From the earliest beginnings Man has used natural means to catch a Glance beyond the curtain To get into contact with the Supernatural but in modern times he has Also devised artificial aids To help him in his endeavors one of the More popular ones Is the ouija board for as long as there Has been life There has been death and so for Millennia mankind Has searched for a way to communicate With those beyond the grave In modern times man-made devices are Often used when attempting communication With the spirit realm With the ouija board being one of if not The most Iconic paranormal instruments the board As we know it Marked with the letters of the alphabet The numbers zero to nine And the words yes and no was invented in The late 19th century The basic concept of the ouija board However is far Older talking boards as they are more Broadly known Are said to have been an important tool Of divination And spirit communication since ancient Times One claim is that the ancient
Philosopher pythagoras Used talking boards in the 6th century Bc According to an occult encyclopedia Dating from 1920 The great mathematician and his Followers would hold frequent seances or Circles at which a mystic table moving On wheels Moved towards signs inscribed on the Surface of a stone Slab on which the moving table worked These revelations were then interpreted As messages From the unseen world supposedly helping The legendary pythagoras and his Students to enhance their studies Whilst widely cited as fact the veracity Of this claim is disputed with the story Ultimately reaching a dead end With the works of an unnamed french Author regardless the search for secret Knowledge through supernatural means Is undoubtedly a practice as old as Mankind itself From the use of pendulums and dowsing Rods to occult messages revealed by Oracles and Shamans in the 4th century a.d A roman historian detailed how laurel Twigs in the shape of the delphic tripod Were used to reveal hidden matters Namely who would succeed the reigning Emperor
After uttering a set prayer to invoke The divine power The laurel tripod was allowed to move Over a round dish Engraved with the 24 letters of the Alphabet when the two individuals Involved were later arrested for their Occult practices It was related how the instrument moved In a series of jumps And came to rest on particular letters Appropriate to the questions The trial did not end well for the Accused with the historian reporting how They were fearfully mangled by the Torturer’s hooks And taken away unconscious in the east Similar spiritual practices are known to Have existed Spirit writing has a long history in Chinese folk religion Blanchette writing known as fuji in Which words and pictures are revealed on A sand plate by a stick or stylus Roughly resembling a dowsing rod Is said to date back to the time of the Six dynasties Between 220 and 589 a.d One of the most common tales associated With chinese Spirit writing is the summoning of the Lady of the privy An ill-treated concubine who died in Grief
Who subsequently returned from the grave On the date of her death To tell people’s fortunes by the 7th Century Summoning the spirit of the lady of the Privy by using a planchette was Widespread And could be done any day of the month After this the practice was incorporated Into towers traditions And was extended to include other Spiritual entities With it being believed that immortals Gods and ghosts of all varieties Would descend through the planchette to Educate people Co-opted by philosophers and Intellectuals automatic planchette Writing Transformed into an art form the Interpretation of the secret messages Provided by the unseen World was tasked to those who dedicated Themselves to understanding The complex workings of celestial beings While still used by ordinary people the Revelations of the planchette were best Understood through a specialist Interpreter In the west the idea of a specialist Interpreter Can be said to have reached its peak in The 19th century Through the birth of the professional
Medium whilst Spiritual practitioners had long existed In the form of shamans and seers It wasn’t until the appearance of modern Spiritualism and the work of the fox Sisters That spirit communication became not Only widespread But popular in respected social circles One of the most recognizable forms of Spirit communication from this era Is the seance also known as a sitting or Spirit circle A seance is the gathering of a group of People seeking to communicate with the Dead These types of sessions are usually Conducted by at least one Medium and ideally have a minimum of Three people holding hands to form a Circuit It does not matter what time of day they Are held but some Argue that the night is more conducive For communicating with spirits as strong Lights Disturb the atmosphere while seances are Highly individualized depending upon Who’s presiding over them It is usual for such sessions to be Opened with a special Chant or prayer to not only invoke any Spiritual entities present but also to Offer protection to participants
One common example is psalm 23 Though i walk through the valley of the Shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me It is important for everyone present in The circle to concentrate on the spirit With which they desire to communicate The lead medium will call out naming the Individual And wait for a response responses are Said to vary In form some have reported hearing Strange Sounds such as rapping noises that seem To respond in a pattern to the questions Asked other more visible phenomena can Also occur Such as the flame of a candle turning Blue or becoming Highly reactive flickering and burning Violently Even more apparent manifestations have Been claimed to occur Including tables levitating or the Sudden appearance of objects known as Apports In the most extreme cases demonstrations Of physical mediumship Can happen during a seance with anything And everything from full-bodied Apparitions to a strange spiritual Substance known as ectoplasm being Produced In very rare situations someone without
Any apparent mediumistic ability May become entranced with a spirit Speaking through them Of course many have questioned the Effectiveness and genuineness of seances And as such belief has ebbed and flowed Throughout time In the early 19th century social change Incurred by the rapid rise of Industrialization And thus materialism made spiritual Belief almost extinct in England by 1830. predicted at the time To never return Belief in ghosts was regarded as archaic The preoccupation of Rural folk untouched by the Enlightenment of a modern age However 20 years later spiritualism was On the rise with german ghost law Becoming popular Even those at the very top of society Were said to have been beguiled With even queen victoria being rumored To have dabbled with spiritualism at Osborne house on the isle of wight In 1848 one of the most iconic forms of Modern spirit communication Was invented by the fox sisters in a Small wooden house in new york state The story goes that the fox family began Hearing mysterious knocking noises at Night in their home Believing it to be a spirit of the dead
Two of the daughters realized the Rapping noises Seemed to respond when they tapped back They Soon developed a code to communicate With the spirit It was claimed to be the spirit of a mr Splitfoot a man said to have been killed In their home Previously information that was said to Have been revealed Through the fox sisters knocking method Soon they realized that this method Could be used to communicate with other Spirits as their reputation for spirit Communication spread Many people came to witness the fox Sister’s incredible ability They soon started to perform seances in Their most recognizable form Seated around a table holding hands with Participants with table tipping and Wrapping noises being a regular feature Pt barnum the american showman saw their Potential and put them on stage The fox sisters quickly became a global Sensation In many ways the fox sisters are at the Bedrock of modern paranormal Culture influencing it for over a Hundred years Yet by the turn of the 20th century There was justifiably deep skepticism Concerning their alleged spirit
Communication abilities This soon spread to other professional Mediums With the skepticism being fueled by two Of the sisters Later recanted confessions of fraud with Claims the wrapping noises were produced By one of the sisters cracking her toe Joints Regardless of the skepticism the train Had already left the station Belief in the supernatural was on the Rise with the world wars and the Enormous loss of life engendered during This period Moving people to search for something to Quell their grief Death abounded and the living were left Desperate For one last conversation with their Lost loved ones It was around this time that the ouija Board began to become more prevalent The board itself in the form it is known Today was invented by elijah J bond in baltimore maryland and was Sold as a parlor game In 1891 when the board was patented by Bond It was described as a toy or game by Which Two or more persons can amuse themselves By asking questions of any kind And having them answered by the device
Used and operated by the touch of the Hand So that the answers are designated by Letters on the board In the patent it was not made clear if The involvement of spirits of the dead Were required in order to make the board Function It was under william fold who took over Bond’s patent that the ouija board Became what it is today He modified the patent in 1892 Explaining that the planchette Will commence to move across the table After a question is asked By the involuntary muscular motion of The hands of the players Or through some other agency this other Agency It was widely believed were spirits of The dead by 1966 the rights to the ouija Board game were purchased by parker Brothers After which it is said sales of the game Became second Only to monopoly The ouija board has many accolades to Its name From 1912 to 1937 pearl lenore curran Wrote several novels and poems Supposedly by channeling the spirit Of patience worth an english woman who Allegedly lived in the 17th century Curran was thought to have had an
Average education for her time And was not known to have been Particularly gifted before the alleged Appearance of worth Her work is considered to be exceptional Multiple Researchers have studied her and she Herself even Travelled to visit some varying Conclusions were reached as to the Genuineness of her claims Some of the more skeptical stated that Her writing came about from a repressed Writer Within her subconscious and that worth Was merely a figment of her imagination The renowned american parapsychologist Walter franklin prince Studied her extensively and was Impressed enough to write a 509-page Book about Her in the book he stated that the Current view of the subconscious must be Radically altered to accommodate Unknown powers in the mind or that there Must be some Entity not originating in the Subconscious of mrs curran Throughout her life curran claimed her Communications with patients worth were Genuine On the 25th of november 1937 she is Reported to have told her friend That patience has just shown me the end
Of the road Despite not being ill at the time of her Statement Only a few days later on the 3rd of December curran succumbed to pneumonia Curran was not the only one who wrote Novels supposedly through the messages They received from a ouija board In 1917 emily grant hutchins Wrote a whole book titled [ __ ] heron Which she claimed was written by mark Twain Communicating through a ouija board the Great Irish poet william butler-yates was also Supposedly influenced by spirit Communication Of course such claims will always be met With skepticism The most dismissive argument against Ouija boards and seances is plain Trickery The apparent ghostly movement of the Planchette or the wraps and knocks her During a seance Are merely faked by one or more Participants That contact with the planchette is Required in order to channel the intent Of spiritual entities Makes this extremely difficult to Disprove participants can of course all Agree Not to fake the movements of the
Planchette but there really is no way to Know the validity of the movement Aside from your own actions another Argument more complex than pure hoax Is that of the ideomotor response Proponents of this Explanation claim that a thought or Mental image Such as the intention of communicating With a deceased loved one Brings about an automatic muscular Reaction Often of minuscule degree and Potentially outside of the awareness of The subject In real terms this means you might move A ouija By a small degree without even realizing You are doing it This unconscious action skeptics argue Could explain Seemingly genuine ouija board Experiences especially those Experienced individually where the Possibility of intentional fraud is Eliminated Support for this argument appears to be Found when participants are blindfolded When using the board The planchette then spelling much more Incoherent messages Even then adherents argue that messages From the spirit realm are not always Easily understood
They claim that it is in fact common for Ouija board messages to be reversed Scrambled or in the form of an anagram And that transcription for later Interpretation Is crucial for all of this debate There are many who assert that ouija Boards are not only very real But very dangerous as well widespread Reports of disturbing phenomena Occurring during sessions using the Board Have led some to believe the Participants may be risking their own Well-being Psychological and if some cases are to Be believed perhaps even Physical by interacting with forces they Simply Do not understand a quick internet Search reveals innumerable Articles and testimonies on the subject Of ouija boards gone wrong Such posts worn against ever using the Board with experiences explaining how They buried Burned or otherwise destroyed their Board after being traumatized by what They experienced I’ll never try that again states oceana Who was shocked after witnessing the Planchette move By itself after using the board alone in Another story
Shared by forum user jake nichols in 2013 A ouija board session caused everyone to Run out of the house Terrified the board after revealing a Series of correct answers Spelled out the word doll according to Jake A porcelain doll had been moved out of The room prior to the session Because it was deemed too creepy and had Been placed in the adjacent room Face down on a pile of towels when they Opened the door to the other room They supposedly found the doll standing Upright In front of the door staring right at Them Spooky indeed however instances of ouija Board sessions having gone wrong do get Darker In 1995 a 19 year old turned his bedroom In southeast london Into a satanic shrine and stabbed and Killed his 15 year old neighbor after His ouija board supposedly spelled out The word Kill similar is the case of carol Sue alvarka a 53 year old grandmother Who executed her daughter’s husband Brian in his sleep After a ouija board told her he was evil And needed to be killed Such stories present quite a damning
Picture of the ouija board A reputation that has no doubt been Fueled by the vast number of horror Movies that portray the Board as a sinister object capable of Unleashing demonic Terrors and whilst many would agree and Happily never touch a ouija board for Fear of the damage it can cause There are many who regard such fears as Nonsense Garina dunwich a professional astrologer Occult historian and new age Author writes in her 2002 book a witch’s Guide to ghosts and the supernatural That she has never experienced any Demonic problems by using a ouija board Neither does she know of any Well-grounded witches or occultists who Have It is her belief that fear of ouija Boards seances and spirit communication In general is societal And can be traced back to the christian Beliefs and fears Embedded from an early age in our Collective unconsciousness Dunwich is however keen to caveat her Belief by explaining That this is not to say that the ouija Board cannot create An open door to the spirit world through Which a malevolent earth-bound spirit Or other uninvited entity can come she
States that the board should always be Used in a safe and proper manner And that the person operating it should Be in a healthy state of mind Precautionary measures as outlined in Dunwich’s book Include always creating a protective Clockwise circle around you And the ouija board before attempting to Make contact with spirits Placing a silver coin on the planchette To repel Evil and taking care never to leave or Uncast the circle until after you have Said goodbye to whatever spirit you have Evoked Many practitioners swear by such methods And use ouija boards and other spirit Communication devices Regularly and with great effect as with Most things paranormal a solid Conclusion Is impossible to draw a silly game a Dangerous toy Or a genuine tool for spiritual Revelation The ouija board is as divisive as it is Fascinating All that can be said is that seances Circles and spirit writing Is nothing new when bond patented the Board in 1891 He was merely building upon a tradition Of spiritual belief
That is as old as mankind itself Thank you for watching if you enjoyed This be sure to subscribe For more of the paranormal and don’t Forget to head over to my merchandise Store To check out all my new designs Including my limited edition halloween Design If you have not done so already if you Cannot wait until my next video Why not check out the one suggested on Screen now Until next time You
