By Madison Roberts
Staff Writer
“Ouija, are you there?”
By some mysterious power, the cursor slowly makes its way to the word “yes” on the glow-in-the-dark board.
“Are you a sun or a moon?”
The sun symbolizes a good spirit and the moon symbolizes a bad one. Without explanation, the cursor moves to the picture of a moon in the top right corner of the game board.
It’s 10 p.m. and senior Tyler O’Dell and a few of her friends are gathered around the Ouija board, each with two fingers touching the cursor.
“Multiple times after saying goodbye and coming back, the same person came up and claimed to know my parents and it told me my parents’ names. It also talked to my friend and told her her address,” O’Dell said.
Even though the Ouija board is not a new concept, it is a growing trend among teenagers.
Senior Joanna Thomas attributes the growing trend to teenage curiosity.
“[Teenagers play] because they are curious and don’t believe that it works,” Thomas said.
Senior Shelby Wolfe believes in the powers of Ouija and continues to play because she finds enjoyment from it.
“It’s fun and you see different [people’s] stories and you want to know who you’re going to talk to,” Wolfe said.
Science teacher Sarah Robertson, who does not believe in the Ouija board, thinks it is purely a source of entertainment.
“I think it’s a bunch of giddy kids… I think they’re just looking for a good time,” Robertson said.
But many students do believe that spirits are communicating through the Ouija board.
“I’ve played it with multiple people and I know I don’t move it and I feel that they aren’t moving it either,” O’Dell said.
Junior Jordan Riggsbee agrees.
“It’s really scary and I don’t move the thing and no one else moves it either. It has to be a ghost,” Riggsbee said.
Although there are many Northwood students who believe in the Ouija board and in spirits, students think there are other forces at work.
“I believe that one person in the group slides the [cursor] around the board and it’s made up. It’s just for fun,” senior Alex Plummer said.
Junior Katelyn Thompson, who is also skeptical about the powers of the Ouija board, was at Bynum Bridge playing with a group of people when the spirit of Caylee Anthony, the deceased daughter of Casey Anthony, was supposedly communicating through the board.
“We asked if her mom killed her and it moved to yes,” Thompson said.
After playing this mystifying game, people feel many different emotions, but most students agree that it is spooky.
“It kind of creeps you out and you think about how there are all kinds of spirits around you,” O’Dell said.
Wolfe, who has played the Ouija board multiple times, also feels frightened after playing.
“It’s such an adrenaline rush and you start hearing things and it makes you freak out. Once you see it work you believe it forever,” Wolfe said.
Ouija board is not only a common form of entertainment for teenagers today, but many of Northwood’s teachers played this game during their teenage years.
Principal Chris Blice, who played the Ouija board when he was in middle school, does not believe in the Ouija board or its powers.
“I think it’s an inanimate object; I don’t believe in or worship inanimate objects,” Blice said.
Science teacher Cari Christopherson still owns her board from when she was a teenager and says that she believes in spirits and thinks that the Ouija is real.
“I truly believe in spirits, it’s not very scientific,” she said. “But if there are spirits, they have to communicate, right? And I believe there are wacky things that can happen places and I’ve heard of wacky things happening places. So why not? Prove me wrong.”
