4. Write a blog post inspired by the word: first.
I had always been intrigued by stories about Ouija Boards and psychics and really anything that could connect me to the afterlife because after my Dad died I would just do about anything to have contact with him again. Even play with a Ouija Board.
I didn’t know if I believed in it. Growing up Catholic I learned that any encounters with witches or magic or psychics were all inherently evil. You absolutely MUSTN’T consult one. They are the devil.
But I felt the pull. What IF these people really had contact! Not to mention a lot of the readings I saw on Montel Williams and the Maury Povich Show seemed to bring people a sense of peace. Even if those psychics were nothing more than really good liars…was it really so bad?
I needed peace too!
So when my girlfriends and I walked into a friend’s house party and saw a few of them had just finished a round with a Ouija Board I was like, “Oh we should do it!” My friends were all from religious backgrounds, none of us had used a board and all of us had reservations about it, but the temptation was too strong.
My best friend and I sat down with the Ouija Board owner and he instructed us to be quiet and keep our hands lightly on the compass at all times. Since this was our first experience with the board we didn’t know the locations of all the letters, we didn’t know the locations of the word “yes” or “no” right away, we were as unfamiliar with the game as they come. The guy running the show knew us both fairly well, but he didn’t know my family history at all.
The questions started, my heart was pounding, my Catholic guilt screaming and the answers were coming. I believe we ASKED for my Dad to come to the board and letter by letter it spelled out “I’m here”.
I’m here. I could have burst into tears at that very moment.
EVERYBODY BE CALM!
I glanced at my friends and we were all, “I’m not moving it, are you moving it? Look my fingers are hardly touching it!”
I wished I’d had a question to ask that only my Dad would know the answer to but you don’t really go to a party prepared to ask your dead father something personal via a Ouija board so I said, “Who besides me misses you the most?”
I was thinking of my Mom as the compass circled around. I was glancing at the letters looking for the M-O-M, but the thing had a mind of its own. It wasn’t spelling Mom and I started thinking about my sisters and brothers. Which one? I really didn’t know what ELSE it could say other than MOM.
L.
Y.
N.
N.
IT SPELLED HER NAME!
My best friend and I quickly looked at each other wide-eyed. I don’t know what happened, but I knew she was way too uncomfortable with that game to be able to take charge of it and somehow spell my Mom’s name. The party guy friend didn’t know it to begin with and I wasn’t even thinking of her actual name.
So what WAS that?
Somehow I knew that sitting in front of a Ouija board at a party filled with underage drinking and Taco Bell wrappers wasn’t the most likely place for my Dad to choose to contact me. It was so tempting to believe it, but something in my head was telling me to walk away. I knew it wasn’t going to bring me peace. It felt like trickery. You couldn’t pay me to mess with a Ouija board again!
Now it’s your turn!
Choose a prompt, post it on your blog, and come back to add your name to the link list below. Be sure to sign up with the actual post URL and not just your basic blog URL (click on the title of your post for that URL). For good comment karma try to comment on the three blogs above your name!!
The Prompts:
1. Write about something that surprised you.
2. Tell us about the last time you went to the beach.
3. Book review! Write about the last book you read.
4. Write a blog post inspired by the word: first.
5. Write about something most people love, but you hate.
6. Tell us about one vacation you plan to take this summer.
John Holton says
The Christmas after Dad died I asked for, and received, a Ouija board. They had become a big deal in my family for whatever reason. Evidently, each board has its own “spirit,” and will tell you its name when you ask. Mine was “Frank,” I think…. anyway, my aunts, who got me interested in the damn thing, had a board whose name was “Herbie,” and they spent most of the evening contacting Herbie through my board. When I finally got a chance to work with the thing, I said “Hi, Frank!” and he spelled out “SCREW YOU.” I put it away and never consulted it again.
Anyway, Mom saw no harm in giving me one for Christmas. I also got a Spirograph, which was a lot more fun…
Abby says
Whoa, that’s a bit creepy.
What’s an underaged drinking party without a Ouija board? I consulted a makeshift ouija board once. I decided never again, but…