Halloween can be an opportunity for masqueraded madness, indulgence of a sweet tooth, and for some, it is the time to feel shivers up their spine. Scary movies and haunted houses may give the Halloween-lover a run for their money but one of the most mysterious entities that follows this spooky season is the Ouija board.
Ouija boards became popular in the mid-19th century because of many communities rising interest in spiritualism.
The whole idea behind the Ouija board has been around for much longer than the 1800s. Aldophus Theodore Wagner was the first person to patent the board. He called his new game a “psychograph.” His initial intention for the board was to read minds.
The mind-reading device slowly transitioned into a method of contacting the spirit world. Soon enough the Ouija board was in full swing, with the Parker Brothers patenting William Fuld’s modern design in the late 1960s.
“I think the Ouija board is more along the lines of if you believe it something will happen,” said Dawn Huryk, a 19-year old freshman international affairs major. “When I did it we freaked ourselves out so it didn’t really work. The idea is scary though.”
As developed by Fuld, the board contains an alphabet, the words “yes” and “no,” “good-bye” and the numbers 0-9. When he sold his business to the Parker Brothers in 1966 the game company adopted the slogan “It’s only a game- or is it?” to help market the mystery.
The actual operation of the Ouija board is confusing to many. It is able to convey messages, yet there is no battery power running the board. There are two common-known theories on how the Ouija board functions, one rooted in spirituality, the other, science.
Spiritualists believe that the board is indeed a way to communicate with the spirit world. Followers of this theory do not see harm in contacting the dead because in some cases the ghost or spirit might have something important to share. Spiritualists believe that closing out of the board is vital or else evil spirits may not leave. There are many careful rules they believe an Ouija board user should abide by.
“My friend is a really spiritual guy. His friend asked a question no one but my friend knew the answer to and [the board] answered correctly,” said Blaire Jennings, an 18-year-old freshman open-option major. “I’ve heard a lot of scary things. I’d stay away from them.”
The second theory is the Automatism Theory, which is rooted in science. Rationalists believe that when the pallet moves to different letters and numbers it is actually the users’ subconscious thought process. The user doesn’t realize that their subconscious mind is answering the question and they are moving the palette in response because their consciousness tells them that they don’t know the answer. This is called ideomotor response.
“I think it’s a bunch of bologna,” said Albert Strasser, an 18-year-old freshman environmental engineering major. “I think its all subconscious because I’ve never had an experience where the thing has moved without someone’s hands.”
So is the Ouija board a recipe for haunted trouble? Or is it merely a toy? The best way to find out the paranormal or simplistic nature of this game is through personal experience.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Elana Staroselsky at Elana.staroselsky@colorado.edu.
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