Ouija Boards

[nailit]

Just read yogi's post in a thread below re: Ouija boards.
Have you had experience of using these? Years ago I was the token sceptic in a paranormal research group. One night a few of us were experimenting with Ouija boards. Me, been the sceptic, suggested that participants were blindfolded while another (non blindfolded) member acted as the scribe. The results were as expected, garbage. BUT I also know lots of other people who claim to have had unnerving things happen when using them. Personally I think that by using them, we are accessing parts of our unconscious that's best left where it is.

[nailit]

BTW I'm aware of the ideomotor effect before anyone mentions it, thanks.

[Jahulaye]

"Personally I think that by using them, we are accessing parts of our unconscious that's best left where it is"

You think that those that see/hear things are dreaming? Possibly, mass hysteria+fear+unexpected sounds= mass hysteria, fear and and unexpected sounds

[Jahulaye]

What's funny is that many people who don't believe in the "Magic sky fairy" ( God ) are happy to believe that a manmade item pushed around can bring forth imaginary creatures

[Jahulaye]

Also is there a universal "How to use" pamphlet or rule book that comes with them?

I just want to know do they only have to be used by people who are drunk, high, mentally unstable or in a position of high fear usually in a dark, secluded scary place where cats, rats, bats, windows, doors, wind can make unexpected visits/sounds to add to the ouija board working?

I'd like to see one done on a nice hot summers day, in the park in broad daylight with everyone happy, relaxed and maybe a dozen cameras on the board and we'll see if anything "SPOOKY" happens, lol.

[nailit]

jahulaye, now that would be interesting ;-)

[nailit]

Ive done loads of Ouija boards over the years (including one in prison, which freaked my cell mate out....but that's another story) Never had anything happen which cant be explained by ordinary/psychological means.

[Jahulaye]

It would ;)

There was one funny ghost hunting program which Harry Hill used to take the p*** out of, can't remember the name though but would like to see if he screamed and shrieked as much in the daylight as he does in the dark, lol

[Jahulaye]

Maybe like hypnotism if that really isn't a crock of s*** it might only affect easily susceptible people, or maybe as you said it unlocks a certain part of brains only in a small percentage of people. I might have to go and look at a few on youtube for research, fits and giggles.

[NoMercy]

I don't know if I believe in them. I tried one once with some friends and nothing happened.

[nailit]

I still think (all these years later) that using a Ouija board is a way to access our unconscious/subconscious though. The darkened room, candles etc (atmosphere) are a way to do that. And certain things are best left there.

[Jahulaye]

Lol, it's DEREK ACORAH, what a nutcase

[nailit]

How anybody believed that ^^ nutcase is beyond me
(Derick Acorah that is, not Harry Hill...)

[NoMercy]

Derek Acorah is a charlatan.

He once claimed to be haunted by "King Charles I" who would never have referred to himself as such.

[woofgang]

10clarionst
"Maybe not dreaming but I think Arthur C. Clarke had a plausible theory about hallucinations (non-drug induced!). He speculated that somehow the brain has the capacity to project images from your brain into your vision in a way that they appear to be in front of you. I don't know either?"

Well I know for a fact that this is partially true because I experienced it as a child. Its called eidetic imagery. I had one of the commoner forms which is not controllable, only shows images that the child has seen and which have made a strong impact and fades as the child grows....which is probably a good thing as for me the image was solid enough to block out reality which could be fun when driving. Apparently it differs from a photographic memory in that if you ask someone to recall something from a photographic memory they behave as though remembering...especially eye direction. If the person is eidetic, they behave as though what they are recalling is like a picture in front of them....so their eyes move from place to place as though the image was real. people who have it strongly can project the image onto a sheet of paper or a canvas and draw over it to replicate what they are seeing.
Oddly I never spoke about it as a child....I guess I must have assumed it was what the world was like for everybody. it wasn't until I read an online article about it around 10 years ago that I went "hey....I had that"

[Voltage]

evening naillit...ouija boards load of tripe belong in horror films only ..thats just my opinion tho

[nailit]

As I said NoM, How anyone could ever believe in this fruitcake is beyond me. My ex used to love watching him...says it all!

[nailit]

woofgang, that very interesting, my ex's son could 'see' numbers. He was only about 8-9 when I explained pi to him. Within days he had memorised it to about 200 places. He said that he could just *see* the numbers. A year or two later the school had him tested and confirmed that he had an eidetic memory. (no mention of imagery) Last I heard was that he was now at Warick university studying maths and physics.

[woofgang]

I think these days nailit, both kinds of exceptional memory are bundled together....its a very hard subject to investigate because most of the cases are identified in children, which, quite rightly, limits what research can be done. Secondly the commonest manifestations of what seems to be a rare phenomenon are not subject to the control of the err "subject" and and fade as the child grows and thirdly its so subjective anyway. I know I had it because I know I had it, but I have no proof....also I bet that, like me, many more children experience it than talk about it.
I do wonder though whether an eidetic facility is what makes some people who are on the autistic spectrum, such talented representational artists.