I write posts that often do not make me popular. The reason is, I say it like it is. Some people, for whatever reason, have a vested interest in their beliefs in the paranormal. The scary thing about belief in paranormal is that it's like religion--it must be done on faith. Anything you decide to believe in in the spirit world becomes your truth. Look at J&G and their pat answers for what ghosts are and how they operate. That said, this post will not make me super popular with people who want to believe in urban legends surrounding Ouija boards, but it won't for one instance stop me from saying it.
There was an episode of “Donohue Show” one time where a person slumped over and fainted and then another and another. They stopped the show and took the audience out and sat and finished the show with the guests without the audience. It was pretty hilarious because actually it was a couple of actors faking fainting and then others saw it and fell into hysteria; sort of social experiment.
As a kid, we all heard of Bloody Mary and the mirror trick. We stood in the dark room and whispered it and waited. Some of the kids got hysterical and swore they saw demons and had a run of bad luck following it. One kid lost her dog and her parents divorced and she blamed it on Bloody Mary. I got a good laugh out of the experience and a great deal of disappointed because I seriously was hoping to see something miraculous and exciting, but all I saw was my blasted face in a dimly lit bathroom.
What do these events have to do with Ouija boards?
The power of suggestion and belief. Some people have a more logic-based hold on their thoughts and question the most absurd thoughts that dance through their heads, others believe anything that pops into their heads is legitimate because they thought it.
I'll be real honest on my view of Ouijas and it's probably the only sane answer you're going to get out there because people seem to think Parker Brothers has some magical powers, but the board is just another way to supposedly talk to spirits. Ghost hunters often do EVP. They walk around, engaging the other side in conversation. It is absolutely NO DIFFERENT than using a Ouija.
“Use this board” versus “use this electronic recorder.”
Now, if you have a religious upbringing, most especially Catholic, stay away from them. No matter how you reason it, you're going to get the heebie jeebies because it's built into the brain wiring from doctrines about the afterlife fed to you in your tender years. Belief in evil as an entity and possession and other scary scenarios will lurk in your mind long after using the board.
Do Ouijas work? I think the only evidence I've found of it being effective was in bringing out the psychic talents of the person using it. The mind is an amazing thing and I've seen people freak out over Ouija and urban legends and movies haven’t helped either, giving them all sorts of magical powers. It’s like seeing the pentacle and thinking of devil worship (thanks Hollywood for once again causing ignorant beliefs).
I’ve used Ouija zillions of times and they are fun and I do believe some good answers I got were done purely through psychic pathways and not through spirit communication. Sometimes, perhaps by conscious or unconscious desires of others at the board to move the planchette.
Honestly, I don't know how people think it's some kind of invitation for evil. If evil existed and it wanted you, it wouldn't need a mass-produced board to get to you. It'd bite you in the ass and, in fact, all of us would be screwed right now because the world would be a scene out of the climax of "Ghostbusters."
Don’t blame the Ouija; blame the minds of the people who give it powers it simple has not got.