Friday, June 13, 2008

Gracen's Ouija Hell

Hi, everyone! *waves* I hope everyone has had a wonderful week. Mine has been eventful, but I won’t go into it. That is not the topic.

Ouija…that is the topic. May I have a show of hands how many have participated in a Ouija séance? Unfortunately, I have.

I was sixteen and my best friend, Angie, and I decided to try out her new Ouija board. It was a novelty and I don’t know that either of us really thought it would work.

She came to my house. We turned off the lights, lit candles and placed the board between us on the floor. Obviously, we had seen too many horror movies. *wink* But we wanted the mood set just right.

We put our hands on the plastic locater, what I have heard called a planchette, although the spelling may be completely off. I think our first question was, “Is anyone here with us?” It began to move slowly at first, almost dragging to the word “yes”. We both yanked our hands off the planchette and asked if the other had moved it. Both of us denied moving it.

We had two spirits we chatted with. One claimed to be a servant of God and claimed to love us…in retrospect it was a stalkerish kind of love though, nothing healthy. His name was Drake (names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent). The second one was Jason (again names have been changed to protect the evil and because I do not want to give him power by saying his name—I truly believe he was evil or demonic) and he admitted to being an axe murderer. Jason wanted us to die. Sometimes he would spell the word “d-i-e” over and over again until we just ditched the Witchboard all together to shut him up. All he ever did was spew evil and filth. He had a son named Nate. We finally had to have a secret code with Drake to make sure we had the so-called good spirit instead of the evil spirit. In reflection, the moment Jason arrived we should have tossed the Witchboard straight into the garbage, but we did not. Being teenagers, we didn’t have the good sense to realize we were playing with fire. We were fascinated by the paranormal also, so I think this helped lure us into the Witchboard’s web of deceit.

I became obsessed with it. I’m quite serious. I’m not sure that Angie ever knew how obsessed I was with it. I’m not sure about Angie, how she really felt, but every weekend was spent on the Witchboard. Sometimes we would meet in the park and talk with the spirits.

I had a cousin that came from the West Coast. Her name was Shawna. She was younger than me by a few years, but I was determined to introduce her to the Witchboard and its fascination. The first night we got on the board, Shawna yanked her fingers off after a few minutes and said the planchette had burned her fingers. Now, I was thinking this was drama at its finest. So, I begged her to try it again. My motives were selfish. She was very hesitant and did not want to get back on it. Certainly that should have told me something, but I ignored her needs because I felt like I needed to be on that board. Like I said, I was obsessed with it. It was driving me crazy not being able to talk to Drake. Finally, after hassling her until she gave in, she got on the Ouija with me a second time. Again she said it burned her fingers. But this time, she was acting funny afterward. I SWEAR her eyes turned a dark color, almost black and her voice was somehow different, deeper, with a raspy scratch to it. It freaked me out, but not as much as her grabbing a teddy bear and singing a lullaby to it—“Hush little baby, don’t say a word…”—while she petted it.

It was creepy.

I remember sitting there staring at her not sure how to process what she was doing. We were both way beyond the years of baby dolls.

When I asked her what she was doing, she gave me this look that said she wanted to rip my heart out while informing me that she was singing to her son. I tried to explain it was just a teddy bear, but she insisted it was her son. I gave up because she was spooking me so bad. I talked her into going to bed, but she refused to give up her “son” the teddy bear. The next morning, she remembered none of it, other than the burned fingers.

So, I could not leave it alone. I’m telling you, I was obsessed with this Witchboard. I was definitely under its spell.

I dragged Shawna to Angie’s house and told her what Shawna had done the night before. We got Shawna back on the board and again the same thing happened, only this time, the planchette flew across the room. When I went to pick it up, Shawna started cackling and her foot was bouncing up and down very agitated. She caught sight of a teddy bear Angie slept with and she clutched it to her and started singing to it like the night before. Angie and I shared a glance. My eyes were saying, “see!” Hers were still pondering the validity of what was happening. Shawna’s eyes were full of hatred and vehemence. The very presence in the room was dark and ominous. I know that sounds dramatic, but it is true. So, Angie asked who the teddy bear was. Shawna informed us it was her son. When Angie asked her what her son’s name was, Shawna said it was Nate.

Oh…my…God!

I still get chills thinking about it. That was Jason’s son’s name. We had not told her Jason had a son, much less told her his name.

When Shawna became herself again, she flopped onto the bed and started crying. All she could remember from the event was being in a black void, with a pinpoint of white light that she kept struggling to get to.

Now, as an adult, I question the validity of everything that happened those two days. Was Shawna playacting? Was everything valid? I know a few things for certain…Shawna changed, her eyes changed, her voice changed, her demeanor changed, there was hate reflected in her eyes and she knew things we had never told her. It was that defining moment that had us pushing the Ouija out of our lives. One thing that lingers in my head…if Shawna had become possessed—even temporarily—by Jason, then I had slept beside a professed axe murderer that first night.

In the end, Angie and I have come to believe Drake and Jason were the same spirit toying with us. It lied to us, but it also told us things that came true. But I also think it is a doorway to a world that should not be tapped without the right knowledge. We did not have that knowledge. Still don’t. And I’ll admit, I sometimes still wonder what would happen if I got back on it? That one thought terrifies me. It gives me chills. It still has sway over me after almost twenty years, even though I haven’t given into it and given it any more control.

Believe me or not, it does not matter to me. I know what happened and I can easily remember how I felt…the terror, the fright, and the knowledge that we were way over our heads. I truly felt like we were being sucked into some dark void of no return and it was so strangely alluring, even as frightening as it all was. No question, I do NOT want my sons touching one of those hellish so-called “games”.

So, tell me what you think. Are you a believer? Did you participate in a Witchboard? If so, what was your experience?

I hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

9 deadly screams:

Sierra Wolfe said...

Wow! That's some story! I completely believe you. It is easy to become obsessed with it. I never did, but I can see how you could. I'm glad my friends and I gave it up when we did, or we would have been obsessed too.
Great post, Gracen!

Gracen Miller said...

Hi, Sierra. I'm glad you and your friends did not become obsessed with it either. It was a scary time.

I hope my boys never try it, that's for sure. Thanks for your positive comments.

Terry Spear/Terry Lee Wilde said...

Oooh, gave me goosebumps, Gracen. I never have used one, but my father's stepsister would gather the family together and do it. The table would move and he was sure everyone was playing with it. But when he was in the AF flying over Germany on bombing missions during WWII, his mother sent him the board. Dad was only 16, signed up under age. And he and another guy started to play with it. Another guy was super religious and said it was from the devil himself, to get rid of it.

So on the next mission, dad took it with him and where he was a tail gunner, there was a hole in the floor where the last tail gunner died and it had never been patched up. So he ditched the board through that hole over the ocean. And then he was fighting the Germans--his plane was hit, he was hit, and his oxygen cord and communications cord cut. He was losing a lot of blood and passing out from lack of oxygen. So another crewman radioed his condition and they had him crawl up to the cockpit.

Had ditching the board, caused him, the only man in the crew, to be injured?

He survived, but was hospitalized and was on convalascent leave for 6weeks. During that time, all of his crew went down on another mission and died.

So had ditching the board saved his life?

Or was it just fate?

His plane was shot down on his 13th mission--survived 16 months in captivity and several death marches. We always said he had a guardian angel watching over him. He survived many more perils before and after! But he never had anything more to do with the board again.

Gracen Miller said...

Wow! Terry, your story gave me chills. I agree that it's from the devil. Nothing good came of our usage of it.

Everytime I see it in Toys R Us, I tell my husband that it only costs $20 to send someone on a one-way ticket to hell. But I realize not everyone agrees with me and many do not even believe my story.

As for your Dad, I like to think he had a guardian angel watching over him. It's certainly spooky how it all played out. What a story!

Thanks for your comments. I hope you have a great weekend!

Sarah Mäkelä said...

Great post, Gracen! I'm glad that I've never tried it now! I do agree with you that I believe Ouija boards can open people up to demonic attacks. I'm glad nothing bad happened to you. *hugs*

Anonymous said...

Can anyone say runaway imagination?

The planchet moves because the people using it subtly push and pull on it. They get to express what they want to without admitting it or even acknowledging it to themselves. Been there, done that. But unlike you, I laughed at it. It's a stupid party game, people. There are no demons--just dumb folks who believe Ouija boards talk to the dead.

All I could think while reading this was, "Get a grip."

Gracen Miller said...

Wow! I'm not even sure what to say to this post. So, I'll just say thanks for your comments, you're definitely entitled to your beliefs and opinions.

But I would strongly disagree that I am not "dumb", nor is anyone else that believes in the Ouija.

Steve Calvert said...

Hi Gracen,

I picked up on this post because I get an alert from Google about anything to do with Ouija Boards. There are a lot of poeple that are interested in them. I'm kinda interested myself, but I don't mess with them.

I would say that your anonymous visitor has a very closed mind. People do push the glass. Sure. It happens. People see it as a bit of a giggle. I have heard lots of stories though and I don't think that it is always someone pushing the glass. Mr (or Mz) anonymous totally sidesteps the issue of a physical change to Shawna's eyes. It's kinda hard to fake stuff like that. Kind a hard to explain as well, which is why the issue was probably sidestepped.

There are lots of strange things that happen with Ouijas that cannot be explained by someone pushing the glass. For instance, when I was at school my English teacher, who was not only a pretty cool guy, but a damned smart guy with a very level head, told the class about a party he once went to. A gang had gathered around a Ouija board and messages were coming through. Then this sceptical guy cane walking up and saying what a load of rubbish it all was and that they were pushing the glass. The glass shot out from under their fingers and exploded in the air.

I have no reason to doubt my English teacher, who told use never to mess with them. He believed it. I could tell. My wife has a similar story about an exploding glass. Should I call her a liar. I think not.

As to your appology in a later post, why appologise? You told your story I can't imagine why anyone would have a problem with that.

Gracen Miller said...

Hi, Steve! Thanks for your comments. I really appreciate them and your support also. I did not want to get into an argument with the Anonymous poster, because he/she is entitled to his/her own opinion. I did take offense to the poster calling those of us who believe in the Ouija "dumb folks".

Your story sounds just as amazing and I really appreciate you taking the time to post it. I have never had such an experience and it would probably freak me out. And no, I, too, do not think you should call your wife or anyone else a liar for their personal experience with the Ouija.

My apology was NOT to Anonymous and was in fact posted before Anonymous posted his/her opinions. The apology was for a poster that e-mailed me off line with concerns that she/he had with how my blog was perceived. The poster thought I was referring to “Witchcraft” as being evil, not the Ouija, I believe, because I referred to the Ouija as "Witchboard". I could be totally wrong on this account, but that was the way I interpreted the poster’s e-mail, just as he/she interpreted my blog to mean something different than what I intended. That was where my apology was coming from. I respect the poster for coming to me with his/her issue and had no problem issuing him/her an apology.

Otherwise this is my story, this is what happened and this is how we perceived the events as they played out. As I already stated, Shawna experienced physical changes and knew things that she had never been told. It was not as if she and I lived in the same State, but rather I lived on the East Coast and she as on the West Coast, so this was the first time I had ever had the opportunity to be around her. If Anonymous chooses to believe that I have a “runaway imagination” that is fine with me too because that his his/her belief and opinion, however, no one should be labeled “dumb folks” because of one’s belief.

Again, thanks for your comments, Steve. I’d love any Internet references you have on the Ouija.