Yes? or No?...Goodbye

Just answer Yes?  Or No?

It starts innocently enough a flickering candle, a few curious friends gathered around the table, and the infamous Ouija board resting between you. There are instructions even in the mass-produced boards available at any Walmart or Local Toy store, but are they just innocent words? Or Warnings.  

Never partake as a solitary person. Don’t Ask for Self Validation. Always Say Salutations

Some laugh it off as a game, others take it more seriously, whispering about warnings not to play with forces you don’t understand. But most don’t truly believe anything will happen.

Until it does.

The Ouija board has long been seen as a tool for communicating with the dead, a bridge between the living and the spirit world. For centuries, people have recounted terrifying experiences, warning others to stay far away from it. 

There’s a reason everyone says you should never use a Ouija board alone. Stories circulate of people who, in their curiosity or arrogance, thought they could handle whatever came through. 

In 1988 James O’Connor, a University Student decided to try it alone in his apartment, late one night. The report says, he told of the planchette began to move faster than he expected, spelling out strange words and names he didn’t recognize. His hands weren’t pushing it, but the board seemed to come alive under his fingertips. 

The next morning, his friends found him curled up in a corner, shaking uncontrollably, whispering about a dark figure he had seen after the session. His mind fractured, and he spent the next few months in and out of psychiatric hospitals. He never touched a Ouija board again, He succumbed to his state in 1992 with his records from his doctors with years of the same recants of the story and names. 

Perhaps the most chilling mistake many make is asking the spirit world for a sign. They want proof of something to make these spirits puppet for them as a selfish way to prove the game works. But inviting the unknown to physically interact with our world is an open portal, one you can’t easily close.

One Police report states a group of friends asked for a sign during their session. "If someone is here, show us." Almost immediately, a picture frame fell off the wall. Birds flew into the windows, unexplained knocks on the walls, lights flickering, shadows moving in places where there shouldn’t have been any. 

One of the girls, Lisa Maccan (18)  in the group began to feel a strange pressure on her chest as if something was slowly suffocating her.  911 was called, unconscious and unresponsive she was admitted to the hospital. 

Days later, she woke up with bruises in the shape of handprints around her neck and was diagnosed with Aspiration pneumonia, with unknown materials showing in the tests at the hospital. 

It sounds simple, but one of the most important rules of the Ouija board is to always say goodbye. Failing to do so can leave the connection open, allowing whatever you’ve contacted to linger. And sometimes, the things you bring through are not easy to get rid of.

A group of teenagers, excited by the potential for ghostly encounters, used a Ouija board in an abandoned house rumored to be haunted. They asked questions, laughed at the responses, and didn’t take any of it seriously. When they were done, they simply walked away from the board, leaving it unfinished.

That night, strange things started happening to them. One by one, they reported seeing shadowy figures in their homes tall, dark shapes standing at the foot of their beds, watching them in silence. Electronics flickered, objects moved on their own, Text messages from unknown numbers,  and strange voices whispered to them as they tried to sleep. It was as if something had followed each of them home. We have all seen Final Destination! It will find a way. 

The most dangerous aspect of using a Ouija board is that you have no control over who, or what, you’re communicating with. Many people assume they’re talking to a deceased loved one, or maybe just a benign spirit passing by. But there are darker entities, too tricksters, demons, and mimics who masquerade as friendly spirits to gain trust.

The warnings surrounding Ouija boards are not just superstition they are based on years of chilling stories and terrifying encounters. It’s not just a game. It’s an invitation. You may think you’re just talking to the dead, but once you start playing with forces beyond your understanding, you have no control over what comes through that door.

So, the next time someone suggests pulling out a Ouija board at a party, think twice. Because when you summon something from the other side, you might not like what answers.