Ouija Gone Wild: Shocking True Stories
From one of the most prolific and respected author investigators working in the field of the paranormal today, Ouija Gone Wild is a thoroughly researched and excellently organized collection of facts and true stories having to do with the often mis-understood (and mis-used) talking board.   Rosemary Ellen Guiley is joined in this endeavor by Rick Fisher, founder of the Paranormal Society of Pennsylvania, the National Museum of Mysteries and Research Center in Columbia, PA and the founder of the Historic Haunted Ghost Walks in Columbia. He maintains an extensive file of news clipping and stories related to the board and owns a sizable and varied collection of them.  The book is filled with some hair-raising stories of bad experiences with the board; gives a thorough history of the development of the board and its various incarnations, including the Ouija brand name with which most people are familiar; and delves deeply into a handful of particularly noteworthy and unsettling anecdotes. The most gripping chapters include The Zozo Phenomenon, A Choir of Vampires, and Calling the King of the Witches.   There is also a complete filmography going back to 1920, and an interesting chapter on the role of the Ouija in literature and music. Comprehensive as always for a book by Guiley, Ouija Gone Wild includes a chapter titled How to Use a Talking Board.   A story that I related to the author about my experience with a talking board is included, as well as some experiences related by my wife, Tonya.  It truly is a page turner, delivering equal parts horror and subtle comedy as Guiley and Fisher take us through true crime stories, stories of money gained and lost (mostly lost), and of course the core issues when it comes to matters of the board: the frequent communication with demons and the question of just who are we actually communicating with? Ouija Gone Wild by and large lets the anecdotes and the evidence speak for themselves. Even the authors and the experts they interview cannot say for sure. That seems wise. I have experienced enough hauntings, entities, and mysterious energies to know that dealing with the paranormal in general and particularly divination and communication devices such as the Ouija board is kind of like being in a little boat on a big, stormy ocean be respectful, do not take chances, and do not for a minute think your Ego can get you through. A highlight of the book is a story near the end in the chapter Fear and Ouija-pocalypse that relates an aborted attempt a few years ago to do a live board session on Coast to Coast AM with George Noory. After you read it, there is no denying that there are vast amounts of believers out there and many of them are more than a little scared of the power of the board. Guiley and Fisher do a fine job making a case for why they re right to feel that fear. --Joey Madia, New Mystics Reviews