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Ouija Board



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Thu Apr 09, 2015 4:30 am
rainforest says...



So I am writing this novel about two friends, one heavily religious, and the other atheist. The atheist friend, Thomas, convinces his friend, Hayden, to play with a Ouija Board. I myself have never played with a Ouija Board, so for those of you who have, what is the experience like? Did anything bad happen to you? What spirit did you encounter? Please reply if you have played with a Ouija Board. Thanks!
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Thu Apr 09, 2015 1:57 pm
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Craz says...



(love this idea, btw)

I own an Ouija Board, though who knows what it's buried under now. I think the first time I played it, I was over at my dad's house and it was my brother, my dad (of course), and I. We sat there for about an hour and stared at it, but nothing happened.

The second time was during a sleepover. There was a girl who was very religious and started to freak out when I pulled it out, and seeing as everyone else was up for it, the girl left the room (I kind of feel bad, looking back on it). One of the girls swore it moved, though I knew it was probably just her trying to freak us out. Again, nothing happened. So the Ouija Board is now buried in with the other forgotten board games, probably.

Even though I didn't exactly have a very interesting experience with the game, I know with some proper digging you can find stories where people claim something happened. You can watch horror flicks where the Ouija Board is the demonic weapon of choice, some being I am ZoZo, Witchboard, Don't Move, and the latest one of last year with the most original title of all of them, Ouija.

I hope I gave you some help ^^
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Fri Apr 10, 2015 8:28 am
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Apricity says...



Stopping by to drop a few hints.

When it comes to topics like this, topics that you're not familiar with, the best thing to do is research. Research. Research and more research. You're not living in the 18th century, you have local libraries and the internet at your disposal, go wild.

Anecdotal evidence is important of course, but Ouija boards are a very controversial topic to different people. One person's experience may differ to the other, so it's best to equip yourself with your own set of knowledge instead of relying on others.

To counter Craz's post, I met a girl who talked with ghosts constantly and could call up spirits by using an Ouija board (thought she strongly dislikes the use of it). It just shows how different anecdotal evidence can be. Remember also that you don't have to stick to reality line by line here, you want something to happen because it's a novel. The readers want something to happen because it's a novel and they aren't there to read about something farting after a major build-up of the great Ouija board.

That being said, you need to base what you spin off common knowledge of the Ouija board. This includes research, once again. You've already asked some very good questions, so answer them.

There are fundamental questions I ask myself every time I come across a topic I don't know.

-What

-Who

-When

-Why

-Where

These may be where the said topic originated on to how it works, it could be how it relates to the story and why it relates to be topic. To give you some idea, I typed up 'facts about Ouija Boards' and came up with this link.

You can of course also read or watch other stories related to the Ouija Board.

I hope I've helped in some ways, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me.
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Sun Apr 12, 2015 1:15 am
Rosendorn says...



For me I'd ask what the point of the scene is. Right now, I'm not sure why you're going for this specifically? If you want to create a horror opening, then I'd suggest figuring out what makes the scene extra special because a ouija board summoning a monster is a pretty stock and stereotypical opening.

If it's just to mess with a friend, then the advice would be different. Your focus on the scene would be more about showing character development and the emotional reactions involved, instead of the spiritual side of it.

If you want the non-religious explanation to how ouija boards work (for non believers in a world where the supernatural does not exist), then it's actually pretty simple: your fingers twitch subconsciously (in general), and they respond to what you want to hear. So if you want to spell out a certain thing, or get a certain sign, your own body will direct the slider to that sign. It not working can result in two people wanting different things and both sides cancel each other out.

If you do have the supernatural existing, or people who are superstitious and will see the supernatural even when there is none, then ouija boards give out a very creepy vibe that is very much wrong. Somebody religious/empathetic likely will not trust them and actively dislike them.
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Fri May 15, 2015 12:13 am
Astronaut says...



It's scattered and doesn't make sense. Like, "Are you a boy or a girl?" "Boy." What's your name? "Rebecca." When were you born? "1804." When did you die? "1630 BC. "Okay?"

Sometimes the responses will be cohesive, but it's just a fun story, really. I think you should do some research into how it actually works, because I've read up on it, and it'll give you an idea of how it would be played.
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