Ouija Boards Aren't Always Dangerous

This happened on October 26, 2000.

My mom's parents had gotten us a Halloween decoration in 1998. It never really worked the way it was supposed to. It's a pumpkin with a ghost inside that pops up and laughs. It's supposed to do that when something sets off the sensor beam that it has in the nose part of the jack-o-lantern face. For the sensor to work the switch has to be SLID to "On", (duh). But my grandmother is vein and doesn't wear her glasses, so she couldn't tell that the switch to turn it on needed to be slid. Instead she kept pushing it down, which basically broke it. That was fine with us, (the few times it actually worked it was really annoying), but being our favorite holiday we kept it out, and have put it out every October since we got it. It is a jack-o-lantern, after all.

In October of 2000 we had it on top of the refrigerator, (where we had put it the past two Octobers). The ghost started popping up and laughing. Now, being that it didn't work anyway, the switch had been on "Off" for two years.

My mom and I were in the kitchen when this started happening. We looked at each other. My mom said that we should do the Ouija board that night, (we're all used to strange things going on). That's when it started going off again. I said that we should do the Ouija right then. So my mom got it out and lit a white candle. Meanwhile, the pumpkin is laughing almost non stop. My mom started by asking if somebody was there. "Yes."
Then she asked if it was a relative. "No."
Someone that we knew? "Yes."
I got the feeling that her deceased friend Darla was the one trying to talk with us, so I had her ask if it was Darla. "Yes."
Then she asked if our family was in danger. That question just came into her mind. "Yes."
She asked if my dad was the one in danger. "No."
My sister? "No."
Me? "No."
Herself? "No."
Then she asked if her parents were in danger. "Yes."
Physical danger? "No."
Financial danger? "Yes."
Because of the merger that his, (her dad), company was going through? "Yes."
Then she asked if they were the only ones in any danger. "No."
So she asked if Tony*, (her sister's husband), was in danger. "No."
Jackie*, (her sister)? "No."
Brenda, (my cousin, her niece)? "No."
Chris, (my cousin, her nephew)? "Yes."
The pointer went extremely fast to yes on that one. During all of this, it was so strong that the pointer kept going off of the board. We kept asking about Chris and the danger that he was in. I felt like we should ask if it had something to do with the school bus. Strong "Yes."
Should he not take the bus? Strong "No."
Should he be driven to school in a car? Strong "Yes."
Should he take the bus home? Strong "No."
Should he be driven home in a car? Strong "Yes."
Was he in danger on October 26, 2000? "No."
Was he in danger on October 27, 2000? Very strong "Yes."
Will the danger be over for Chris if he doesn't take the bus to or from school on October 27, 2000? "Yes."
Then we asked if Karyn*, (my cousin, her niece), was in danger. "No."
How many spirits were here at that time when we were doing the Ouija? "Eight."
How many were relatives? "Five."
How many non relatives? "Three."
Was there a place in the house where spirits enter? "Yes."
The front door? "No."
The fireplace? "Yes."
Should we do something to protect the fireplace so that bad spirits can't come through? Strong "Yes."
That's all that we needed to know about. During this whole time, the pumpkin kept going off. We asked if they were doing that. "Yes." We thanked everyone who was here, particularly Darla, for warning us about Chris.

When my mom called Jackie's house she left a message saying that Jackie needed to call her back before tomorrow and that it was important. As soon as she hung up the phone, the pumpkin went off two times in a row and the faucet started running. Within 20 minutes Tony called us and my mom explained to him what had happened here. He said that he believed us. He told us that he actually worked Friday night so he would be available and able to drive Chris to and from school. (I think that probably convinced him the most, he doesn't want to believe things like that usually).

Jackie called Friday night right before 10 p.m.. Tony did drive Chris and Karyn to and from school Friday. He had told Jackie what my mom told him, and he didn't even question whether he should do what we told him we were told or not. While my mom was talking to Jackie on the phone in another room, a story came on the news. A Lino Lakes school bus was hit by a car that jumped the median. It was in the ditch and the front left tire was sideways and there was other damage to the front of the bus. There were 19 fifth graders that were sent to a hospital for bumps, cuts, and bruises. Chris wasn't in fifth grade, but that is the city he lives in. By Tony taking our warning, we think that the course of things was changed for the better, for Chris anyway.

I had my dad tell my mom about that report immediately so she could tell Jackie it too. We were all freaked out a little, especially Jackie. We definitely received a message from the visiting spirits that day. That pumpkin hasn't gone off since that Thursday, after we left the message on their answering machine. That is also confirmation, we believe.

Last year and this year we had that pumpkin out for Halloween, (all of October), and it did nothing each year. Since they were able to set it off to let us be warned, we'll be taking it out every October, just in case.

Names with an * indicate a false name, as I'm not sure they would want their actual names known.