# Who is Safer Playing with the Ouija Board? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 12, 2012, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269 "2012-01-12T10:32:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/81 "2012-01-15T05:13:34Z")
> [@fluiddruid](#): > > For that matter, what’s so special about it? It’s a card with a bunch of letters and numbers on it. Why can’t a ghost/demon just type on my iPhone screen, or write a note if I leave a pen and paper out? Why do messages have to happen only in circumstances where other human beings can easily meddle with them (or, as I’d argue, make them up out of whole cloth, either singly or several in the group)? > > I mean, looking at the site Theophane linked, people are describing demon visitations, where their very life seemed to be at risk. Demons need something from Parker Brothers to cross into this mortal plane? Why?! If they’re so powerful and dangerous, why are they relying on a board game to be able to transcend time and space to escape Hell? > > I feel sad for any fully-functioning adult who can’t see through this. the reasoning would be that the users of said device were actively ‘summoning’ the evil spirits - inviting them in. Kinda like calling for pizza - you have to pick up the phone if you want one to show up at the door. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/82 "2012-01-15T18:07:05Z")
So demons obediantly follow human orders by not coming until summoned, then coming promptly when summoned. But once they have arrived, they take over and refuse to follow human orders to leave? Yaaaah, Riiiight. Sounds like a sensible set of stuff to beleive. Suuure it does. Let’s all dance in a circle around a fire while waving our spears at the sky. Not picking on **simster** , but rather anyone who believes in this nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/83 "2012-01-15T18:14:39Z")
> [@](#): > > So demons obediantly follow human orders by not coming until summoned, then coming promptly when summoned. But once they have arrived, they take over and refuse to follow human orders to leave? Not really. The illusion of control is what gets people in trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/84 "2012-01-15T19:03:09Z")
So they pretend to come when summoned and then drop the act and get all demon-y up in our grills? Why not just be demons from the get-go? Why do they wait for people to get out the Ouija board? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/85 "2012-01-15T19:19:21Z")
Someone mentioned Penn and Teller, and here is their bit on the Ouija board. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG4wTZuT3wM) It is indeed bullshit. It is just the ideomotor effect running it. [http://www.skepdic.com/ideomotor.html](http://www.skepdic.com/ideomotor.html) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/86 "2012-01-15T19:20:28Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > The illusion of control is what gets people in trouble. Since demons don’t exist, there risks of a Ouija board are as follows: wasting money, spooking yourself, or acting silly. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/87 "2012-01-15T22:16:39Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > So they pretend to come when summoned and then drop the act and get all demon-y up in our grills? Why not just be demons from the get-go? Why do they wait for people to get out the Ouija board? What makes you think they do? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/88 "2012-01-15T22:21:07Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > What makes you think they do? What makes you believe that there is anything to this malarky? The Ouija Board is a toy. Period. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/89 "2012-01-15T22:32:04Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > What makes you think they do? If demons don’t need ouija boards to interact with humans, then there’s no point in worrying about ouija boards as the demons can just mess with us directly. Make up your mind, are ouija boards a psychic threat or not? ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/90 "2012-01-15T22:35:11Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > If demons don’t need ouija boards to interact with humans, then there’s no point in worrying about ouija boards as the demons can just mess with us directly. Make up your mind, are ouija boards a psychic threat or not? They are, because they allow people to open certain doors which should not be opened. They are an invitation. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/91 "2012-01-15T22:37:09Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > They are, because they allow people to open certain doors which should not be opened. They are an invitation. Oooohhh!! Mysterious!! Invitation to what, exactly? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/92 "2012-01-15T22:48:23Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > They are, because they allow people to open certain doors which should not be opened. They are an invitation. Ok cool. we’re getting somewhere. Is it just mass produced ouija boards that are an invitation? I just wrote A-Z, 1-9, YES and NO on a piece of paper. I also have a penny. It slides around the paper pretty well, I must say. Am I in danger of demonic possession? (I asked the ouija paper already and it said NO.) ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/93 "2012-01-15T22:52:29Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > So demons obediantly follow human orders by not coming until summoned, then coming promptly when summoned. But once they have arrived, they take over and refuse to follow human orders to leave? > Yaaaah, Riiiight. Sounds like a sensible set of stuff to beleive. Suuure it does. Let’s all dance in a circle around a fire while waving our spears at the sky. > Not picking on **simster** , but rather anyone who believes in this nonsense. Thanks for not picking on me - the people that believe this crap are easily ‘convinced’ of their belief. [QUOTE=Theophane] They are, because they allow people to open certain doors which should not be opened. They are an invitation. [/QUOTE] Thanks for proving my point. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/94 "2012-01-16T00:17:25Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Did the ‘playing with a Ouija board leads to getting possessed’ thing actually start with ‘The Exorcist’, or did people already believe that before the movie? If I had to guess, I’d say that it probably started back during the age of spiritualism in the mid-nineteenth, early-twentieth centuries. I don’t know how long the term “ouija board” has been around, but the planchette-and-board spirit communication models aren’t new concepts. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/95 "2012-01-16T00:18:27Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Thanks for not picking on me … Yes, I understood you were explaining \*some people’s \*beliefs, not \*your \*beliefs. Your ordering pizza metaphor was genius and deserved to be expanded upon. ---
**Author:** ![Justinemarie88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6de8d8/32.png) [@Justinemarie88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justinemarie88)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/96 "2012-01-16T01:11:49Z")
I’ve never heard of a demon possession with a ouija board but shortly after my sister passed some friends and I took one to her grave and she told me I was pregnant with a baby girl I didnt knoe it yet sure enough I had a baby girl. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/97 "2012-01-16T18:10:37Z")
> [@milquetoast](#): > > Good point. I’m going to start impregnating women like a man possessed. Maybe we should apply for a federal grant for this research. Explaining to my wife: “it’s for science honey! I don’t want to do it, but I can’t let my ‘lack of desire to have sex with any women except you’ get in the way of progress.” ---
**Author:** ![FriendofOrion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/74df32/32.png) [@FriendofOrion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriendofOrion)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/98 "2012-01-17T13:38:33Z")
Yes, Ouija boards are dangerous. If one is conversant with the spirit world and requests “Protection” from benevelant entities (such as say, Archangel Michael or Gabriel) then one may be asuured not to get mischevous or evil spiritual entities messing with you. Cheers ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/99 "2012-01-17T17:17:20Z")
> [@FriendofOrion](#): > > Yes, Ouija boards are dangerous. If one is conversant with the spirit world and requests “Protection” from benevelant entities (such as say, Archangel Michael or Gabriel) then one may be asuured not to get mischevous or evil spiritual entities messing with you. > Cheers 1. Who told you this? 2. Why do you believe it? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269/100 "2012-01-18T00:59:21Z")
I worry about people who want protection from benevolent entities. I want protection from malevolent entiites. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-safer-playing-with-the-ouija-board/609269.md?page=6)