OUIJA BOARDS

While Ouija Board's (pronounced "wee-gee"), also called Talking Boards have been around for anywhere between a few hundred years to over a thousand years, what people most commonly think of is the relatively recent version made by Parker Brothers and sold in most department stores. There are many types of these boards available today including a glow-in-the-dark version that works well for Halloween entertainment.

The general idea is that these boards are a sort of spiritual gateway used by the living to contact and communicate with the dead.

A Ouija Board set typically includes a flat board printed with letters, numbers and words, and a planchette that acts as the pointer for communication between the users and spirits.

To use a Ouija Board, two people sit facing each other close enough so that the board can lay on their knees between them. The planchette is placed in the center of the board and the two users place their fingers lightly on the planchette. One person at a time should ask a question. Questions should be as simple and direct as possible, as not to be easily confused. If a spirit is near enough and willing to answer, the planchette will begin to move around the board, spelling out answers to the questions using the words and letters printed on the board.

Although Ouija Boards are viewed by most people as just an unusual game, others believe them to be a viable method of communicating with the dead, while others believe them to be harmful and potentially dangerous. Critics warn that evil entities can pretend to be helpful spirits in order to the trick players. Some users have actually claimed to have had bad experiences as a result of using a talking board, including being haunted by evil spirits, seeing apparitions of ghosts and hearing voices after using them. In the end, its your call whether you use a talking board or not.