Purpose of this article:
The purpose of this paper is to provide a ready-made, simple experiment (most anyone can carry out) that aims to verify the validity of a certain paranormal activity.
Question:
When using a Ouija board is it possible to determine if the “entity” has access to knowledge the participants don’t? Specifically, can the “entity” obtain knowledge about the physical surroundings around the participants that the participants don’t know themselves? Also, if the “entity” can supply correct answers to questions posed to it that the participants don’t know the answers to themselves, does this imply that an actual “entity” exists?
Background:
People who have used the Ouija board and have had some sort of experience will often claim that the entity contacted knew things that suggested to them the entity possessed some level of clairvoyance. I.E. a participant might ask the board “what did I eat for breakfast this morning?” and the entity responds “bacon and eggs”; if the participant did in fact have bacon and eggs that morning and the entity answered correctly, then it seems as if the entity is privy to information that would be hard to guess the correct answer.
Skeptics argue that the participant using the board and asking the question will subconsciously move the cursor to the correct answer thus making it appear as if some entity was actually answering them and answering correctly.
Hypothesis:
What if an experiment were designed though that the person using the cursor asked a question that they themselves had no knowledge about? What would that accomplish? If the entity was asked a question and replied the correct response with no possibility the participant supplied the correct response themselves; would that show an actual entity was being contacted and that the entity was at some level clairvoyant?
Experiment:
Materials:
- Ouija Board
- Two cardboard boxes, of decent size
- 5 index cards each clearly marked with any random number ranging from 1-1,000
- 1 notebook and pen
This experiment requires at least three individuals. Set up the Ouija board in whatever room your using it in, also set up a box that can not be seen through (a cardboard box works nicely) in the room as well. One individual (who will never touch the Ouija board or be in contact with the other two participants at any time during the course of the experiment) will write 5 random numbers ranging from 1-1,000 (if possible use a random number generator from a website to avoid picking predictable numbers) on the index cards. The individual will then place the index cards in the cardboard box; then seal the box shut. After this the individual will leave the room and give some sort of cue to the other two participants that it is okay for them to go into the room.
The two participants (who will have no idea what numbers are on the index cards in the box) will then proceed to try and contact an entity using the Ouija board. If an entity is contacted and is willing to prove its existence, then the participants should proceed to ask the entity what numbers are written down on the index cards inside the box. Record the answers given so as to later compare them to the numbers inside the box.
Conclusion:
After the experiment is finished and the séance closed; compare the numbers recorded in the notebook with those of the numbers inside the box. If none of the answers match to the original numbers then that would indicate the entity was unwilling or unable to provide the correct responses. It would also discredit that any actual entity was contacted.
If the numbers recorded match with all of the original numbers and no cheating was done by any of the participants; then this would heavily indicate some sort of entity was contacted and that this entity possessed a level of clairvoyance about the physical environment around the board.
Sent in by Desertfox, Copyright 2010 TrueGhostTales.com?
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I strongly discourage anyone from using a Ouija board, or any other divination device, for ANY reason. 90+% of demonic oppression cases involve Ouija or divination in some capacity. Read the demonic/shadow people/succubus stories on this website and in most cases you will find some variation of “my friends and I used a Ouija board to talk to it”. Then the nightmares, noises, shadow figures, etc. started happening and the fun just escalates from there.
Yes some people have used a Ouija and not had anything happen to them. But not everyone who tries drugs becomes an addict either. But for those who do, would they say it was worth it?
Well said Dean! I 100% Agree with you. If you play with Fire eventually you WILL get Burned! That is a Fact and the same applies with using or “playing” with Ouijia.
I tatally agree with Dean, playing with a Ouija is both dangerous and just plain stupid,
you might get away scot free once or twice but you will live to regret it, believe me!!.
I don’t condone using a Ouija board, however, I do think that this experiment is a very good way to determine if there is actually anything there or not.
I think you have a well thought out experiment, the only problem I see is if this is done outside of a clinical environment then chances are the results would be simply discarded. But say a group of actual scientist doing this in a study, they might come up with some sort of verifiable empirical evidence. Taking a scientific approach is always the best way when trying to gain evidence. Experiments like these , well thought out and with purpose, could help us find more understanding of our physical and metaphysical world. The more we fear the unknown, the less we are able to understand it.
~FAB
It is true that people fear the unknown or what they don’t understand. But it seems to me that after hearing the stories on this site and hearing others accounts of there experiances we know what can happen and what will happen when using the Board. And we understand the great lengths that Evil will go to to Maniputate, Lie and Destroy. So why would anybody want to put their selves in Harms Way! Hasnt there been expierments done before? Do you think a group of scientists would experiment with jumping off a cliff a certain way to survive the fall using different techniechs of falling?! Im Sorry but that’s my way of looking at it. I am no Scientist but I am Smart enough to stay away from a Ouijia Board as im sure most people on this site are as well. No Offense but if you go looking for Trouble it will find you. So for anybody who does want to try this expeirment I say Why? And for those who are just curious to see what they conjure up, Well… Let us Know how that work’s out for ya. God Bless and Stay Safe!
I can appreciate your stance on this and if you yourself have had a bad experience with Ouija boards I could imagine you would not believe your experience was anything but the real deal. However, not everyone has had experiences with the paranormal that leads them to believe spirits, ghosts, demons, etc. exist beyond a doubt. The scientific community does not acknowledge the absolute existence of ghosts; not in the same way they acknowledge jumping off a cliff will kill you. This lack of knowing something for a certainty is precisely why I wrote out this experiment; wanting to know beyond a reasonable doubt that “something” is being contacted. Some strange occurrences can happen to anyone and they might jump to the conclusion its a ghost or related to their Ouija board game a week ago, that’s hearsay and subject to all kinds of variables. This experiment can provide cold hard data that can’t be brushed aside and it’s available to anyone (not just scientists) who want to find out the answer to a very interesting question. Is it dangerous though? Possibly. I don’t know if ghosts exist and I don’t know if they don’t exist. Obviously if they don’t the experiment is harmless. If they do, then hopefully nothing bad happens but if one wants to find out some more information on that dilemma then eventually they’ll have to make a jump and try to contact something. I know this is long, I just think the opinions people have posted are interesting and I like to have a friendly exploitative debate about it.
I understand what you are saying. But if the Skeptic’s out there don’t believe in ghost or paranormal then WHY would they even want to try to Expierment with A Ouija Board??? You yourself said you have in the past, but after reading the Stories on this site, You personally would not use one again right?!?! So Why would you want to encourage others to Experiment with the Board?and Remember also that there are young kids and Teenagers on this site as well and are impressionable. I would hate for one of them to try this and something happen when they were just trying to “Play and experiment” and something evil attaches itself to them. That’s the point i’m trying to make. Friendly debate is always good to have and I’m just giving my opinions and outlooks on the subject. Thanks for your comment, God bless. (Kids stay away from the Ouija Board!)
Being a skeptic does not mean one does not believe in something completely, it means one holds doubts to the validity of something because there’s not enough proof to verify a creditable existence of that something. I am a skeptic. I would think skeptics would be the most likely candidates to try this experiment because unlike absolute believers they might have a desire for empirical proof about this subject. Your 2nd point though is a solid one; impressionable groups of people are on this website and it does look as if I’m encouraging them to use the Ouija board. I think I need to clarify this and add a disclaimer of sorts.
This experiment is not intended to be used by people who will NOT approach it in a serious way, DO NOT treat the Ouija board as a game and ask childish questions, be aware that since it is not absolutely known what can come from using the Ouija board and going off the stories of many people who have written on the subject that it is possible HARM can come of using the board. I recommend that if you feel unprepared and unqualified to use the board DO NOT use it. I personally will not use this board myself, at least until the time I feel I can handle the repercussions and possible risks involved. I strongly urge everyone else to take a similar stance because the fact of the matter is, we don’t know what can happen.
Hopefully my disclaimer and advice above persuades and gives guidelines for some people to not treat this board as a toy. However, I think we all can agree that regardless many people will use and continue to use this board anyways; there is nothing that can be done about it that is each individual’s choice.
I personally would never use one, nor would I recommend anyone using one. But that is me personally. I have never, because I have the fear of them in me. I understand that I believe they could lead to disaster in my home and frankly with two small children in the house that is the furthest thing from my mind. But with that being said.
I do stand by that science needs to get its hands wet on the topic we call “supernatural” so that we all may one day understand that aspect of the universe better. As we learn things and explore new boundaries in our reality people are often accidental discoverers. Can you imagine the first person to be dosed with high amounts of radiation on purpose for the good of science? Or imagine the first person to eat the fugu fish. How about when divers first learned of the bends. I am sure you see a trend here, there is always a certain amount of danger and risk when it comes to pushing the boundaries. And the same will likely hold true if the scientific world begins in earnest the undertaking of the supernatural aspect of the universe.
If we really want the answers to the big questions about life and death then this is an area of research that should be explored with a logical but open mind.
Now mind you none of this can be done in some mediums back room, or in the basement of your cousins house. If we want to honestly gain empirical data then it needs to be done proper.
I personally believe nobody will ever understand the supernatural world. I think we are not suppose to in fact. And I don’t believe Science will ever be able to either. Say a group of Scientists did this experiment…. Even if some Entity or Spirt spoke, appeared and even smacked them upside the head, lol Im sorry to say that they still would not believe and would find some explaination for it and would most likely debunk the Experiment altogether because they are people of Science. There are so many things that cannot be explained that go on that nobody will ever really understand. I have had frighting experinces with Se`ances when I was young will never attempt anything like that again. And would never be in the same room where a Ouija Board is set up.
I think your assuming an inaccurate portrayal of science and the ideas and motives behind scientific inquiry. It’s not fair to say that what isn’t creditable yet will remain uncreditable just because it is uncreditable now. Real scientists don’t debunk things just because whatever they discover happens to conflict with their current beliefs; true science is realizing we don’t hold all the answers and truths and it is an ongoing journey to explore those mysteries with logic and an open mind.
Science is a powerful force, it’s been very successful in bulldozing through many beliefs by it’s laborious efforts and careful scrutiny; however, it is that same power that can be used to better understand the paranormal. If tests and experiments can be designed; (and I think my experiment above falls into that) are thrown into the gears and discerning eye of science over and over again and emerge clean on the other side, then by the same foundations that give science it’s power the data CAN NOT be ignored. Certainly there will still be critics but that’s all to the better, criticism allows better refined tests to take place and more specific questions to be answered.
Quoted for truth
” If tests and experiments can be designed; (and I think my experiment above falls into that) are thrown into the gears and discerning eye of science over and over again and emerge clean on the other side, then by the same foundations that give science it’s power the data CAN NOT be ignored.”
this is the core of what ive been trying to say.
It’s true a majority of the Ouija board stories on this website end up badly for the people involved; however, I believe some people will still use the board regardless of good intentioned advice. Partially the reason I wrote this experiment was because I know people will use the board and that some of those people will be skeptics and might be interested in finding out if any entity is truly contacted. My experiment I wrote aims to do that without asking questions that would be considered provoking to an entity so as to lower the possibility something bad happens.
Having said that; I’ve only used the board once when I was younger and having read a lot of the stories on this website I don’t care to try it again; I just personally find it hard to believe that ALL of the stories here could be fabrications or exaggerations. But if anyone does go ahead and use the board anyways, hopefully my experiment will satisfy your need for proof in a somewhat relatively safe way.
No one should “play” with an Oujia board, it is like holding a huge neon sign above your head that says ” Hey sprits! Come posses me!” Ghost are real I’ve exprinienced many things of paranormalness, dont play with Oujia boards!
I would strongly advise no one to use a Ouija. I share the same thoughts of most here, you may get away with nothing happening to you at all, but do you really want to take that chance?…. I’m not saying I have never tried it, but when I did, it was fine at first, but then the answers started to get very disturbing, so I left it alone and never touched one again, nice answers in the beginning, but more than likely you will end up learning your lesson in the end, but what I can lend to the discussion, is one time the board was used , I supposedly contacted one of aunts boyfriends, from when she was very young, no she wasn’t there, but he gave me every detail of Ho they met, where he worked, how he died, and I had never met this man , I wasn’t even born, so was it him?… idk.. but it was pretty convincing, considering I knew nothing of him, and had every detail correct, but I would still strongly advise , please don’t play with a Ouija, its no game.
The contact of your Aunt’s boyfriend is a step in the direction I would like to hear more about with people’s paranormal stories. Your experience leans towards something actually contacting you; however, someone can still play Devils advocate. Were the details vague and could be used universally for most people? I.E. did the entity say he was handsome and if so would your aunt think someone she was dating was not handsome? Perhaps some information about this man was overheard by you at one time but was encoded in your subconscious (only so much information and stimuli we actually register into working-short term memory). Your story is interesting though, and I don’t just brush it aside, but it is still contestable and that weakens it somewhat. Thanks for sharing
I’m really curious to know ” Is there A Safe way to use the Ouija Board???????
It really depends on who you ask. Some people believe they are tools and the results are based on ones state of mind, what they “expect” and how much negative or positive energy is in their life. Others believe they are inherently evil and only evil will befall those who use it. All of the above is only speculation and hearsay, because there is no actual evidence that they are either. There are only stories and first hand encounters, which hold little weight when there is nothing to corroborate the stories or first hand encounters. Not saying I personally think ALL (not some) stories are false, I personally think some are 100% factual.
To ask is there a safe way to use Ouija is akin to asking is there a safe way to EVP or automatic writing. There is no empirical evidence these things will cause you harm, but on the other hand there is none to say it will not either.
The ONLY way these questions will be definitively answered is if people with credibility preform well thought out experiments in hopes to gain some form of incontrovertible proof. This statement is not limited to Ouija boards, but is applied to all the supernatural aspects of our universe.
Merely 150 years ago , it would have been considered “supernatural” if Einstein theory on black holes had been introduced. So would the concept of our milky way galaxy being not the end all to the universe. Because to the educated at the time, that was outside natural law and the observable universe.
“The supernatural or supranatural (Latin: super, supra “above” + natura “nature”) is anything above or beyond what one holds to be natural and exists outside natural law and the observable universe” – source Wikipedia.
So what at one time would have been considered supernatural is now based on fact. Because it is human nature to be curious, thus we will always look for answers to difficult questions. In order to bring something out of the realm of the supernatural we have to expand our knowledge. In order to do that people have to develop well thought out experiments to preform to record data and eventually come up with answers. If we did not experiment we would not have advancement. Experimenting comes with inherit risks, generally the people involved understand that concept.
Anything worth having is work taking risks for, knowledge is definitely something worth having.
~FAB AKA *MAP*
And I ment to say “Anything worth having is worth taking risks for..” Not
“Anything worth having is work taking risks for”
please dont judge me on my grammer or lack thereof
Knowledge is power and I think we have all gained alot of knowledge from this great website the Caretaker put up. I still stand my ground on saying Science will never understand the Supernatural realm. And that’s just my personal opinion and outlook on the situation. I still think, under no circumstances, should people mess around with Ouija Boards. Thanks, God bless.
I think its fair enough to say we agree to disagree =-) but hey that is part of what makes a back and forth dialogue possible. Thanks for reading my posts and your input back. Its always good to hear an opposing view to help us see the other side of the topic.
~FAB
**QUESTION FOR CARETAKER, KNOWTOOMUCH, AND/OR TROLLDOLL**
Hello! I am writing a question to you all because after reading several of these stories, I see the most comments from you. You may not even be able to answer this question, but, I would never know if I don’t at least ask. First, I am of Christian faith. Independent Fundamental KJV Bible believing Baptist. Not sure if you even need that info, but there it is. I’ve been around a Ouija Board once in my life. I touched the planchette and moved it around (the game was not “in progress”) and no one was being serious with it either. We were at a birthday party, and it was just there. Anyway, I never noticed anything weird (I was only over there around it for less than a minute I would suppose).
I ran across this site recently, because I was looking for “real ghost stories”. A few of my friends and myself have really been looking to ghost hunt lately. We don’t have any equipment other than digital cameras, and would just like to catch something on camera. We’ve gone to several graveyards, mostly because we have no houses to investigate. I had considered watching someone play with an Ouija board. I didn’t want to take part in it, just wanted to observe, because I didn’t want anything to try to attach itself to me. (Which after reading a story on this site, I saw where one girl left the room while other people played, and she still got messed with). So, I will no longer even pursue observing.
I’ve said all of this to ask just one question.. Can me, reading these stories, bring something into my home? I know that I am taking a risk by going to cemeteries to take pictures and such, but I mean nothing by it. I am not going to be rude and loud and try to disturb anyone. I take a few pictures, and move on to the next place. I don’t even try to communicate with them, such as, “Is anyone here….” yadda yadda ya.
The reason that I am asking this is because last night, after I had read a few more stories from quite a few sites, I was watching tv in my room, and during this movie that I was watching, my husband and 2 step children were at home. During the last 30 minutes of my movie, my husband left to take the children to their grandmother’s house for the night, so I was left alone with my 4 dogs and 1 cat. I didn’t have any of the animals in the room with me. About 2 minutes after my husband and children left, my tv just cut off. It immediately began blinking the yellow light, indicating that it was turning back on. I was scared, but tried not to show it. I picked up my cell phone, out of habit, while it was turning back on. After the tv turned itself back on, I tried to ignore the fact that it had cut off. It then cut itself back off. It began blinking yellow, indicating that it was cutting back on, but I didn’t give it time. I ran very fast out the back door, where I waited for my husband to return home. When he got home, I told him what happened. He is a big skeptic, and went to the bedroom (the tv was off again) and turned it on. He began moving the tv, and checking the wires, trying to find a logical explanation. I told him that there was no excuse for the tv to have done that. Why would it not have done something while they were home with me? Why wait until I am home alone? My husband told me that a few nights ago, he was in bed unable to fall asleep, when he heard the computer cut on. (It was already on, but it was as if something moved the mouse, and the computer woke up). He got up to check on everything, and didn’t see anything that could have caused this. He came back to bed, and a few minutes later, he heard it again. This time, he went and cut the computer off. He came back to bed, and a little while later, the empty clothes basket that was in our floor just fell over. There are no drafts or anything. He is still a skeptic, and tries to find a logical excuse for everything.
I forgot to include that about the clothes basket in my previous message though.I have prayed to God, and I believe that He heard my prayers to protect myself, my family, those around me, my loved ones, and my enemies.. but I am still scared at the thought of something being in my home. Anyone can reply to this.. I just named those few people to start with because I’ve noticed their comments on a lot of posts. Thanks!
If you want to go ahead & perform an experiment like this, then be my guess
But I highly advice you DON’T
I have never played with the Ouija board, nor do I ever want to. But I do know my neighbor’s friend played with him. We were just talking & he told me he played with the Ouija board, then all of a sudden, a shadow through both of us after I finished mowing the lawn on my yard!!!
Stay away from this evil board!!!
There’s a problem with the Hypothesis.
I have not very often got an entity to perform tests for me. They are VERY finicky when it comes to that and have MANY times purposefully mislead us and literally laughed at us.
Secondly, once while I was on the Zyria board it just stopped all of a sudden for quite some time. About 15 or 20 seconds went by and it quickly said “company’s due.”
Immediately afterward (less than 2 seconds) someone knocked on my front door.
Now there is NO WAY any of the participants could have known that someone was approaching my home. It was a COMPLETE change of subject ! ! !
I don’t see how an entity being finicky or uncooperative when trying to conduct this experiment would mean there was something wrong with the hypothesis itself. The hypothesis proposes that an entity verifying it had access to information which no other participants could possibly have (i.e correctly guessing several number sequences from a random number generator) would heavily imply “something” was being contacted and was at some level clairvoyant and/or unbound by physical limitations (i.e seeing through a box that wasn’t transparent). If an entity was finicky or uncooperative it would mean–among other possible things–that it is just harder to test the hypothesis. Maybe that’s what you meant–that the hypothesis would be difficult to test–but i wanted to clarify that point because your writing was unclear to me and I couldn’t be sure if you were attacking the hypothesis itself as being unsound and bogus.
As far as your second point of whatever-it-is you contacted telling you “companies due” followed by a quick knock on your door; while a very compelling and odd occurrence, doesn’t constitute the event as an “official” paranormal event. First off, the other people in your group using the Zyria board could have known someone was coming over. You say there is “NO WAY any of the participants could have known that someone was approaching my home” but I would respond “how exactly do you know that? Were these people professing they had no idea anyone was coming questioned? Is it possible they forgot someone was coming even if they did say they had no idea?”
I know it looks like I’m splitting hairs and knit picking everything and I know my writing looks like I’m a guy who writes medical journals while holding a stick up his ass but I really feel that when it comes to paranormal events it’s necessary to be this formal and precise when trying to make ground on collecting actual cold hard proof on this subject. I feel that way because there’s such a cultural tendency for a lot of people to just dismiss a lot of weird events and write it off as “there’s got to be a logical explanation”. And without logical evidence to back up these weird events I can’t really say they’re wrong to want a great explanation. Honestly, my hope is some die hard ghost hunter uses the experiment I’ve laid out, gets the empirical evidence and is able to state that “the logical explanation says there is “something” here and it is real.”