Ouija – Cardboard and Plastic Toy or Mystical Portal?

With so much talk of Zozo demons, portals and evil entities, it’s time to have a look as the most recognized "occult" device out there, the Ouija.

Why has the Ouija become so feared? How did it come to be associated with negative energy? When first created, it was meant as a tool that could speak to loved ones in the afterlife. You could contact Uncle Rupert, Aunt Francis, a lost husband in the war and even the spirit of a departed pet. It had no negative associations at all, quite the opposite. It was seen as a positive influence that could even bring peace and happiness.

When did things change so that it could only contact evil? Who turned this board of Spiritualism into a tool of demonic conjuring? Part of that looks to be a product of Hollywood and movies like Exorcist and Witchboard. In both cases you have an innocent, young, female becoming prey to dark forces through use of the board. It makes for good storytelling, like Dracula seducing the women he wished to turn. However, it’s only a story.

Does it have something to do with Aleister Crowley? To be fair, there is a ton of misrepresentation about Crowley. Despite how it’s portrayed, Crowley wasn’t trying to conjure Satan. Further, he was considered wicked because of his sexual habits and indulgences. He referred to himself as "The Beast" in order to magnify his infamy.

Even if he was "evil", Crowley experimented with a great many things. He certainly read the bible, so should that be considered tainted? Crowley worked with Tarot cards and those aren’t being called a portal to hell. There is even a deck he designed.

Clearly not everyone thinks it’s evil, Amazon certainly treats it as a toy. You can get talking board coffee mugs, tumblers, pendants, keychains, mint boxes, hoodies, rings and sweatpants. In every sense of the word it’s a gimmick item. If there was any scientific evidence to the board’s power, or any of these Zozo claims were proven to be real, would it be allowed to be sold by a toy company?

Further proving it’s lack of power, National Geographic showed that when participants are blindfolded, the Ouija spells gibberish. The BBC and others have explained how the Ouija works and how it doesn’t. Even Penn and Teller, who are masters of the con, show how the Ouija doesn’t work.

Another master of illusion, Houdini proved every claim of mysticism to be a hoax, from seances to ectoplasm. The Ouija was used heavily in seances and not one of them proved to be valid. And this was during the time when talking boards had no demonic connection associated with them. Houdini wanted to commune with the dead, but it just wasn’t so.

But there are those that say the spirits need the participants eyes in order to spell words. Yet, paranormal investigators claim spirits can see them. Which group is lying?

People also claim the Ouija can predict the future and explain how it told them something 20 years ago and it just came true. If you can link events together that occur that far apart, you’re trying to find a cause and effect. This would be same as reading a fortune cooking that says you will come into great wealth and two weeks later you find $20 in the street. No one would say the fortune cookie had divine insight. But when it happens with the Ouija, people say it has power.

Looking at it, the Ouija uses a board and letters to spell out phrases from the other side That in mind, why aren’t people having the same experience Scrabble or Upwords? Why isn’t this mysterious humbug called Zozo showing up on Scrabble boards spelling out demonic words?

In our society, why is conjuring evil so damn easy and contacting good spirits so hard? People say they were only in the room with a Ouija and something bad followed them home. However, the same isn’t true about someone passing a church who then says a friendly angel followed them home to make breakfast and tidy up the house. If evil forces can throw books and upturn chairs, a good force should make something to eat and be useful.

If the Ouija was capable of working on conjuring those who have passed, why aren’t we talking to Einstein, Twain, Socrates, Houdini and other great minds so they can continue their work?

This may sound like heresy, but it’s not meant to be. But if the board allowed us to contact the dead, perhaps angels, perhaps higher spiritual beings, why isn’t it used in religious teachings? People don’t have a problem with prayer, so what’s wrong with something more direct?

A common claim toward the Ouija is that it works because of intent and belief. If you don’t believe, nothing will happen because the spirits know. If your intent is to contact a spirit, you will. How is that different than, "it works because I said so."

The Ouija has been debunked multiple times and is as mystical as a rabbit’s foot, lucky socks, game winning jersey, rain dance, blowing on dice or a double rainbow. When they work, people claim the power of the talisman. When they don’t, people claim other forces were acting against them, like the other team had more people with jerseys, or the magic ran out giving them their last wish.

As a final thought, since Darren and his ilk claim it’s so easy to conjure Zozo, why not take up the million dollar challenge laid down by James Randi and get Zozo to appear while he looks on?

The Strange and Mysterious History of the Ouija Board

Other Articles of Interest:

• I Am Zozo – A Review
• Zozo, Darren Evans, Robert Murch and Darkness Radio – A Zozo Hoax?
• Do you believe in the Ouija?
• Ghost Adventures – The Zozo Demon – S10E03
• The Zozo Phenomenon by Darren Evans – Review
• The Zozo Phenomenon by Darren Evans – Thoughts and Impressions
• Ghost Adventures – The Haunted Museum Live – Halloween Edition
• Paranormal State – The Lurking Man – S05E09
• Ghost Adventures – Samaritan Cult House – S14E03
• Ghost Adventures – The Exorcist House – S08E07