SAMANTHA SPENCER

OUIJA BOARDS: DEBUNKED Halloween classic incites more laughter than fear

SAM SPENCER

The rules of a Ouija board are simple. Gather a small group of eager friends on a chilly Saturday night, huddle into someone’s bedroom or basement, turn off the lights, light a few candles, place your hands on the heart-shaped pointer and begin your unearthly experience with the dead.

Historically, the objective of a Ouija board is to communicate with the supernatural world. Patented in the 1890s due to an increase in spiritualism in America during the 19th century. The Ouija board has become an icon of teenage sleepovers, Hollywood movies and Halloween in American pop culture.

Despite it being sold as a game at toy stores and supermarkets all over the country, many people still view Ouija boards as bad luck, or even dangerous. At 17 years old and a senior in high school, my mom has told me my entire life not to experiment with a Ouija board. Because of my mom’s discouragement, I always felt like there might be some tiny inkling of truth to a Ouija board’s mystic qualities. What I discovered for myself was not what I expected. First of all, where to get a Ouija board when all the adults in your life think it’s either a bad idea or a waste of money? Ouija boards cost anywhere from around 13 dollars to 30, or there’s always the DIY route. I chose to splurge and purchase one from the Toy Store that was about 30 dollars. It seemed sturdy, clean and classic but not quite worth the heavy sum of cash.

After I purchased the Ouija board I met up with three trustworthy friends in order to summon the dead. Positioning ourselves comfortably around the Ouija board in the living room of a house almost 100 years old, it seemed like the perfect horror movie scenario to incite some sort of paranormal activity. We lit candles, turned off the lights, grew more serious and placed our hands on the heart shaped pointer, asking out loud if there was a spirit in the room. We felt nothing. Our hands didn’t move, the board didn’t fly off the table, the door didn’t slam, but we remained persistent. We then asked what the spirit’s name was. We still received nothing. Feeling a little discouraged, we decided to all relax our hands and slightly push the pointer all at once. Of course this plan did not go well. Immediately each member of the group began accusing another of pushing in a certain direction, but after going seemingly nowhere for quite a while, we gave up.

In my experience trying to excite some sort of supernatural behavior with a Ouija board, it eliminated almost any fears or questions I had about them. The only way I could see a Ouija board being effective is considering the scientific reasoning behind them. Researchers have said that the truth behind the Ouija board is really explained by the “ideomotor effect”, the human body’s tendency to move without actually consciously making the decision to. Especially on such a frictionless surface, the ideomotor effect could explain the “ghostly” results of Ouija boards.

Overwhelmingly, my disappointing Ouija experience led me to believe that the boards are best suited for nervous preteen gatherings and Halloween pranks. Despite their resilience as a spooky classic, if you’re looking to use a Ouija board this October, stick to “Should Janet kiss Brad?” over “How did you die?” Photo by MORGAN EDMAN Senior Sam Spencer and friends collaborated in a night of Ouija board exploration. Although Spencer purchased an expensive Ouija board, lit candles and sat in the middle of a dark, 100 year old house, her Ouija board experience was a bust. No ghosts or spirits were summoned. Above: