Afraid of the Ouija?
I no longer believe that the dead walk the Earth, that people can read thoughts or predict the future... but I now know that people believe in these things so strongly that for them these experiences are totally real.
The thing I wanted to talk about specifically today was Ouija Boards, I was considering buying one as I wanted to see one working, the principles behind how it works are very interesting so I thought it might be fun.
When I mentioned to people that I had picked one up off of eBay people made negative comments like "don't use it in your flat", "they are evil" and various other tales.
Let me start off by asking you six questions, answer honestly in your head...
1. Do you believe in ESP (extra sensory perception)?
2. Do you believe in ghosts?
3. Do you believe that tarot card reads can predict your future?
4. Do you believe that the dead walk the Earth?
5. Do you believe that clairvoyants can talk to the dead?
6. Do you believe that you can talk to spirits with a ouija board?
I'm almost certain that the majority of you won't believe in ESP, ghosts, tarot cards and clairvoyance but when you came to the final question, I think there is a good chance you answered "yes" or at least really considered your answer as you have some apprehension about ouija boards.
Just a quick search in Google brings up a Yahoo Answers thread where someone has asked "have you ever used a ouija board?" there are around thirty replies talking about how dangerous they are, there is not one reply saying "they're not real'.
Yet, in Yahoo Answers the question "do you believe in ghosts?" gets about 50/50 yes and no.
That attitude amazes me, it's 2009 and we live in an intelligent (mostly) rational word yet people are still scared of ouija boards despite the that there is much more evidence that explains scientifically how they work then there is evidence to support the belief that the dead interact with the board's user.
What is a ouija board and how do you use it?
A ouija board is actually a brand name, it's a toy created by Parker Brothers who also make such family favourites as Monopoly and Cluedo. Their ouija board is a variation of a Victorian party trick which was originally performed without a board, instead attendees at a séance would move a whole table.
Eventually the act of "table tipping" evolved (presumably because the results are easier to achieve) in to the ouija boards or talking boards that we know today. Participants sit around the board which is decorated with the alphabet, the numbers 0-9 and the words "yes" and "no".
Participants place they're fingers light on the plancette and they proceed to ask any spirits which may be present questions. Participants then find that the plancette moves around the board, spelling out words and answering questions.
And this works, it really does. When you see Yvette Fielding and her ghost busting team performing séances on Most Haunted, their glass (plancette) moves around the board and they would swear to you that they are not moving it ...and they're not.
So how do ouija boards work?
OK, that all sounds a bit contradictory. I'm telling you that ouija boards aren't real and then I'm telling you that the plancette moves around the board with no help from the participants. Well, when says they are not moving the plancette, I mean they are not aware of the fact they are moving it.
Ouija boards work through a subconscious behavior called ideomotor motion. Try this out for your self now, the best way to describe how this works is for you to experience it.
Grab yourself a pendulum, may be a neckless with a heavy pendent or some kind of weight on a piece of string - the string should be about 6-12 inches. Now, hold top of the pendulum between your thumb and index finger and look at the weight at the end. Imagine the weight swinging from left to right, start to see it swing and as it does, imagine that movement getting faster and faster.
You will find that the pendulum does swing, seemingly beyond your control. You can change the direction by concentrating on it. Make it move back and forth rather than left and right.
To take this a step further, make a left to right movement mean "yes" and a back and forth motion mean "no"... ask yourself questions, you will find that you can answer them with the pendulum.
This is ideomotor suggestion, it's the same principle that dowsers use and of course the same principle that makes a plancette skate across a ouija board.
For the ouija board to work, you need some suggestible players, the mood needs to be right and a majority of the players needs to have at least a bit of a belief that it is going to work.
So you might start by asking the question "is anyone there?" as players expect that the plancette might move to "yes" (why would it go to "no"?) they subconsciously nudge the plancette towards "yes". Of course when it does move, it seems that no one around the board moved it and that then strengthens everyone else's beliefs.
So you've established that there is a spirit present, another common question is how did you die? What are you thinking right now? Does it begin with 'm'? Most people will be and the plancette slowly moves to the 'm'... the players know what is coming, ...'u' ...'r' ...the plancette's motion gets faster as it becomes clearer what the sprit is spelling ...'d' and faster ...'e' ...'r'. They were murdered, what are the chances of that!
As the plancette picks up speed when words or names become more obvious, it not uncommon for the plancette to over shoot the table, this gives us the story of sprits smashing glasses in anger.
Can you prove it's not real?
So I've said it's ideomotor motion which moves the plancette, how do I really know that's not what it is and that in fact it is spirits moving the plancette. Well, try placing a piece of paper of the plancette, you'll find that players just move the paper off of the plancette proving that it's the players moving the plancette and not the plancette moving the players fingers around.
You could also try blindfolding the participants with an observer left recording the results. You'll find that without being to see, the accuracy of the "spirits" ability to hit the correct letters decreases.
Leaving the blindfolds on, if the board is randomly rotated without the participants knowledge then you'll find that the "spirit" will guide the plancette to the previous position of letters or answers on the board rather than their current positions.
The believers answer...
Spirits are tricksters and they will get these things wrong on purpose to fool us. You really can't win!!
WARNING:
Having said all of this, people have bad experience as a result of using a ouija board because they believe they will. Suggestible people may feel as if they have been possessed or feel discomfort on returning to a part of the house where they have used a ouija board. Of course this is all in the mind, but the fact that it is all in the mind doesn't make it any less scary.
So, if you have any serious doubts about using a ouija board then don't use it. Similarly, if it is against your religious beliefs then stay clear as it may cause feeling of guilt and conflict.
A ouija board is a toy but it is also a powerful demonstration of how suggestible we are and what our subconscious minds are capable of.
I'd love to hear you comments, add them below...
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