Why You Should Not Use Your Ouija Board

For most of my life, I have been aware of the power of the Ouija board. That is why it was part of my first novel about an orphan who stumbles headlong into the spiritual world around her sixteenth birthday. Her best friend gives her the board which they later use on the beach.   The story is set in a fictional suburb of Boston during the height of the Viet Nam war. The board is fifty years old when she finds it in her possession. 

When I was thirteen and first exploring the paranormal, I was given a replica of this same game now owned by Parker Brothers. My version was made out of heavy cardboard yet was virtually identical.  As I write these words, I can feel the remnants of anxiety from the experiences I had trying to communicate with the dead.  Suffice it to say, the game ended up in the trash.  Frankly, the whole adventure left me spooked.  It worked.  It really worked. 

Okay, so back to my story.  When I was writing the scene where my protagonist Rose first uses it, I had a notion to Google the vintage board.  There is the first image, which was the same board……and it was on eBay……and it was for sale.   My budget is $100 yet my offer is outbid in minutes.  So then I convince myself that another five bucks is a venti at Starbucks.  The William Fuld vintage Ouija game was now mine. 

Now here comes the freaky part.  After I bought the board, I read the ad the seller had written to describe the item.  It was owned by an early pioneer of Astrology in the US named Rose Campbell Starr.  Not only that, but she was a published author.  What are the odds that my main character would receive fifty years later a gift that was owned by someone with the same first name?  I have since purchased her book of Poetry called Alters.  Having the board really brought to life the scene on the beach when my Rose and her best friend Henry are asking their first questions from the dead. 

Oh, and if you are curious, I have not used the board again to talk to my deceased relatives or anyone else.  I learned that lesson long ago.