison?

 

• If the planchette goes to the four corners of the board, or makes a figure 8, you’re communicating with an evil spirit.

This is why I hate figure skaters, and people who play Bingo. They’re doing their thing, plotting possessions, and world domination. Bastards.

 

• If you feel you are communicating with an evil spirit, turn the planchette upside down, and communicate that way.

These bad guys followed me one time. Their intentions were to call me names, beat on me, and do other vile things! I WAS however enjoying the conversation, so I decided to stand on my head, and continued to talk to them. They were powerless, and and decided to be friendly while we continued the conversation.

 

• If you make your own board, the letters and numbers should be placed in a circle. The spirit will be trapped within the circle.

Unless of course, the pointer does figure 8’s, sings the alphabet, or counts down the numbers. If that happens, you’re screwed.

 

• If you use a glass as a planchette, you must first cleanse it by holding it over a burning candle.

I thought the board itself was the dangerous thing, and not the pointer. We need to get more consistent with our paranoid delusions.

 

• The only way to truly dispose of a Ouija board is to break it up into 7 little pieces, pour holy water on it, and bury it.

I was going to think of something silly to respond to this one, but just read it again. Try to comprehend the stupidity.

 

• Don’t burn a Ouija Board. If you do, it will scream loudly. All those who hear it have only 36 hours to live.

For someone to pass this superstition on, they would have had to hear the scream, and die, or know someone who has died, and PROVED that the burnt Ouija board was the cause.

 

• Spirits on talking boards lie a lot.

Um… Yeah, you know, I really can’t argue with this one. They DO lie.

 

• Spirits commonly found on a board reside on the ‘lower levels’ of the astral plane, and lost their lives in a bad, and sudden way such as suicide or murder. These entities are often mean and violent.

First off, you need to prove that the entities being communicated with are actually on the astral plane. THEN, you have to explain the full structure of the plane. Apparently, it has levels. I’ve never seen any levels. How many levels? Why are the Ouija Board spirits on the lower ones? Are those levels reserved for bad spirits? How do you know they aren’t on the mid levels or the upper levels? Let me guess. Your spirit guides told you? What level are they on? Can they see the lower levels from where they are?

 

• You shouldn’t use a board because it is an ‘uncontrolled’ form of communication.

I guess the idea is that the only ‘controlled’ form of communication is to use a psychic. Since everyone and their brother in the paranormal field claims to be ‘psychic’ or ‘sensitive’, that shouldn’t be too difficult to do. Just tell people you’re ‘sensitive’ before using the board. Everyone else gets away with it, why shouldn’t you? Controlled… How arrogant, and naive can you be to believe that you can actually control ANYTHING in the spirit world?

 

• Never play alone.

Didn’t your mom tell you that you’d go blind?

 

• When completing communication, you must say ‘Good Bye’ and close the board properly. If you don’t, the spirit will stay behind, and haunt the person using the board.

I have no evidence that it’s gonna haunt you. I seriously doubt it, but… Be polite. Say good bye. It can’t hurt.

 

What Can We Learn From The Stupidity?

Well, I know I can be a dick, but I’m mostly kidding around about the whole thing. The bottom line is, we all hear stories. Someone tells us about things flying across the room. Most stories are negative. Some people tell stories about the board spelling something like ‘die’, and that person using the board gets so frightened that they decide to never use the board again. They tell their story, and tell people not to use the board because of their experience, which is their prerogative.

That’s where things begin to bother me. The person listens to all the stories and superstitions, and allows what they’ve heard to make their decisions for them. All I’m really saying is THINK FOR YOURSELF! Don’t allow some 13 year old who claims to be ‘sensitive’ tell you that ‘they’ll never use the board again, and you shouldn’t either’. Demand some solid reasoning. Demand something more substantial than BS about ‘lower levels’. Dissect the story. Find the truth. Think for yourself.

 

One final word on the stupidity…

Look, if you TRULY believe in some of these things, and you HAVE had bad experiences, or HAVE SEEN bad things regarding the board, then disregard this whole page. You’re not the problem. You have your issues with the board, and I COMPLETELY respect that. It’s not something that I would argue with you about. I agree with you. If you’ve had bad experiences, you should stay away from the board.

If you’re one of those people just repeating bullshit, and lying by telling people that these things happened to you… You know who you are. STOP THAT!

 

Tolerance & Truth

If your beliefs lean toward the idea that the board is a negative thing, then as I stated before, if you’re genuine, then I respect that. I just find that most of the time, that respect doesn’t seem to go both ways. People who use, or are interested in talking boards are constantly being chastised by those who don’t agree with their use. What is this, the Dark Ages? Don’t force your views onto others who are trying to explore their own spirituality, even if it is by a means that you fear. Be confident in your own beliefs, and allow others to determine their own.

As far as what’s TRUE about the board, who knows? Okay… There IS the logic that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. There are SO many people that actually believe some of the superstitions that I’ve listed above. Now, I’m using that same logic that I’ve used on the Bloody Mary Page. If so many people believe this stuff, is it possible for them to all be wrong? To quote myself…

Somehow, I doubt it.

Let’s just assume for a second that 80 percent of them ARE liars, and are in fact just repeating stories that they’ve overheard. What about that other 20 percent? They ARE telling the truth, and they HAVE seen things fly across the room, and other bad things. Can you allow yourself to ignore their warnings? If you can, then you’re a bigger fool than than the liars.