PRIVATE PARANORMAL INVESTIGATORS
GHOST INVESTIGATION TEAM
Real Life Story, Reported in 2014.
OUIJA BOARDS
ZoZo is one of the most prominent and well-known demonic beings.
From reality television shows to literature, ZoZo is commonly reported for being behind paranormal activity and hauntings.
The ouija (/ˈwiːdʒə/ WEE-jə or /ˈwiːdʒi/ WEE-jee), also known as a spirit board or talking board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0–9, the words "yes", "no", "hello" (occasionally), and "goodbye", along with various symbols and graphics.
It uses a small heart-shaped piece of wood or plastic called a planchette.
Participants place their fingers on the planchette, and it is moved about the board to spell out words.
"Ouija" is a trademark of Hasbro, Inc., but is often used generically to refer to any talking board.
According to Hasbro, players take turns asking questions and then "wait to see what the planchette spells out" for them.
Following its commercial introduction by businessman Elijah Bond on July 1, 1890, the ouija board was regarded as a parlor game unrelated to the occult, that was until American spiritualist Pearl Curran popularized its use as a divining tool during World War I.
Spiritualists believed that the dead were able to contact the living and reportedly used a talking board very similar to a modern ouija board at their camps in Ohio in 1886 to ostensibly enable faster communication with spirits.
(Going back to my comments in our chapter on "Cheats and Charlatans", mediums making fame and fortune from the vulnerability of others).
Some Christian denominations have "warned against using ouija boards", saying that they can lead to demonic possession.
Occultists, on the other hand, are divided on the issue, with some saying that it can be a positive transformation; others reiterate the warnings of many Christians and caution "inexperienced users" against it.
Paranormal and supernatural beliefs associated with Ouija have been harshly criticized by the scientific community, since they are characterized as pseudoscience.
"The action of the board can be parsimoniously explained by unconscious movements of those controlling the pointer"
A psychophysiological phenomenon known as the"Ideomotor effect".
Religious responses
Since early in the ouija board's history, it has been criticized by several Christian groups including Roman Catholics. Catholic Answers, a Christian apologetics organization, states that "The Ouija board is far from harmless, as it is a form of divination (seeking information from supernatural sources)."
In 2001, Ouija boards were burned in Alamogordo, New Mexico, by fundamentalist groups alongside Harry Potter books as "symbols of witchcraft."
Religious criticism has also expressed beliefs that the Ouija board reveals information which should only be in God's hands, and thus it is a tool of Satan.
A spokesperson for Human Life International described the boards as a portal to talk to spirits and called for Hasbro to be prohibited from marketing them.
Bishops in Micronesia called for the boards to be banned and warned congregations that they were talking to demons and devils when using the boards.
Some Demon Names and Images
Talking boards
As a part of the spiritualist movement, mediums began to employ various means for communication with the dead.
Following the American Civil War in the United States, mediums did significant business in presumably allowing survivors to contact lost relatives.
The ouija itself would be created and named in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1890, but the use of talking boards was so common by 1886 that news reported the phenomenon taking over the spiritualists' camps in Ohio.
Notable users of Ouija Boards
Dick Brooks, of the Houdini Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania, uses a Ouija board as part of a paranormal and seance presentation.
Jane Roberts contacted Seth initially through the Ouija board an 'energy personality essence no longer focused in the physical world'. The book Seth Speaks was an explanation of reality by Seth.
G. K. Chesterton used a Ouija board in his teenaged years. Around 1893, he had gone through a crisis of scepticism and depression, and during this period Chesterton experimented with the Ouija board and grew fascinated with the occult.
Early press releases stated that Vincent Furnier's stage and band name "Alice Cooper" was agreed upon after a session with a Ouija board, during which it was revealed that Furnier was the reincarnation of a 17th-century witch with that name.
Alice Cooper later revealed that he just thought of the first name that came to his head while discussing a new band name with his band.
Poet James Merrill used a Ouija board for years and even encouraged entrance of spirits into his body.
Before he died, he recommended that people must not use Ouija boards.
Former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi claimed under oath that, in a séance held in 1978 with other professors at the University of Bologna, the "ghost" of Giorgio La Pira used a Ouija to spell the name of the street where Aldo Moro was being held by the Red Brigades. According to Peter Popham of The Independent: "Everybody here has long believed that Prodi's Ouija board tale was no more than an ill-advised and bizarre way to conceal the identity of his true source, probably a person from Bologna's seething far-left underground whom he was pledged to protect."
The Mars Volta wrote their album Bedlam in Goliath (2008) based on their alleged experiences with a Ouija board.
According to their story (written for them by a fiction author, Jeremy Robert Johnson),
Omar Rodriguez Lopez purchased one while traveling in Jerusalem.
At first the board provided a story which became the theme for the album.
Strange events allegedly related to this activity occurred during the recording of the album: the studio flooded, one of the album's main engineers had a nervous breakdown, equipment began to malfunction, and Cedric Bixler-Zavala's foot was injured.
Following these bad experiences the band buried the Ouija board. (I hope they read 'Rule 19' followed 'Rule 21' before burying the board).
In the murder trial of Joshua Tucker, his mother insisted that he had carried out the murders while possessed by the Devil, who found him when he was using a Ouija board.
Bill Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, used a Ouija board and conducted seances in attempts to contact the dead.
Much of William Butler Yeats's later poetry was inspired, among other facets of occultism, by the Ouija board. Yeats himself did not use it, but his wife did.
In London in 1994, convicted murderer Stephen Young was granted a retrial after it was learned that four of the jurors had conducted a Ouija board séance and had "contacted" the murdered man, who had named Young as his killer.
Young was convicted for a second time at his retrial and jailed for life.
Aleister Crowley had great admiration for the use of the ouija board and it played a passing role in his magical workings. Jane Wolfe, who lived with Crowley at Abbey of Thelema, also used the Ouija board. She credits some of her greatest spiritual communications to use of this implement. Crowley also discussed the Ouija board with another of his students, and the most ardent of them, Frater Achad (Charles Stansfeld Jones): it is frequently mentioned in their unpublished letters.
In 1917 Achad experimented with the board as a means of summoning Angels, as opposed to Elementals.
In one letter Crowley told Jones: "Your Ouija board experiment is rather fun. You see how very satisfactory it is, but I believe things improve greatly with practice. I think you should keep to one angel, and make the magical preparations more elaborate."
Over the years, both became so fascinated by the board that they discussed marketing their own design.
Their discourse culminated in a letter, dated February 21, 1919, in which Crowley tells Jones, "Re: Ouija Board. I offer you the basis of ten percent of my net profit. You are, if you accept this, responsible for the legal protection of the ideas, and the marketing of the copyright designs. I trust that this may be satisfactory to you. I hope to let you have the material in the course of a week."
In March, Crowley wrote to Achad to inform him,"I'll think up another name for Ouija." But their business venture never came to fruition and Crowley's new design, along with his name for the board, has not survived.
Crowley has stated, of the Ouija Board that...........
"There is, however, a good way of using this instrument to get what you want, and that is to perform the whole operation in a consecrated circle, so that undesirable aliens cannot interfere with it."
"You should then employ the proper magical invocation in order to get into your circle just the one spirit you want."
"It is comparatively easy to do this."
"A few simple instructions are all that is necessary, and I shall be pleased to give these, free of charge, to any one who cares to apply."
and finally but almost certainly not the least....
E. H. Jones and C. W. Hill, whilst prisoners of the Turks during the First World War, used a Ouija board to convince their captors that they were mediums as part of an escape plan.
This Demon Is Known to Appear During Ouija Sessions
Photo taken by: Vmenkov. Painter's name is not known
For those of you who know us, and what we do, you already we do not use Ouija boards.
We do not do or use old victorian parlour tricks, Seances, Ouija, Table tipping etc etc, in our investigations, unless its to entice an entity into the aether, then we can conduct our investigation using our scientific equipment and thus provide credible evidence of spirit to you.
Using calling out methods for knocks, seances, Ouija, all these methods can be manipulated by the persons present to fraudulently represent spirit.
Its not that we are scared of what we might conjure up, Its because we like hard evidence of the paranormal, OUIJA doesn't give us or provide you (when we present our videos of investigations) with credible evidence of spirit. The first Ouija board I purchased was in America, in fact it was in the Toy aisle of Macey's in Fort Lauderdale, made by 'Parker Brothers', I was there to buy the american version of Monopoly when I saw ouija.
Sold as a toy should tell you something as well about Ouija.
"Ouija looks great as a visual aid on video, or those of you who pay to attend these Ghost events, well they have to fill the evening up some how and give you something to do, be it a Ouija board session, a seance, or a ghostbox spirit session, great for entertaining large amounts of people at an event, and I suppose, also a crowd pleaser."
The only thing OUIJA gives the Ghost Investigation Team are phone calls from scared people who have done a Ouija session, and now want us to come and help them, which we are glad to do, but user beware of OUIJA.!
See our chapter on cheats and charlatans here.
User be aware,we at GITUK are not telling you or promoting Ouija for you to try this. You do so at your own risk, be sure that you know what you are getting into, so you can get out!!!! You have been warned, its not our fault, so no law suits.(Latin) "tu enim nosti in populo isto sis"
Before you use a board you need to be aware of the, rules, for the want of a better word.......
A modern Ouija board plus planchette
The rules for ouija boards
Alexandra's parents said they had called paramedics after a local Catholic priest refused to perform an exorcism on the three because they were not regular churchgoers.
The Ouija board - also known as a spirit board or talking board - is a flat board marked with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0-9, the words 'yes', 'no', 'hello' and 'goodbye' and various symbols and graphics.
'They had involuntary movements and it was difficult to transfer them to the nearest hospital because they were so erratic'
Victor Demesa
It uses a small heart-shaped piece of wood or movable indicator to indicate the spirit's message by spelling it out on the board during a séance.
Original Ouija board created in 1894
Commercial parlor game
So, as we mentioned earlier, Businessman Elijah Bond had the idea to patent a planchette sold with a board on which the alphabet was printed, much like the previously existing talking boards.
The patentees filed on May 28, 1890 for patent protection and thus are credited with the invention of the Ouija board. Issue date on the patent was February 10, 1891.
They received U.S. Patent 446,054. Bond was an attorney and was an inventor of other objects in addition to this device.
An employee of Elijah Bond, William Fuld, took over the talking board production.
In 1901, Fuld started production of his own boards under the name "Ouija".
Charles Kennard (founder of Kennard Novelty Company which manufactured Fuld's talking boards and where Fuld had worked as a varnisher) claimed he learned the name "Ouija" from using the board and that it was an ancient Egyptian word meaning "good luck."
When Fuld took over production of the boards, he popularized the more widely accepted etymology: that the name came from a combination of the French and German words for "yes".
The Fuld name became synonymous with the Ouija board, as Fuld reinvented its history, claiming that he himself had invented it.
The strange talk about the boards from Fuld's competitors flooded the market, and all these boards enjoyed a heyday from the 1920s through the 1960s.
Fuld sued many companies over the "Ouija" name and concept up until his death in 1927.
In 1966, Fuld's estate sold the entire business to Parker Brothers.
Hasbro purchased the product line in 1991 and continues to hold all trademarks and patents. About ten brands of talking boards are sold today under various names.
So you made it down this for, and there is no mention of how you start up, then use the board, then ultimately explain how to close it down after use.
Thats because there is no way to produce a step by step guide.
Only by using the board comes experience of what you do with the whole ritual, and how you conduct the seance with others, to achieve and get the answers to your questions by communicating with spirit, all I say is that be wary of how you conduct yourself and mindfull of the other users with you.
Participants place their fingers on the wood and it is supposedly moved around the board by the spirit to spell out words.
Mainstream religions and some occultists have associated use of a Ouija board with the concept of demonic possession, and have cautioned their followers not to use one.
They restrained Alexandra (pictured Left) to prevent her from hurting herself, before treating the three with painkillers, anti-stress medication and eye drops, which seemingly worked.
Victor Demesa, 46, the director of public safety in the nearby town of Tepoztlan, said: 'The medical rescue of these three young people was very complicated.
'They had involuntary movements and it was difficult to transfer them to the nearest hospital because they were so erratic.
'It appeared as if they were in a trance-like state, apparently after playing with the Ouija board.
Three American friends have been taken to hospital after reportedly becoming 'possessed' by evil spirits while playing with a Ouija board.
Alexandra Huerta, 22, was playing the game with her brother Sergio, 23, and 18-year-old cousin Fernando Cuevas at a house in the village of San Juan Tlacotenco in south-west Mexico.
But minutes into it, she apparently started 'growling' and thrashing around in a 'trance-like' state.
Meanwhile, Sergio and Fernando also reportedly started showing signs of 'possession', including feelings of blindness, deafness and hallucinations.
Paramedics were called to the house and took the trio to hospital, according to Alexandra's parents.
China
The picture opposite is of, Wang Chongyang, founder of the Quanzhen School, depicted in Changchun Temple, Wuhan
One of the first mentions of the automatic writing method used in the ouija board is found in China around 1100 AD, in historical documents of the Song Dynasty.
The method was known as fuji "planchette writing".
The use of planchette writing as an ostensible means of necromancy and communion with the spirit-world continued, and, albeit under special rituals and supervisions, was a central practice of the Quanzhen School, until it was forbidden by the Qing Dynasty.
Several entire scriptures of the Daozang are supposedly works of automatic planchette writing.
According to one history, similar methods of mediumistic spirit writing have been practiced in ancient India, Greece, Rome, and medieval Europe.
Is ZoZo Limited to Ouija?
While ZoZo is most often connected with using an Ouija board, it is possible that he can contact people outside of the game as well through other means. People have reportedly made contact with him during hypnosis, autowriting sessions and electronic voice phenomena (EVP).
Infamous Encounters
Darren Evans, a man from Oklahoma, notoriously encountered ZoZo himself.
He first encountered the demon when playing with a Ouija board with his girlfriend.
The demon reportedly shared information with Evans from the other side, and he became obsessed with Ouija. But over time, the ZoZo demon became more sinister.
Evans eventually had a nervous breakdown, claiming that demons were following him.
The demon even threatened Evan's young daughter, saying he was going to steal her soul.
She nearly died, and Evans realized he needed to take action.
He ended up pursuing an exorcism to get ZoZo away from his family, but it was a terrifying experience that left an impression.
Evans now runs a site dedicated to warning people about the dangers of messing with ZoZo.
So don't just take our words of warning.
Warning Signs
Like many demons, ZoZo typically makes his presence known.
Below are a few warning signs that may indicate that you are meeting ZoZo:
1) Rapid movements: If you are using an Ouija board, the planchette may begin moving rapidly.
If you are doing hypnosis, the pendant or pendulum may begin to swing.
2) Announcements: ZoZo may announce himself by spelling out his name.
3) Feelings of unease: You may feel a sudden weight of dread or unease descend upon you.
4) Darkness: You may see shadows moving, or the room you are in may get darker.
If you feel that ZoZo is with you, do not panic, but take action to end the connection to prevent bodily or mental harm.
Breaking the Connection
If ZoZo has contacted you, take the following steps to protect yourself:
1) Remain calm: Demons and evil spirits feed off of fear, so take deep, calming breaths and steady yourself.
2 ) Close the session: If you are playing Ouija, move the planchette to "goodbye" and formally close the game. If you are using another contact method, close it immediately.
3) Do not speak his name: Using his name gives him power. Avoid speaking about him or to him.
Seek help:
If you feel you still have ZoZo near you, get out help from a paranormal professional or a religious leader, such as a priest or rabbi.
ZoZo is a dangerous demon and you should use Ouija cautiously to avoid contacting him.
Scientific investigation
The ouija phenomenon is considered by the scientific community to be the result of the "ideomotor" response.
Michael Faraday first described this effect in 1853, while investigating table-turning.
Various studies have been produced, recreating the effects of the ouija board in the lab and showing that, under laboratory conditions, the subjects were moving the planchette involuntarily.
A 2012 study found that when answering yes or no questions, ouija use was significantly more accurate than guesswork, suggesting that it might draw on the unconscious mind.
Skeptics have described ouija board users as 'operators'.
Some critics noted that the messages ostensibly spelled out by spirits were similar to whatever was going through the minds of the subjects.
According to Professor of neurology Terence Hines in his book 'Pseudoscience and the Paranormal' (2003):
The planchette is guided by unconscious muscular exertions like those responsible for table movement. Nonetheless, in both cases, the illusion that the object (table or planchette) is moving under its own control is often extremely powerful and sufficient to convince many people that spirits are truly at work...
The unconscious muscle movements responsible for the moving tables and Ouija board phenomena seen at seances are examples of a class of phenomena due to what psychologists call a dissociative state.
A dissociative state is one in which consciousness is somehow divided or cut off from some aspects of the individual's normal cognitive, motor, or sensory functions.
In the 1970s ouija board users were also described as "cult members" by sociologists, though this was severely scrutinised in the field.
Ouija boards have been criticized in the press since their inception, having been variously described as "'vestigial remains' of primitive belief-systems" and, "A con to part fools from their money."
Some journalists have described reports of ouija board findings as 'half truths' and have suggested that their inclusion in national newspapers lowers the national discourse overall.
The normally quiet village of San Juan Tlacotenco in south-west Mexico.
Three American friends hospitalised after becoming 'possessed' following Ouija board game in Mexican village
History and information about Ouija Boards
- Alexandra Huerta, 22, reportedly playing with Ouija board in Mexican village
- Joined by her brother Sergio, 23, and 18-year-old cousin Fernando Cuevas
- But minutes into game, trio apparently started acting in a 'trance-like state'
- Alexandra began 'growling', while her relatives were suffering hallucinations
- The players were taken to hospital, where they were treated with painkillers
Why You Avoid Contacting the Sinister Demon Zozo
Supposedly these are 25 rules you should obey when using Ouija to conjure up spirits.
1- Never use the Ouija Board alone!.
2- Never use a Ouija Board if you are depressed, stressed, irate, upset, bored, furious, sad, trepidacious, afraid, shocked, overconfident, or drowsy as you could let a demon into your life!.
3- If you get a demon, blessing/cleansing the house could make the demon worse than it already is!.
4- Don’t give the Ouija Board to someone else to give them problems! Never use an Ouija Board if you think it is a game.
5- Never let the spirits count down through the numbers or go through the alphabet as they can get out of the board this way.
6- If the planchette goes to the four corners of the board it implies that you have reached a wickedness soul or evil presence into your life!.
7- You ought to never use a Ouija Board in the event that you are a doubter or an Atheist as you could get a wickedness soul or devil!.
8- If the planchette tumbles from the Ouija board, a soul will get detached.
9- In the event that the planchette over and over makes a figure eight, it implies that a wickedness soul is in control of the board.
10- If you happen to get a wickedness soul, rapidly flip around the planchette and use it that way up .
11-The board must be “closed” properly or evil spirits will remain behind to haunt the operator or and the property.
12- Never use the Ouija when you are ill or in a debilitated condition since this may make you vulnerable and susceptible to possession.
13- The spirit of the Ouija board creates “wins” for the user, causing him/her to become more and more dependent on the board. This is called “progressive entrapment”.
14- Evil spirits contacted through the Ouija board will endeavor to win your confidence with mendacious flattery and prevaricates.
15- Always be obeisant and never upset the spirits.
16- Never use the Ouija in a graveyard or place where a terrible death has occurred or you will bring forth malevolent entities.
17- The very first Ouija boards were made from the wood of coffins. A coffin nail in the center of the planchette window accommodated as the pointer.
18- Sometimes an evil spirit can sempiternally “inhabit” a board. When this transpires, no other spirits will be able to utilise the board.
19- Ouija boards that are disposed of improperly, come back to haunt the owner.
20- A Ouija Board will scream if you try to burn it. People who hear the scream have less than thirty-six hours to live.
21- There is only one proper way to dispose of it: break the board into seven pieces, sprinkle it with Holy Water then bury it.
22- Arrange the letters and numbers, into a circle so whatever is trapped within that circle can’t escape.
23- If you place a pristine silver coin on the board, no evil spirits will be able to come through.
24- NEVER leave the planchette on the board when you are not using it.
25- Three things never to ask a Ouija board: Never ask about God, Never ask when you are going to die, Never ask where the gold is buried.
No doubt there are many other rules not mentioned here, but its a start.
In my opinion, these are the Top 6 rules
Rule 1:
'Do not play with the Ouija board!'
But the fact that you’re here tells me that there’s a pretty good chance that you intend to break that rule. So I’ll continue.
Rule 2:
“Never play alone. “
I can find no conclusive explanation as to why this is so, but rule number one, ‘never play with a Ouija board alone’ is considered to be the most important rule to obey whilst playing with the Ouija board. Perhaps it has something to do with strength in numbers and psychic prowess, or the possibility of being driven crazy as you experience the spirit alone.
Rule 3:
“Don’t let the demon escape”
It is said that should you allow the planchette or pointer to count down through the numbers then the spirit or demon can escape, and some also believe the same to be true should you allow the spirit to go through the alphabet. Having a nice little chit chat on the Ouija is one thing but very few people wish to have "Pazuzu", bringer of pestilence and keeper of the four winds, running around causing mayhem uninvited.‘don’t allow the planchette to count down through the numbers (or through the alphabet).’
Rule 4:
Place a silver coin on the Ouija board (in the UK do not use a 5p, 10p, 20p or 50p, they contain copper and nickel, definately not silver)
Why?
Silver has often been thought to contain qualities that make it effective as a weapon against evil spirits. Chinese people believe that placing a silver locket around their child’s neck will ward off evil spirits and the Incas believed silver to be the tears of the moon. It is believed that silvers reflective properties are the reason silver is attributed with these powers; silver catches the light, and repels the darkness.
Rule 5:
Never ask about God
This is said to be a big no-no, should the spirit be of the evil variety (and many believe that all entities associated with a Ouija board are of the evil variety) then it will become incredibly angry.
Rule 6:
Say Goodbye
In terms of importance many Ouija board users would place this rule above the ‘do not play alone’ rule. It is said that properly closing the Ouija board after use is extremely important, this is done by first thanking the spirits for coming forwards to speak with you, you should then wish the spirits peace and then say ‘goodbye’. In theory once you have said goodbye to the spirit the planchette should now move (guided by the spirit) down to the ‘goodbye’ written at the bottom of the Ouija board.
Failing to close the Ouija board properly after each session leaves the spirits or demons present and able to influence your life negatively. Should the spirits or demons not say ‘goodbye’ by moving the planchette after you have wished them farewell, then you should repeat ‘goodbye’ and ‘leave’ in a loud stern voice, and then pass the planchette through the flame of a candle.
What Is ZoZo?
No one knows what ZoZo actually looks like or what being he really is. But those who have come into contact with him report terrifying experiences.
Most commonly contacted through the use of a Ouija board, he seems to be a powerful demonic being with the potential to do significant physical and mental harm.
He sometimes goes by other names, such as ZoSo, ZaZa, Zo, or Pazuzu. He has been around for hundreds of years, with reports going back as early as 1906.
'They spoke of feeling numbness, double vision, blindness, deafness, hallucinations, muscle spasm and difficulty swallowing.'
He added that whether the trio were really possessed, or had simply convinced themselves that they were, was not for doctors to comment on.