Ouija Board on Retailers’ Shelves…Despite All Warnings

Ouija board on Target's shelf in Toys Department

After every holiday season, Target, a national U.S. retail chain, resets its entire planogram [layout of merchandise and graphic displays] in the toys department.  During one of my frequent visits to my local Super Target in Hoover, Alabama, shortly after the Toys Department reset began (very last week of December), I noticed the wall of board games was already completed.  As I was browsing for anything new and interesting, I stumbled upon a new version of the Ouija Board.  I was shocked (to say the least)!

This new version of the Ouija Board actually glows in the dark.  It has a new dark-blue box and it stands out on the shelf.  [See picture further in post.]  I wondered, “Why is Parker Brothers still manufacturing this piece of evil-ness?”  Then I wondered, “What in the world was Target thinking when they allowed one of their buyers to decide to sell this, again?!?!”  I sat there examining the box, staring at it on the shelf in amazement and disappointment.

One of the reasons I was so shocked to see the Ouija board on Target’s shelf is because I believed Target [and its employees / decision makers] had more sense of good vs. evil.  Another reason is due to the negative history associated with this so called “game.”  And yet another reason is because of my own personal experience with it in the past, due to which I will never touch this board, or anything like it, ever again.  What is also shocking is that I am able to find this Bible forbidden object available for sale in stores throughout the Bible Belt region of the United States of America.  I always thought religious leaders had it their way and not the capitalistic way [lol].

For those that do not know what the Ouija board is, first off, good for you, keep it that way!  But to define it better, a Ouija board, also known as a spirit board, talking board and channeling board, besides many other names that have been given to it throughout history, is a flat board marked with letters, numbers and other symbols, theoretically used to communicate with spirits and/or dead people (necromancy).  It uses a heart-shaped pointer, also known as a planchette, as a movable indicator to indicate the spirit’s message by spelling it out on the board during a session or a seance.  It has been sold by Parker Brothers for as long as I can remember, while living in the U.S. (1991), and I am sure it has been around since before then.

It’s history dates as far back as 1100 B.C., when it was used by the Chinese Song Dynasty, who were the first to record it in historical documents.  It has been noted that it was also used by the Greek philosopher Pythagoras in 540 B.C.  The board apparently became really popular along with the Modern Spiritualist movement in the U.S during the 19th century.  (Wikipedia)  Before my family relocated to the U.S., I remember as a kid, a bunch of us would hang out telling ghost stories and attempting different ways to contact spirits.  This method, although we did not refer to it as a Ouija board, was often discussed, but I am glad we never actually sat down and made a board ourselves.  I had heard of stories at that time about other people doing so and being successful in communicating or channeling using it.

Anyone can do a simple search on any internet search engine and discover the danger and warnings associated with the Ouija board.  On Google.com alone, there are over 70,000 results when you search “Ouija Board Dangers.”  This board or any variation of it and its use, is condemned by many versions of the Bible, see Deuteronomy 18:10-14.  Many demonic activities and evil possessions have been linked to this practice.  It is a way to unknowingly and unwillingly open doors that are difficult to close and be influenced by the paranormal, or worse off, evil entities.

Approximately in 1993 or 1994, while living in Hollywood, Florida, a group of friends of mine decided we were going to “play” with the Ouija board.  I didn’t know anything in details about it, the internet wasn’t available to the public as of yet, and I was curious.  There were about 8 or 9 of us, including my older sister.  We were in the apartment of the boyfriend of a close girlfriend of ours.  With the lights out and a flashlight pointing at the ceiling, we began asking questions and taking turn on the board.  The indicator was moving and answering us, which was interesting and amazing at the same time.  How can something just move by itself?!?  We all took turns, just to experience what it was like and to find out that in fact, the indicator was moving itself and it wasn’t directed by one of the users.

The guy who’s apartment we were in, was the most frequent user that night.  He is a black male, about 6 feet 2 inchesh +/- in hight, weighing about 200 pounds.  He was a police officer and was a tough guy with huge forearms (big muscles).  About an hour or so into our session or seance, the lights in the kitchen came on by themselves.  All of us were a bit freaked.  We stopped, talked about it, looked around, turned them off and returned to messing around with the Ouija board.  A few minutes later, the lights came on again, before anyone had a chance to turn them off, they went out by themselves.  This really made the hairs all over my body rise.

While a few of us were just hanging out, talking about what was going on with the kitchen lights, others were moving around and getting refreshments.  The big, strong, tough guy [who's apartment we were in] was just sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, where he had been most of the night while using the Ouija board.  He sat there quietly for a few minutes… Next thing I know, he started screaming, he put both of his hands on his throat and seemed like he was gasping for air.  He started yelling [while gasping] “Get out of me… Get out of me…”  He fell back on the floor, rolling around, while his hands were still on his throat.  He seemed to struggle like this for a good minute or two, after which he snapped out of it.  He began weeping hysterically.

When he had a chance to calm down, his girlfriend [our friend], was asking him what had happened.  He explained to us that he felt like something was inside of him.  He had visual images of his brother [who had been shot and killed a couple of years before] and how he was killed.  He was able to describe detailed information as far as where exactly his brother was, [which was a location in Miami], and where the shot was fired from.  He said he had also experienced pain which seemed was his brother’s pain at the time of the shot.  At that point, he explained, he realized it was getting very difficult for him to breathe.  He also said that something was inside of him causing this struggle to take a breath and the same ‘thing’ was causing the visualization he had experienced.  Shortly there after, my sister and I, along with our friends left.  I was very scared for a long while.

A few years later I got myself to watch the movies about the Witch board and Ouija board, I believe there are a few of them.  I could relate very much to those movies after this experience.  I recently watched Paranormal Activity, which was a low budget movie that hit the movie theaters back in middle of 2009.  When they brought the Ouija board into the picture, the movie became that much more realistic to me, even though I know it was a movie.  I have also seen a number of cases on the show, Paranormal State, which currently airs on A&E TV, involving the Ouija board.  I have never heard of anything good that comes out of using this board.

After my research about this post, I came to find out that the Ouija board is widely available.  It can be purchased at Toys R Us, Target, Amazon.com, eBay.com, and many other retail locations.  While the Ouija board remains in production and is sold commercially as merely a “game,” it has been [and continues to be] attacked by critics of the occult, members of various religious believes, and even New Age spiritual leaders.  It is unsafe and is not to be used by anyone that does not know what they are getting into.  I wish all retailers would pull it out of their inventory, just like they had done about 5 to 8 years ago.  I wish Parker Brothers would stop manufacturing it.  I hope those that read take my advise seriously and read the warnings.

May the universe protect us all from all evil!