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AIBU?

To not understand ouija boards?

153 replies

FairyPig · 07/08/2014 10:30

So I've been reading on here (and other places) how these things aren't to be messed with, they're dangerous, they bring unwanted things into the house, how they're scary, etc.

I'm not wanting to dispute people's experiences but I honestly don't get it. It's a board with letters on and a glass in the middle. How does a board with numbers on and a glass enable ghosts and evil spirits to get through? How does a board enable a portal to be open to all sorts of evil spirits? What make an ouija board different to any other board to make them 'dangerous', 'scary' and 'not to be messed with'?

Speaking of ghosts and demons, why would they even need a portal to get through, can't they get through themselves?

Again not trying to dismiss anyone's experiences but I am seriously baffled how a board with numbers on and a glass can be magical and be able to do these things.

I've also recently learned that Toy's R Us in the US sell them, not sure if they sell them in UK branches, but that did make me go Hmm considering how many adults take them seriously and seem scared of them.

That aside, even though logically it seems silly to me I would still never use one. You know, just in case...

OP posts:
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LEMmingaround · 07/08/2014 10:32

Stop sniffing glue - this will help

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Marcipex · 07/08/2014 10:33

It's pretend.

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Hakluyt · 07/08/2014 10:35

Play with one if you want to. It can't possibly do any harm.

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Beeyump · 07/08/2014 10:36

Ahh, ouija boards... I scoff at them, but also never use one. Confused

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FairyPig · 07/08/2014 10:36

But how do you know for sure?

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Beeyump · 07/08/2014 10:37

*also would never use one

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PourquoiTuGachesTaVie · 07/08/2014 10:39

I think the danger comes from the effect they can have on people's minds. I don't believe they can be used to contact the dead but I do believe that other people will believe that they can. Once the idea is in their head then that is what is dangerous for highly suggestible people/underlying mental health issues etc.

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NigellasDealer · 07/08/2014 10:41

you dont need a board just a table and a glass.
my mother used to say it was really dangerous and I agree

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FairyPig · 07/08/2014 10:48

But why? How does it work?

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noblegiraffe · 07/08/2014 10:49

They can make people think that something evil/upsetting has happened and that can have bad effects on someone's mental health, especially if they were in a vulnerable position to start with, which they may well be if they were trying to contact the dead.

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StrawberryMouse · 07/08/2014 10:50

Agree with Porquoi, people's minds can be dark places. I don't believe in the occult but remember being warned off ouija boards by my mother as a teenager and she was right. If anything had happened I would have been terrified.

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noblegiraffe · 07/08/2014 10:51

They work through the ideomotor effect. The person using the board is controlling it whether they know they are or not.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideomotor_phenomenon

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FrankSaysNo · 07/08/2014 10:51

They are dangerous things. They play on the vulnerable. However whether you believe of not in ghosts, spirits, the afterlife, and so forth, no reputable medium will use one either.

America also sells guns

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Beeyump · 07/08/2014 10:54

It always seems to be people's mums warning them off ouija boards.

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OneSkinnyChip · 07/08/2014 10:56

Rationally speaking they are nonsense but I still find them creepy. I think it's a legacy of those local urban legends that used to go round when we were kids about so-and-so who played with the Ouija board and then x happened.

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sunflower49 · 07/08/2014 10:57

My Father is the most skeptic, rationalist person ever-doesn't believe in anything 'out there'.

He used a ouija board as a teenager and has said he'll never use one again as the experience scared the life out of him, but he'll never tell me why!

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Hakluyt · 07/08/2014 10:59

"They play on the vulnerable. "
Ouija boards don't. Psychics and other similar low life do.

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lettertoherms · 07/08/2014 11:00

They're sold here in the US as toys, and I've never seen a genuine worry/fear in them here, only schoolyard taunting. Mumsnet was the first place I saw adults having an issue with them.

I'm actually very open to woo, but I don't understand the Ouija board thing either.

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LittleprincessinGOLDrocks · 07/08/2014 11:02

We used a ouigi board once at high school (well a glass and some paper) after seeing it on some TV show. We got a message through that a girl in the circle (whose name was spelled out) would go to A and E. It kept spelling out A and E over and over again (well AANDE). That same afternoon the girl named broke her ankle playing hockey.
That was enough to put me off using one again.

As a grown up I realise it could have been (and most likely was) one of the other girls moving the glass, and a total co-incidence that the girl mentioned got injured. It is also possible that they were just randomly repeating the same letters without any actual meaning - but we put that and her injury together to make A and E, IYSWIM? But at the time it was too much of a co-incidence for anyone in the group.

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lettertoherms · 07/08/2014 11:03

America also sells guns

Yes, we do seem to have a history of selling things the British are afraid of!

Wink

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Butterpuff · 07/08/2014 11:07

Oh I love a good ghostly chat!

I guess it falls into two camps, if you believe in spirits (good and evil) then the reputation of the Ouija board, all those urban legend stories etc. working on susceptible minds. So you should stay away in case you or one of the group has a susceptible mind.

If you believe in spirits, both good and bad then any method of inviting them into your presence and trying to communicate with them must be dangerous. A bit like stranger danger, you don't know who you are getting involved with.

No idea why the majority of Ouija experiences seem to be bad rather than good though, while automatic writing, séances, divination etc. doesn't seem to get anywhere near such a bad rep.

Anyone tried one and have a story to tell?....or is everyone like sunflower where the story is second hand with the essential details missing.

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StrawberryMouse · 07/08/2014 11:09

Maybe there was some kind of awareness movement in the 70s Beey? Mothers Against Ouiji Boards or similar? Grin

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Pandora37 · 07/08/2014 11:11

My mum had a horrible experience using one as a teenager and had lots of strange things happen to her afterwards. Could be coincidental of course but she said it affected her for years (although she won't tell me exactly how). Terrified me for life! Kids used to play with them at school but I always refused, I didn't want to take the risk.

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Teddybeau1988 · 07/08/2014 11:17

My mum made one with her friends when she was a teenager. It spelt out one of their names and the word 'glass' . A few weeks later said friend fell through a glass coffee table any nearly bleed to death from glass stuck in his neck.

I done one yonks ago. Although some one was pushing it and spelling out Easter bunny and Santa. My friend was really scared after and was terrified of the dark and going upstairs or to the loo alone.

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FergusSingsTheBlues · 07/08/2014 11:21

I'd agree, thought it was a veritable crockashit...did one...would never again. Also, we used a shot glass which forever (I mean years after) just smelt so strongly of lavender. (Old lady scenario going on)

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