There’s a reason all movies with ouija boards are in the horror section.  Why didn’t I pay attention?!

Sam, Roberta, Teeny, and Chrissy

Have any of you watched the movie Now and Then?  It was a 90’s film about four friends who grew up together in a small town and the one summer that changed their lives, making their bond last forever.  There’s a lot of familiar faces in the film:  Gaby Hoffman, Christina Ricci, and Thora Birch playing the young girls and Demi Moore, Rosie O’Donnell, Melanie Griffith, and Rita Wilson playing them as adults.  Bonnie Hunt, Janeane Garofalo, Hank Azaria, Brendan Fraser, and Cloris Leachman all support as well.  If you were a tween like me who grew up with this film, you probably watched it cause of him…

Devon Sawa - Hearthrob of tween girls in the 90's everywhere. See this film and Casper.

Anyway, you stock up on Mambas (which are better than Starburst) and watch the story unfold with your sister or best girl friend in tow.  One of the main adventures the girls have is a night reading with the ouija board in the graveyard.  After numerous failed attempts to conjure up Marilyn Monroe – “she didn’t cooperate last time,” they decide to speak with someone buried in the graveyard, a boy called Dear Johnny, who died the same age as they are.  What happens next is the unfolding of how Dear Johnny died and what will help him to rest again.

Now and Then isn’t a scary movie, it’s a movie about friendship.  Friendship and a little paranormal mystery.  I blame all my willingness to “ouija” on this film.  If I had only watched something along the lines of What Lies Beneath or Paranormal Activity instead, I might not have been so enthusiastic.

I will share with you my first experience with a ouija board later this month, and trust me, it’s a creepy one.  For today, I’ll share with you a few snippets of experiences and why I will no longer use a ouija board.  In case you’re unfamiliar with ouija boards, Catie Rhodes wrote an AWESOME historical post about their creation, the various forms they’ve taken on, and how they’ve been used in film.  You really should check out her post!  I’ll wait for you…

Hello again!  So briefly, the ouija board is a talking board meant to be an inbetween medium for spirits to connect with us.  Sounds cool right?  Well, it can be.  Let me take a minute and explain some of my opinions on how ouija boards work.  I emphasize this is just my experience I’m basing this on.

• Ouija boards will not work for everyone.  An openness is required and the more connected you are to an individual who is also touching the pointer piece will impact how well the board works.
• Ouija boards let in anything you give energy to.  If you don’t know what you’re doing, expect to get messed with.
• Blessing the area helps.  Invite only kind spirits into your communication circle.  I’ve had positive experiences with this which I will share.
• Do not be disappointed if a loved one doesn’t communicate with you through the board; it means they are happy and healthy on the Other Side.

Image via onlineouijaboard.net

Ok, when I said that it depends on who’s using the board with you, that’s been my history with the process.  I’ve tried to use a ouija board with different friends and gotten gibberish responses that make no sense.  But when I attempted to communicate to spirits with my high school best friend we always got full word responses.  I accredit this to our ability of finishing each others’ sentences and knowing what the other was thinking without saying a word.  We were very close, and I would be so bold to say kindred spirits/soul mates at that time.  The energy we channeled was probably better equipped to receive messages.

Prime example, once we used the board to try to communicate with a friend’s family member who had passed.  We didn’t get anything when she tried to use the board, but when my friend and I did we believe we made contact with her Aunt and talked enough that the whole experience was so moving and emotional our friend cried.

Remember when I said you can’t control what comes in, but blessings help.  That was one instance where it did help.  We lit a circle of candles around us and said a little prayer.  We asked that only spirits who would bring forth light and goodness enter our circle and that any spirits intending harm be banished from it.  We let our friend ask the questions and we read the responses.  This was a very powerful experience for her, and even myself to witness it.

I feel I learned the hard way about blessing the circle first.  I gave up using the talking board after a spirit we’d been successful talking to several times started mocking me through the board.  It was scary and cruel and I wanted no part of it anymore.

That ended the weird paranormal pranks for awhile.  I had a few odd occurrences while living in the dorms in college that friends teased was “my ghost” following me to school.  I never used a ouija board again, but it could’ve been him moving stuff IN BETWEEN dorm rooms.  Our residence hall was set up in what we called “cubes,” which consisted of 3 different squared arrangements of rooms on each floor, so students lived in the A, B, or C cube of their prospective floor.  In my cube, objects would mysteriously disappear from one room and end up in others.  Since it occurred most often amongst my “cube friends” it was blamed on my ghost.

I’m thankful there hasn’t been any recent activity of that nature in my life.  I’m still open to paranormal interaction, but I don’t want them following me around everywhere.  I can’t imagine what it must be like for those that can see and communicate with the dead on a regular basis.  I would think their lives are very difficult and scary at times.  It’s an unknown world to us, but one that will forever intrigue us.

What do you think?  Have you ever used a ouija board?  What was your experience?  Have you ever felt a spirit was communicating with you?  How did you handle it?