I have been interested in finding out about it. I know all about the "ideomotor response" theory.
But I am curious about personal experiences; I have read a bunch of crap on the internet and a lot of it seems like just that: crap.
However, I trust your first-hand accounts. That means I don't care about your stories of "well, my friend one time", I only care about "well, one time I..."
Furthermore, please don't patronize me with anything along the lines of "that's stupid" or "that's dangerous";
I don't care the slightest bit what you think about it, I only care about your experience. Any stories? Thanks.

A special needs camper I was responsible for at a summer job before my junior year of college died while in my care. It was not my fault, he was severely disabled and was having serious issues all week, but still, it really tore me up inside.

Two years later, when I thought I was over the episode, we were playing with a Ouija board and the pointer spelled out his name, then my name, then "it is ok."

I believe this was a manifestation of my subconscious need for forgiveness.

Ooops, wrong place.
can a mod move this thread?

Its been a few years but I was present or participating in a number of ouija sessions, some of which were pretty memorable. You can find some of my accounts with Ouija Boards and automatic writing in a UM column: http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/column.php?id=79842

JPatt - I found your experiences with the talking board very interesting - a lot of the things you said reminded me of my own group of friends and our experiences with the Ouija. Also, you seem to view the communication very objectively, and not the typical "omg - it's full of demons - burn it!" sort of thing. I think you are onto something with the group and individual dynamics influencing what comes through the board - my theory is that those sorts of things (and expectations) can even somewhat shape the interaction with said spirits. It's funny, because I've been discussing this very thing with someone over on the Paranormal Shows board in reference to A haunting in Connecticut - I've never been to this board before, but for some reason got curious today. Spooky. lol Anyway, thanks for posting that, it was a good read.

Quintis - don't worry, i've actually got a story in here somewhere. I've been playing with the board, off and on, since I was 9 (I'm 34 now) and nothing too horrible has ever happened. Usuallly when someone gets scared or starts mentioning "demons" is when the board turns "evil" and starts talking about when everyone's going to die. But I digress... So here's one notable time I remember:


I was about 17 and I was hanging out in the family basement with my brother and some of his friends (my house was built by my dad the year I was born - 1973 - but sits on the site of a Civil War-era tea house. We've found broken china and stuff. It's cool.) Anyway, they found an old Ouija board behind the bar (yep, there's a bar down there) and wanted to play. Since they consider me an expert on all that's weird and unholy (or perhaps cause I was a cute 17 yr old girl, and they were desperate 14 yr old boys) they all were interested in playing. So we did - the board seemed particularly active when I started using it with one guy named Chris. It started out pretty cool - with the spirit saying a lot of things Chris wouldn't have known (like about the history of our farm) but then degenerated into a lot of juvenile sexually-oriented stuff. Again, I think so much depends on the mentality of those playing.

Anyway, shortly after the board got raunchy, I stopped playing. That night, though, I heard all sorts of weird sounds coming from the basement (no, my brothers friends weren't still down there) - stuff so loud it sounded like furniture was being dragged across the floor. To this day, I don't know if those noises had anything to do with our using the board.

I've used ouija boards whenever the opportunity arises for a lot of years, and I've never even really had an experience bordering on ideomotor, let alone supernatural.

Sure, I've had the coin or glass skidding about all over the place, seemingly driven by spirits (even Elvis, on one memorable yet stoopid occasion), but only when doing it with people I know quite well, and am fairly sure they'd make something happen if nothing did. I've also been guilty of driving the coin myself, though I never do that any more... pointless and quickly gets old.

Since about, ooh, ten years ago I've only ever done the ouija board with people I know well and completely trust not to mess about. Guess what? Nothing has ever happened since. Not even any particular movement - just a bit of random zigzagging when our arms get tired. That's it.

I'd still do it with people who could feasibly mess about and drive it (I haven't simply because the only times I've done it in the last ten years have been when I've chosen who to do it with), but I have a fairly reliable protocol now for checking whether there's anything going on. It's very simple and basic, thought up on the spot when someone told me that their pendulum will answer yes/no questions 100% accurately every time. Three phases:

1) Unblinded. Ask the ouija (or any other oracle) questions you know others around the board will know the answer to. If it gets them wrong, presumably there's not a lot to get excited about. If it gets them right, go onto...

2) Single blind. Ask the ouija questions you know the answer to, but that others around the board don't. Think carefully of questions it'd be difficult to guess, and remember that if you're doing yes/no questions you'd expect some right answers, depending on how you design the questions (you can reduce the odds from 2:1 if you ask questions like "is my nan's name Eva? Is my nan's name Mary? Is my nan's name..."). If the board was getting it right before, and now is not, it looks as if you've discovered that it's being driven by those around the table, consciously or unconsciously, but not by you. If on the other hand it's still getting it right, and you've picked your questions well, then there are two main possibilities: either you're the driver (consciously or unconsciously), or something paranormal is happening. So go onto...

3) Double blind. Ask the ouija questions no-one on the board will know, but that you don't either. You're not going to get instant answers on these as you'll have to check later, so make a note of any answers. Ask questions you're pretty sure you or others won't have picked up the answer to by accident (obscure things checkable online might work quite well, for instance the name of a celebrity's paternal grandmother, or things you can check easily such as the colour of a work colleague's first car). If the board now gets these wrong, you can be fairly sure it was you all along. If it gets them right, something interesting is going on, and a more controlled test is in order.

Simple, easy to do, and requires no extra equipment, preparation or forethought. Dunno if that's helpful, just thought I'd say.

Don't use Quija. It's very dangerous. I know it from my personal experience. Read my topic. It's 100% true.

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum...c=32957&hl=