Ouija Boards: Real, Fake, Misunderstood?

 

Growing up, I was never a big fan of horror films or anything that had to do with summoning supernatural spirits. In my young mind, I could only see negatives consequences arising from this decision. There has always been and will continue to be doubt in my mind regarding the actual feasibility of contacting spirits, but at the same time it is something that I wouldn’t want to “risk” actually occurring. 

One of the most popular ways in films that individuals can communicate with the dead is through a Ouija board. Movies tend to give this form of “magic” a sinister persona without acknowledging the proper context in which the board initially arose. This was done so much to the point that as a young child I believed that simply touching a Ouija board could open the flood gates for evil characters from Hell to enter our world. Even today, before engaging with the true historical details, Ouija boards were something that I viewed as wrong or off limits, almost in the same way that society views illicit drugs. 

However, if we trace back the origins of the board, it seems much more benevolent. Initially taking hold in China well-over a thousand years ago, Spiriting contacting (spiritualism) in general took hold in the United States just after this Civil War. With the country losing hundreds of thousands of men in the war, many U.S. families wished to connect with their lost loved ones. Seeing a need to be filled, the Ouija board was created shortly after as an instrument to assist in clearer communication given its rings of letters and numbers. While it may be tough to believe this actually worked, there are many similar practices to this that people engaged. In theory, there is no difference between using a Ouija board to contact a deceased relative and kneeling to pray, hoping that you hear whispers of their voice or see some sort of sign indicating they are watching over you.

In fact, when you begin to critically evaluate a Ouija board, it seems much more similar to other chance-based activities that we do all of the time. For example, the Ouija board has a sinister reputation while the magic 8 ball who answers questions is seen a fun toy for kids. If you argue that it is truly spirits who are involved with a Ouija board, then you have to say the same thing about the magic 8 ball. If you want to dismiss the ball as pure chance, then you must dismiss the sinister nature of a Ouija board because that is also based on chance and deep intuition in your body “guiding” your hand toward a letter. Even flipping a coin could be viewed in the same context as a Ouija board for someone seeking out answers, but our popular media has given us an evil portrayal of one of those. 

While it may seem like I am an advocate for the use of Ouija boards, this is far from the truth. Whether or not it truly can contact the spirit world, I think that it can have serious psychological effects on the user and create unnecessary worry. I just hope that they can be better understood and feared less than how they are currently.