Makeshift Ouija Board

About two years ago a group of four friends and I went to a Halloween party at my sister’s new house. Like normal twenty-something young girls we spent the night drinking, telling stories, playing games and making fun of all the costumes we saw as the night went on.

After the third round of ‘Cards Against Humanity’ we ran out of booze and slowly began sobering up, but we were all too drunk to be driving. Since it was Halloween night the police would be on full alert and none of would be able to get back home with having to pass a check point, so we decided to spend the night in my sister’s newly furnished living room.

We watched a few classic horror movies, laughing at the obviously aged special effects and laughing at the ridiculous plots of the film. We were too riled up to sleep so after the movie we decided to play another game.

It was my friend, let’s call her "Sarah", who suggested using a Ouija board since it would fit the spirit of Halloween night.

We all drunkenly laughed at the idea but after a few minutes the idea was too interesting to ignore, even to our alcohol tainted minds.

My sister tore a moving box apart and used the flat cardboard siding as a crude board. Taking a black Sharpie "Sarah" wrote out the twenty-six letters of the English alphabet, the numbers zero through nine near the center of the "board", the word ‘Yes’ in the top left corner, ‘No’ in the top right corner and finished with "Goodbye" near the bottom, below the letters and numbers.

Using an overturned shot glass as the planchette (pointer) we gathered around the "board", lit a few candles to create atmosphere and after each of us putting a finger on the shot glass started to play.

"Sarah" asked the first question which was the ever-popular ‘Is anybody here?’ The glass didn’t budge and we started giggling. She asked another question, ‘Does anybody want to talk to us?’ We giggled some more while the shot glass stayed firmly in place. "Sarah" decided to step it up a notch. ‘Are you afraid to talk?’ Still nothing. ‘Are you a coward?’ We started giggling even harder until one of the candles, the one closest to "Sarah" suddenly blew out.

We stopped laughing and stared at the candle, no one moving.

"Sarah" asked another question, trying to keep the fun going. ‘Was that the wind?’

The shot glass began to slowly move beneath our fingertips, all of us exchanging accusing looks to figure out who was moving the glass but we were all innocent. The glass came to rest over the word ‘No’.

My sister wisely decided to step back from the board. She felt uneasy and didn’t want to do anything she might regret.

"Sarah" continued. ‘Did you blow out the candle?’

The glass again moved, this time to the word ‘Yes’.

‘Who are you?’ "Sarah" asked, now completely serious.

Letter by letter the glass spelled out a name. R-U-T-H. Ruth.

‘Ruth, why are you here?’

The glass slid across the letters once more, spelling out the next word. T-R-A-P-P-E-D. Trapped.

"Sarah" was obviously shaken by the answer but she and I and our other friend kept our fingers on the glass, our other friend backed away too, along with my sister.

‘Trapped where?’ "Sarah" asked curiously.

The glass moved again. H-E-R-E. Here.

‘Here?’ "Sarah" asked.

A loud thump against the living room floor beneath the table where we placed the board made us jump and scream.

At this point I was too curious to stop playing. "Sarah" and I were the only ones still playing as our third friend ran from the board as soon as the sound happened.

This time I asked. ‘Ruth, was that you?’

The glass moved to the word ‘Yes’.

‘Why are you trapped?’ I asked without really thinking.

The glass moved again, this time much quicker. K-I-L-L-E-D. Killed.

"Sarah" and I both froze, neither of us wanted to ask anything else. My sister tried to get us to stop playing but we were afraid to move or do anything to the board.

After a tense few minutes "Sarah" found her voice. ‘Killed who, Ruth? Who was killed?’

The glass moved over the letter’s again. M-E. Me.

‘Who, Ruth? Who killed you?’ "Sarah" asked almost as soon as the glass stopped moving.

The glass went to the word ‘No.’

‘You don’t know?’

‘Yes.’

By this time I had thought of a new question. ‘When did you die?’

The glass passed over the numbers. 1-9-0-3. 1903.

‘How did you die?’ I asked and almost immediately regretted it.

The glass began vibrating under our fingertips and the sound of a woman sobbing could be heard coming from somewhere inside the house.

My sister was now begging us to stop but before we could let go the glass moved again. ‘S-T-R-A-N-G-L-E-D’. Strangled.

I could stop myself, it’s almost like something was forcing me to ask.

‘Why?’ The glass moved so quickly that "Sarah" and I almost lost our grip. ‘B-A-B-Y’. Baby.

The sound of a baby crying came from somewhere outside and it was at this point "Sarah" and I let go of the glass.

We all ran outside into the backyard and frantically began trying to find some kind of explanation for what had just happened. The crying had stopped and through the window we could see the glow of the remaining candles suddenly blow out. We freaked again but my sister decided it was just the wind and dared to step back inside her house.

The four of us waited outside like cowards, unsure of what to do next. My sister walked back into the backyard with the cardboard Ouija board and her lighter.

She lit the board on fire and placed it in the small grill on the back porch. We heard the woman cry one more time before she became abruptly silent.

Needless to say that night the five us crammed together in my sister’s bedroom, none of us wanting to stay in the same room as the board.

We were exhausted but could barely sleep because we kept hearing odd knocks and the occasional shadow through the bedroom door on the staircase.

After that night none of us played with a Ouija board again and my sister says every once in a while she would see a shadow in her house.

Two years later she’s been married and pregnant now. She’s told me the shadow is seen more frequently.