Ouija Boards? Options

[imm]

Has anyone tried Ouija boards before? What was it like and happened? I want to try one but I'm kinda scared...

If this is against some kind of forum rule or has been posted, someone can close this.

[gigiopolis]

heres some scientific studies i found:

Some users believe that paranormal or supernatural forces are at work in spelling out Ouija board answers. Skeptics believe that those using the board either consciously or unconsciously select what is read. To prove this, simply try it blindfolded for some time, having an innocent bystander take notes on what letters are selected. Usually, the result will be unintelligible non-sense.

The clinical term is "ideomotor response." You may not realize that you are moving the message indicator, but you are. This is similar to automatic writing, also known as automatism, a well-understood psychological phenomenon. A spirit medium, in years past, would hold a pencil in one hand and pay no attention as it wrote furiously. Some believed that these written messages came from the spirits. Others felt that the messages came from a clever medium. At any rate, most proponents of the Automatism Theory think that it is very possible to move the planchette unconsciously. They claim that the Ouija board opens a kind of shortcut from the conscious to the subconscious mind. Collective automatism occurs when more than one person is operating the board. Automatists sometimes use the Ouija board as a tool for special humanistic psychotherapies as a way to foster growth by releasing ideas from the depths of the inner mind. This was particularly popular during the human-potential movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

Yah I saw this show on TV once where something was similar...You would put out your hand, and use a key or some sort of heavy weight on the end of a piece of string to determine answers. This guy would ask you something you already know, like: "Do you have a boyfriend?" And if the key swung the lengthwise of your palm it was a "Yes." If it swung the other way it would be "No." Afterwards the guy explained that you were subconsciously moving the string and key to the correct answer, since you already knew the answer.

However...a lot of the questions asked on the Ouija board are ones we don't know the answers to...so I don't know if my info helps or not.