Talking Board | Ouija Board
Can a sheet of cardboard be a doorway to the other side?
Four teens gather around the kitchen table, the parents are out and the lights have been dimmed. They huddle around an Ouija board two of them touching the planchette lightly while the other two look on with delight. It moves around the board seemingly answering yes and no questions and spelling out others. Then an answer to one of their questions causes a twinge of fear, they accuse each other of manipulating the planchette, the lights go on and the game is over.
It’s only a game after all…isn’t it?
It is extremely possible that what is occurring as the planchette seemingly traverses the board spelling out words is no more that what William Benjamin Carpenter described in 1852 as the Ideomotor effect. He described in his theory that tiny muscular movements can be independent of the persons conscious desires. This means that subconsciously we could change or manipulate the outcome without ever realizing it.
Talking boards were created in the mid nineteenth century as a solution to communicating with the dead there were even descriptions circulated in local news papers on how to build your own board. It wasn’t until Elijah Bond along with Charles Kennard and William Maupin turned the board into a toy and received a patent in 1891, that it became the “Ouija Board”
But is it just a game?
What about personal belief or intent, these can be extremely powerful just ask anyone who is religious or is involved in Wicca. The cross worn by many Christians is simply some type fashioned metal and yet it holds power simply because the barer believes in its symbolism and has a deep understanding of its intent. No different than any religious symbol. This also applies to those who practice magic and conduct rituals and spells, it is the belief and intent behind them that give them power.
So it would seem that whether or not the Ouija board can act as a medium to communicate with the dead would fall squarely on the shoulders of the user, it will do whatever you believe it will do.