Ouija board helps psychologists probe the subconscious

For me personally, that these psychologists are using Ouija boards in this way only solidifies my belief that there is nothing evil about them and any alleged contact made is not a spirit nor, more importantly, demon. It’s simply the subconscious of the individual(s) touching the planchette.

Beloved of spiritualists and bored teenagers on a dare, the Ouija board has long been a source of entertainment, mystery and sometimes downright spookiness. Now it could shine a light on the secrets of the unconscious mind.

The Ouija, also known as a talking board, is a wooden plaque marked with the words, “yes”, “no” and the letters of the alphabet. Typically a group of users place their hands on a movable pointer , or “planchette”, and ask questions out loud. Sometimes the planchette signals an answer, even when no one admits to moving it deliberately.

Believers think the answer comes through from the spirit world. In fact, all the evidence points to the real cause being the ideomotor effect, small muscle movements we generate unconsciously.

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Patience Worth: Original Ghost Writer?

This morning when I sat down to break my fast, I realised – to my dismay – that I’d left my current reading material in the backseat of my car last night. Too lazy to walk outside to get said book, I scanned the living room for a quick read. If I’m not eating with others, I simply must have something to read. And there I spotted it, sitting on the coffee table: last months issue of Smithsonian magazine. I snatched it up only to realise belatedly that it was an issue that I’d already skimmed through. Still, it was the issue with a very interesting story in it. One that I wanted to post about here on the blog. The story of Patience Worth and the medium through whom she communicated her stories: Pearl Curran.