Sage Paracon UK 2016

On the 8th & 9th October 2016 Sage Paranormal will be hosting their very own Paranormal Convention at Wroxall Abbey Estate in Warwickshire. I know this because it’s well advertised, if you’ve missed it you’re social media blind and because I have the pleasure of being one of the guest speakers. Don’t miss out on what’s going to be a great weekend and pop over to their website later and purchase your tickets. There are some great deals available.

So, as we begin to run up to the event I thought I would make a few of my posts all about some of the things going on over the weekend at Sage Paracon UK 2016. Hopefully as you follow the posts, which I will try to make as frequent as possible, you can join me on a virtual journey into the paranormal world. Our final destination will be the Wroxall Abbey Estate on the 8th October and Sage Paracon UK 2016.

When Ouija Boards Spoke to Me

My only experiences of Ouija Boards during my time as an investigator and researcher have always been somewhat in comparison with Marmite! That’s to say those in the paranormal either seem to be relatively happy with their use or completely agains them as they are obviously something evil that opens gateways to evil dimensions! Okay a little extreme to be fair, but even today the Ouija Board still seems to play with the beliefs of individuals.

I first encountered an actual Ouija Board first hand when I joined Phil Whyman’s Dead Haunted Team years back. We had one which the guests would be given the opportunity to use should they feel comfortable to do so. Once again though there was still this reputation that preceded the Board that meant we had to ensure people were comfortable to use it. Even then it was interesting to watch the behaviour of many people as they used the Board. Some would begin completely oblivious to the board with the impression that nothing would happen. Then when the planchette moved and spelt a name or piece of information they could relate to the colour would drain from their face. Granted there were often a few that this didn’t happen with and they always had an answer to explain the communication.

Now the most obvious explanation for how the board works is very simple, those using it are moving the planchette themselves. This has been given as an explanation many times and has even taken two forms, the movement is either conscious or non-conscious. When it’s conscious it’s likely to be fraud as someone is attempting to fool the rest of the group. When it’s non-conscious it’s possible the spiritual communication is being chanelled through an individual or group in order to communicate. This simply balances the possibility between fraud and actual spiritual communication to keep things in the Unknown!

Personally I am no expert in Ouija Boards, but what I have learnt and practice is the use of a defined process when using them. This creates in itself the mindset of control and a kind of ritual in place to ensure that nothing bad happens post use. This was something I used more when my ex-wife purchased an old Ouija Board online. Classic horror film material this; she purchased it from someone on Facebook who didn’t seem to have any knowledge of its history. After a little research by me, we realised that it was likely to be reasonably old dating back to the 1950’s. Unfortunately it didn’t come with a planchette, but we decided to use a small light glass instead. To cut a long story short, otherwise we will be here all night, four of us decided to give the board a go. I believe it might have actually been Christmas Day night the first time we tried it. On that night the board communicated some random pieces of information, some of which were only known by one member of the group. Ironically on that night that one member didn’t believe the board would work! How could the board or the other group members have known what only he knew?

A Little Ouija History Lesson

Now I don’t claim to be an expert in the field of Ouija Boards, I’ll tell you who is shortly, but here’s a little board history form my own notes.

As far as I know the method of communication used through the Ouija Board can be found in China around 1100AD in some historical documents related to some Dynasty or another. So, basically the concept dates back a fair few years that’s for sure.

Talking Boards were commonly used in spiritualism in the late 1800’s and commonly reported around 1886 as they became more popular as a well known parlour game.

Around 1890 businessman Elijah Bond had the bright idea to patent the board and planchette sold together as one. However it was William Fuld that took the board into production under the famous name of ‘Ouija’. He also reinvented its history I believe in order to make it more mysterious. The board enjoyed it’s most popular period between the 1920’s and 1960’s.

The Fuld estate sold the entire business to the Parker Brothers and then onto Hasbro in 1991.

Realistically the history of the Ouija Board isn’t that exciting and seems to be simply a good idea to fit a popular parlour game. However there have been many and still are many reports of spiritual communication through the board which are quite unbelievable.

Ouija Boards Are Perfect For Horror Films

Over the years the Ouija Board has been used as the main prop in many a horror film and has even popped up in the odd reality TV show too. It remains today to be one of those objects related to the paranormal and dare I say the occult which does appear to be a great tool to highlight communication with some evil entity hell bent on doing the hero and their pals harm.

Even when it pops up in reality TV it seems to get bad press and the blame for the current paranormal activity in a property. I kind of feel bad for the Board, it seems to get all the blame for paranormal activity! We often hear the question; “did you play with a Ouija Board?” Which if the answer is ‘yes’ is usually followed with; “that’s why then, you’ve probably opened a doorway or something.” Of course, the Ouija Board should probably come with a warning then!

Okay hands up, my approach to Ouija Boards does seem a little less passionate that some, but in my experience nothing bad has ever come from using them. Maybe I’ve not done anything bad or pushed the demonic boundaries with one, I don’t know. However that doesn’t mean I don’t disbelieve that many have had horrific experiences with these things.

In 2014 the movie Ouija came out and focussed purely on the Ouija Board as the main point that brought some pretty nasty activity with it. This year sees its sequal Ouija 2: Origins of Evil and it looks set to bring the Ouija Board back out of your Nans closet into the parlour for more spiritual communication. Robert Murch consulted on the movie and he is bit of an expert on the talking board.

Robert Murch Ouija Board Expert

Actually he’s more than a bit of an expert, he is the Chairman of Talking Board Historical Society. He also collects the boards and is known as a world wide authority of the boards.
More importantly he will be available to talk to at the upcoming Sage Paracon UK 2016 in October, where he is a guest speaker. So, if you have an interest in the Ouija Board then that would be a perfect opportunity to meet the man in the know.

Robert has devoted his life to researching the history of the Ouija Board and its founders, which has taken him all over the world in search of different types of board and the introduction the Mystifying Oracle. I’m looking forward to asking a couple of questions myself about the boards I have encountered in my own research and investigations.

Roll Up Roll Up!! Get Your Tickets

Don’t miss out on your opportunity to be a part of this fantastic event, follow the link below to the Sage Paranormal website to purchase your tickets now.