Poll: Are ouija boards dangerous?

[Staskala]

Do people really still buy into this hocus pocus? The only thing creepy about the Ouija boards is that apparently there are enough people who believe in them to keep the brand going. It's one of those products that relies upon superstition to survive, like some kind of Snake Oil.

I swear, kids these days will believe anything.

Now get off my lawn!

Sorry geezer, but that shit's been popular among kids for over 100 years, so things really weren't better in "the good old days" (as always).

 

[Artina89]

I think you can get ouija boards from Toys 'R us and I don't think they will sell a potentially dangerous product to children. I have used a ouija board with a group of friends before and we all ended up making up names for the ghosts on the board, things like "I. M. Buttmunch" and "Seymour Butts" and a load of other unoriginal names. The sad thing is that we all ranged from the ages of 17 to 20. Juvenile humour for the win!

 

[flamingjimmy]

No, they are toys, they were invented and marketed as toys originally, it's only in the last few decades that people have begun to believe anything supernatural about them.

 

[The SettingSun]

I'm sorry what?

You can't possibly scare that easily, are you five years old or something?

You cannot communicate to the dead via a board-game. Never thought I'd actually have to type that sentence out of some heavily ironic context.

On second thought, yes, it is dangerous. If you're stupid enough to buy into that crap, you're stupid enough to kill yourself, probably by choking on the token.

I've been this way all my life, anything slightly paranormal and my common sense just goes out of the window. Still should be fun, I've got a friend who scares more easily.

 

[malestrithe]

No, its not dangerous. How it works is through a process called the ideomotor effect. Your hand make unconscious motions and gestures that you are not aware of making.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Are they dangerous?

Well some of them can have quite sharp edges...

They're just toys, an early form of board game about as mystical as Scrabble.

 

[Master Taffer]

No. Ouiji boards are all a bunch of "Woo-Woo" as James Randi would say. It's not real. What causes it is either one person pushing it around purposefully or due to the ideomotor effect.

It's a bunch of bull. Save your money and go buy a movie, game or go to the batting cages with your friends instead.

 

[StBishop]

I was going to get one and use it with a few friends. Now, I don't usually buy into this sort of stuff but after hearing a few creepy stories (i scare easily) I'm not so sure. So, have you had any experiences? Most importantly: Are they dangerous?

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a sceptic.

They are as dangerous as a board game. Less so than some (Monopoly for example).

The only danger is that someone will flip their shit and kill someone.

 

[DigitalSushi]

Anything that happens while doing a Ouija board is normally your friends bigger brother messing around, or possibly a creepy uncle spelling out that you need to go camping with him.

Just don't do it.

Ouija boards are literally toys- in fact the Hasbro company still own the trademark for them.

They were used as fun board games in the past, the idea was you were talking to your 'future self' not ghosts. They only become 'occult' when The Exorcist came out.

Are you serious? Hasbro has the trademark to it?, learn something new everyday!

Hopefully they license it out for a full length feature film, it can be next years Smash-a-Thon by Michael Bay.

 

[Winthrop]

I once did it with friends. Some of my friends actually believed it, and there were indeed words forming. So I (being the scientist type guy that I am) suggested that everyone should wear blindfolds. (except me of course, I would be monitoring and not actually participating)After that only jibberish was being spelled. It did make me feel pretty clever, until I read that tons of other people had already tried this.

Welcome to the Escapist! And they say that you need to be able to see them for it to work if you go to the people who are really into it. Still if you ask them to ask someone a question they don't know the answer to but you do it can be disproved.

OT: No its not dangerous. You can believe what you want but even people who believe in them don't tend to think of them as anything other than a tool for talking to the dead.

 

[Vouk]

Yes. They are very dangerous.
You're in extreme danger to waste your time with stupid bullshit.

 

[mikey7339]

It's a piece of cardboard...

 

[Debatra]

They're extremely dangerous! You could poke out an eye somehow!

On an unrelated topic, I have a bridge I'd like to sell you.

 

[TheScientificIssole]

Do people really still buy into this hocus pocus? The only thing creepy about the Ouija boards is that apparently there are enough people who believe in them to keep the brand going. It's one of those products that relies upon superstition to survive, like some kind of Snake Oil.

I swear, kids these days will believe anything.

Now get off my lawn!

I know. All the hub-bub with all these whippersnappers and their bazaar shannanagins. I just think those rapscallions jiffy curl the WW2. Kids these days.

 

[Dags90]

I've been this way all my life, anything slightly paranormal and my common sense just goes out of the window. Still should be fun, I've got a friend who scares more easily.

You realize that fear is a big part of 'buying into it', right? You can't say you don't 'buy into the paranormal' if paranormal stories give you legitimate fear.

You can't say you don't buy into the paranormal if you're afraid of ghosts.

 

[Akytalusia]

i was ninja'd by everyone. they're only potentially dangerous if you use it as a melee weapon.

 

[Worgen]

yes, they are dangerous but you have to throw them really hard

 

[Generic Redshirt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fusOzhc2ciA
and that's all I have to say about that

For thouse who don't want to click the link it takes us to the mighty Stephen Fry who points out that it could be the only piece of witchcraft to have a lisence held by Parker Brothers

 

[hardband]

No, mainly because they were originally a toy, with nothing to do with ghosts. It was supposed to allow peoples subconscious to leave them a message, but it was only after a certain film that they were associated with ghosts.