OGSP - Story #15 October Ghost Story Project

It's getting closer and closer to Halloween... which means this contest will soon be over! If you've missed any of the October Ghost Stories (and you're super bored at work) check 'em all out. The more you read and vote on, the better your chances to win a signed copy of The Stone Child! That's a $15.99 value for the price of... nothin'!

Okay, now for today's tale...

"The Ouija Board"

After many years of living in the haunted house in Basking Ridge, NJ, nothing shocked or surprised my family. We'd heard strange howling sounds. Lights that were off when we went to bed at night, would be left on in the morning. Doors would open and close by themselves. We'd hear footsteps upstairs when we were downstairs, and no one else was home. Sometimes, we heard voices whispering from empty rooms. I saw a dark figure standing at the end of my bed at night.

Of course, as teenagers, it was inevitable that my friends and I would try to figure out who or what was haunting us. One night, we decided to have a seance in my bedroom. We lit a candle and sat on the floor with the flame between us. We turned off the lights. "If anyone is here, give us a sign," we asked again and again. After several minutes with no response, we got bored and started talking about other things... when suddenly, the candle just went out. No rustling flame. No wind or breeze. It just went, ssst. And we were thrown into darkness. We ran screaming from the bedroom. The seance was over.

The summer after my junior year of high school, my parents sold the house. My friends and I came up with the idea to build a Ouija board, to try and receive some answers before my family had to leave. I don't know why it took us so long to try it. I think we were too scared. But with an end point looming, we bit the bullet, just to see what would happen.

On a large white piece of poster board, using a black magic marker, we drew the alphabet, numbers zero through nine, a "yes," a "no," a "hello," and a "goodbye." As a planchette, we used a small slip of paper that had been posted by magnet from the refrigerator door. This slip of paper was covered with writing--phone messages jotted down over time. On the paper, we drew a thick black arrow to point at the board. We didn't have any instructions; we simply used the template of the Parker Brothers game.

The first night, several of us gathered at the kitchen table. Two of us would touch the paper planchette at a time. To our surprise, the planchette began to move almost immediately... It was unclear at first, as if getting used to us. When we asked questions, we received answers.

The board told us that we were speaking with a girl who, for some reason, called herself "Orin."

We asked her how she had died. To our surprise and confusion, she said, "Never lived."

We asked, "Where were you before you were in this house?"

The planchette spelled out, "Tummy."

I kid you not.

"Why are you here? Why don't you leave?" we asked.

"Old vibes," the board said. Whatever that meant...

We ended the night frightened and thrilled. We'd finally made contact with someone in the house, someone who'd been watching my family for years. Now she was talking.

And that was only the beginning...


*** Well? Do you still think I'm only telling stories? Leave your vote in the comments.... ****