I remember a time near Halloween when we were going uptown after school to paint spooky scenes on business windows.  I’m pretty sure we were in eighth grade.

On a break, a bunch of us guys went down to the corner store and bought snacks, only to meet up with a bunch of giggly girls talking about a recent slumber party. They started telling us about an incident with a Ouija board. Most of them were laughing, but a couple of them were very serious about it and looked upset. I just remember having a weird feeling as a few of the girls reiterated the story to us. It was one of those gray days, a little chilly. Spooky.

One girl was clearly trying to sound nonchalant about the whole thing, but as she went on with the story, you could tell the tone became more serious.  Apparently, they had asked the board several questions that night. Whatever or whomever they were contacting apparently began a conversation, spelling out words and names of people.  

One of the girls had tears in her eyes, and another one of us asked if she was OK. “It was just really scary.”

Still another of the girls told more of the story. She told about most of the girls being asleep and how she and another girl, still awake, grabbed the Ouija board and took it into the hallway. They asked it several questions again, getting “yes” and “no” questions answered. They were amazed that the heart-shaped “eyeglass” seemed to move on its own, and their curiosity wouldn’t let them stop. 

They bravely asked the board if “someone was in the room with them” and the board spelled out “HIM.” They were very frightened, but still didn’t stop. The girl telling the story said she looked over in the corner and saw a man. She said it was Adolph Hitler. We all believed her simply because she wasn’t the type of person who told such tales.

Furthermore, we had been talking about World War II in government class and figured she knew what the guy looked like. The girls said they went back into the room they had been in and said prayers but were unable to sleep the rest of the night. They kept hearing strange noises outside and one girl said she heard footsteps on the roof above them.

While she was telling the story, we were all riveted. Even a few of the tough guys standing around looked wide-eyed and drawn in, and I’m pretty sure we all had goosebumps.  When she said that she had actually seen “Hitler,” I felt the hair on my neck stand up.

I told others the story, and there was a lot of disbelief wherever I went. But I remember telling an adult about it a few days later and this person got a very grave look on his face and said “You kids should never mess around with those things. They are not toys.”  

Again, there went the hair on the back of my neck.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve either read accounts or talked to people who have had experiences with Ouija boards. Sure, some folks talk about them and remark that the thing never worked for them. Still others tell spooky stories that would scare even the staunchest skeptics.

Perhaps the scariest one I have ever heard came from a girl I knew in college. I think I may have told you this story before. She lived in a sorority house, and there had been plenty of times when the girls in the house messed around with a Ouija board that happened to be in one of the large living rooms downstairs. She told of several incidents in which the girls in the house had gotten freaked out, but it didn’t stop some of them from experimenting and playing with it again. All in fun, they thought.

One night, she had been studying and knew she had to keep studying. She kept feeling a breeze that constantly blew around her, off and on. She thought there must be a draft of some kind, but the weather outside was warm. The air conditioning was not on. It was not windy. After studying a while, she decided to take a quick nap, and remembered how quiet and weird the house felt. 

She woke up from her nap with a start. The light in the room was not bright, but as if a light bulb was getting ready to burn out. When she looked at the foot of her bed, she saw a strange “being” that resembled pictures she’d seen of space aliens. It had a large, oval face with drooping eyes. Frightened beyond belief and unable to scream, she closed her eyes and began praying.  When she opened her eyes, it was gone.

She was so upset about the encounter that she could not sleep for a few nights and she ended up staying with friends in another house. It wasn’t long before she made the decision to move out of the sorority house altogether. 

Even after moving out, she would get a weird feeling driving near the house, and looking at any pictures of “aliens” upset her. She also said a few other girls had told similar stories of freaky happenings during their stay there. When last I heard, that old house was torn down. 

This incident stuck with her for so long that she ended up being counseled by a pastor, who heard the entire story and told her, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that activity with that Ouija board had opened up some type of portal for demonic and supernatural beings. It was all very real.

No-nonsense people would roll their eyes at such stories.  However, this girl was a no-nonsense person herself, not the type of person who would tell stories or be overly dramatic.  I remember her saying “Promise me, you guys, that you won’t play around with those boards.”  She also had tears in her eyes and a grave look on her face, much like the man I had talked to years before.

Needless to say, I’ve never messed around with Ouija boards. I’ve heard people mention them, and from time to time, I’ve heard people laugh about them and dismiss all the spooky stories as hype.

Still, I’ve heard enough level-headed people talking unfavorably about the darn things.   Plus, I know what the Bible says about the powers of darkness and “familiar spirits.”  The Bible mentions such things several times and I believe the Bible, cover to cover.

As witnesses have advised, “Don’t mess around with those things.”