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Often when children or adults gather for Halloween parties, it is common for someone to bring out a Ouija board.
Many believe it is a harmless activity that is fun for all ages.
In fact, there are Ouija boards in a variety of themes, such as one based on the popular Netflix series Wednesday.
However, Ouija boards are far from harmless and can invite the demonic into someone’s life.
What’s so bad?
The premise of the Ouija board is that a living person can communicate with a soul or spirit and the spirit will communicate back by spelling out answers on the board. Many children (and adults) play this game, saying they don’t “believe” in it and think that one of their friends is playing a joke on them when the pieces move on the board. It is often viewed as a “spooky” game to be played in a dimly lit room during a teenage sleepover.
On other occasions adults, unable to deal with the departure of a loved one, use the game in hopes of communicating with a deceased relative.
While someone using the board may not have the intention of calling a demonic spirit, the act of using the Ouija board is a form of divination (discovering hidden knowledge through supernatural means) and is very real.
To make an analogy, you may not believe there is someone on the other end of a telephone call, and may talk into the phone thinking no one is listening, but the fact is that someone is listening and can communicate back.
We too often forget that there is much more to this world than meets the eye. There do exist angels, demons, spirits and souls and they can have an impact on our life. It is simply not possible to use the Ouija board as a game, as the very action of using it has profound spiritual consequences beyond our control.
One example of how this game can invite an unwanted spiritual presence is the case of a 13-year-old boy who was introduced to the Ouija board in 1949. This boy became possessed by a demon and underwent a month-long exorcism by Father William Bowdern, SJ. These events inspired the 1971 book The Exorcist, which was put on screen in 1973.
Unfortunately, this case is not isolated and there have been countless others over the years. Exorcists have repeatedly warned against using Ouija boards, and explain that “demons will masquerade as departed loved ones as a means of gaining possession.” Even paranormal investigators are leery about using them, knowing what kind of spirits can be invited into a person’s home.
Ouija boards should never be brought out at a Halloween party, as they can be a channel for demonic spirits.
And today we celebrate...