OUIJA BOARD STORIES AND EVENTS
As mentioned already, many people have a fear of and are stigmatized by their using a Ouija Board -- for both good purposes and bad. There seem to be many unanswered questions as to whether or not talking boards are worthwhile channels to the other side or merely sinister board games nut in spite of this, there have been many stories and apocryphal tales that have come along over the years to cement the Ouija's less than savory reputation. Here are a few of them but remember that we make no claims as to the truth of the stories -- the veracity of the tale is up to the reader to decide!
- One of the most mysterious looking buildings in Los Angeles is the famed Bradbury Building. Over the years, a variety of Hollywood film makers have been drawn to it and have shot films like DOA, Blade Runner and Seven here. Legend has it that George Wyman consulted his dead brother using a Ouija Board about it before he built it for Louis Bradbury in 1893. Wyman had little architectural experience at the time and debated on whether or not to take on the monumental task. His brother convinced him, through the board, that the building would make him famous -- and it did.
- Arthur Henry Ward (better known as Sax Rohmer), the author of the famous "Fun Manchu" adventure novels, was also a member of the Golden Dawn and penned a number of occult books as well. According to his own account, he started his lucrative writing career on advice gained through a Ouija board. He asked how to best make a living as a writer and the board spelled out "c-h-i-n-a-m-a-n". The novels that followed brought him fame and fortune and franchise that is still popular today.
- A St. Louis housewife named Pearl Curran stunned the literary world in the early 1900's by channeling a spirit through the Ouija Board and producing thousands of pages and novels and poetry that allegedly came through a spirit named Patience Worth. Click Here to Read the Complete Story
- Starting in 1919, author Stewart Edward White and his wife, Betty, spent 17 years studying Betty's mediumship with a group of entities who called themselves the "Invisibles". She made initial contact with them using a Ouija board and then continued the communications through automatic writing. The White's later produced the Betty Book to chronicle the events in 1937.
- In 1933, Dorothea Turley and her 15 year-old daughter, Mattie, were convicted of the murder their husband and father. On the witness stand, Mattie stated how the Ouija board, which had been directed by her mother, had told her that it was all right to kill her father so that her mother could marry "cowboy". Mattie later killed him with a shotgun. The jury determined that the crime had more to do with insurance money and Dorothea's lover than a Ouija board and Dorothea went to prison and Mattie for reform school, where she stayed until she was 21. Her mother was released on an appeal three years after the original trial.
- In 1972, poet Jane Roberts founded the "channeling" movement when she had a paranormal experience that she described as "feeling her consciousness leave her body". She and her husband began experimenting with a Ouija Board and made contact with a being known as "Seth". The result of this was several popular books that were dictated by Seth himself, including Seth Speaks.
- According to legend (and boy, is this one questionable!) musician Alice Cooper allegedly named his band (and himself?) after the spirit of a 17th century witch with this name that he claimed to have contacted through a Ouija Board. He and his band mates thought the name so cool that they decided it was the perfect moniker for the group -- except for one hold out, who thought the name was stupid. It should be noted that earlier names of the band had been the Earwigs, the Spiders and Nazz, so perhaps "Alice Copper" was an improvement. Regardless, this was the first story of the band name's origin and there have been others since then. It's likely that they don't even remember what really happened!
- In 1990 (or 1991) several students allegedly decided to try out a Ouija Board at a small cemetery on the campus of Benedictine University in Chicago. One of the young men who participated in the session allegedly became “possessed”. He started screaming and howling uncontrollably and his companions were unable to calm him down or to keep him from kicking, biting and flailing about. Campus police were said to have assisted in getting the young man back to his room and he ended up being taken to an area hospital, where he was sedated and treated. The story of the incident was told, re-told and embellished around campus over the course of the next few days and interesting elements began to be added to the tale. One of the most popular was that the boy was taken to Benedictine Hall and locked in a room all night, in hopes that he might tire himself out. When the door was unlocked, he was sitting quietly in a chair and looking out a window that was covered with swarming flies! Unfortunately, the real story was not so chilling or exciting. According to reliable sources, the boy simply freaked himself out during the Ouija session. The spooky setting and the excitable nature of the boy combined for a disaster when one of his friends decided to play a prank and make everyone think the ghost was close by. The young man became hysterical and the events that followed were a result of his own overactive imagination.
Rather than the story of the “possessed” boy being a cautionary tale, Ouija boards became even more popular on campus in the weeks that followed. Some credited the boards with terrible powers, including one girl who blamed her séance for a mysterious fire that started in her room on Neuzil Hall. She had left her Ouija board sitting on her sofa when she went to dinner but was called back to her room when the sofa somehow went up in flames. After the fire was put out, no trace could be found of the Ouija Board!
