Remember the Ouija Board? That tool of the devil that Middle-America was convinced would turn us to the Dark Side? I was reminded of it because Channel 4 is to televise the first live séance tonight as part of the Derren Brown series and anyone can join in, if equipped with an empty glass, a candle, pen and paper and the letters of the alphabet.
Which is what made me think of this in the first place. As a teenager, we wouldn’t splash out good cash on a Ouija Board; we made our own, ie the above equipment, with the addition of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to the alphabet and a mirror on which to lay them while we sat round it, index fingers place on the up-turned glass which would then whizz from letter to letter in answer to our questions. Don’t know who was doing the pushing, but I’m sure it wasn’t me. At least I think so — apparently it’s all done through something called the ‘ideomotor effect.’
What I hadn’t realised was that Ouija boards had such a long history. And it has always moved with the times, so you can now contact the spirit world online with the virtual Ouija. Isn’t science wonderful.
