From: fletcher@rtf.bt.co.uk (Catherine Fletcher)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.ghost-stories
Subject: Re: Ouija Boards
Date: 26 Jan 93 17:18:42 GMT
Organization: BT Customer Systems, Brighton, UK

gj156879@alfred.carleton.ca ( gj student 156879) writes:
> 
>           Any other experiences out there?
>                               Nik

Yup!

A few months ago I was visiting some friends.  Towards the end of the 
evening we constructed a "ouija table" by writing all the letters of the
alphabet, numbers, and "yes" and "no" on pieces of paper and arranging 
around the edge of a round table.

My hosts were a couple who were both experienced in ouija board phenomena,
and I think there were about three other people and myself who weren't.
Also, since I am recounting this from my personal experience I'd like to
state that I have never had any kind of paranormal experience, and don't
feel likely to, if you know what I mean.

The male half of the couple blew in a glass and put it upside down in the
centre of the table, then we all reached in and put one finger lightly on
the edge of the glass.  He then started calling out for any spirits to let
us know that they were there and wanted to talk to us.  After about five
minutes the glass twitched a tiny bit.  I trusted everyone there, but I
had to rule out the possibility of someone fooling around, so I watched
the position of people's fingers very carefully.

The glass then moved across the table about an inch - it really seemed as
though *it* was moving, not being pushed.  I began to feel very excited,
and then immediately checked myself by examining everyone's faces to see
if there was a glimmer of a surpressed smile.  Everyone was concentrating
hard on the glass with straight expressions.  The man began encouraging
the "spirit" to communicate with us, to try hard to push the glass around
the table.  After a couple more spasms, the glass whizzed across the table
to one of the letters.  From this point, it began to move around quite
freely.  I made sure that my finger was resting as lightly as possible
on the glass, following it rather than willing it anywhere.

It was difficult to get much sense out of the letters it pointed to, but
we found out that it was a man born in the 18th century.  Then the glass
stopped moving and we called for another spirit.  We got a few more, then
the glass started moving about very strongly.  The letters were identified
more positively and the words made more sense.  The man asked him a few
questions and then said to us "It's my Dad".  His father died a few years
ago, and he had spoken to him via a ouija board with his family several
times since.  After him we got a couple more spirits, then the man's father
came back again, and stayed for a very long time.  I was tired and took my
finger off the glass, and it carried on - as long as more than one person
was touching it.  When the man rested his hand, it would slow down and
sometimes stop.

I did this again with these people a few weeks later, and it was similar.
In conclusion, I do not believe that we were contacting spirits of dead (or
alive) people, in fact I know we weren't.  I did not feel any kind of 
presence or anything extraordinary while the glass was moving.  I also
know that the glass was moving by itself and no-one was pushing it.  The
person who really believed that we were contacting the dead was the man who's
father had died.  So it seems to me that the phenomena was a product of
our collective will (which is why it made so little sense), dominated by
the man's very strong belief.  How this manages to move a glass about a 
table I don't know!  I'm sure there's some scientific theories though...

-- 
 Catherine 

	"Your favourite shirt is on the bed
	 Do a somersault on your head"
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.ghost-stories