Origin And Supernatural Beliefs Associated With Ouija

This shows that people thought it was super entertaining to hear some of these stories of people communicating with the dead. In the article "The Haunted House" by Valerie Worth it talks about some people go in and explore a old, earey haunted house, but they are not scared. I the article it says “Its echoes, Its aching stairs, Its doors gone stiff at the hinges, Remind us of its Owners, who Grew old, who Died, but Who are still Here: learning In the closet like That curtain rod, Sleeping on the cellar Shelf like this empty jelly jar.” (Worth 9). This shows that people there going out of there way to in some way get to interact with ghost, because it entantering to people to be scared. In conclusion, people are addicted to being scared, and hearing these stories of people talking to the dead which simply can not be understudied, or even scientifically

At the beginning of the episode they find their old Ouija Board that had this inscription on the back “To my three beautiful girls, may this give you the light to find the shadows. The power of three will set you free. Love mom” for years the girls didn’t understand what this meant (Charmed, “Something Wicca This Way Comes,1998).

Singer and Benassi (1981) described a positive correlation between environmental uncertainty in western countries and occult beliefs. Although it could be argued that they may be overreaching with this generalization which is not supported with data, there is truth to this correlation. Humans try to be rational, and logical, and think critically, but in uncertain situations, we look to our environment, the physical and social environment, to provide us with information. Therefore, superstitions and supernatural phenomenon seem possible if no logical explanation can be given, and if the feedback from the environment reinforces what could be occult beliefs. French, Haque, Bunton-Stasyshyn, & Davis (2009) conducted an experiment attempting to investigate whether they could try to create a “haunted” room, and if participants would experience more abnormal sensations. Participants were informed they may feel some abnormal sensations prior to entering the room. Majority of participants reported having three or more abnormal sensations in the 50-minute period they were in the room. These sensations can be a result of susceptibility, but the uncertainty of that environment, and the lack of information may create these sensations and can validate occult

Voodoo religion is originally a West African religion which was brought to Haiti by slaves. Slaves where working for White plantation owners together suffering hardships and tribulations. Most of these Slaves where taken from tribes who had similar beliefs of Deities, morals and methods of worship (Dancing, drumming and rituals). They would use their religion as a way of mentally resisting against their white owners. The plantation owners did not like the rituals and dancing, forbid it and sealed the deal by having their slaves baptised and superimposed with catholic beliefs. Slaves began to adopt these beliefs and intertwined them with their own and worshipping their religion as well in a secretive way. This formed the true Voodoo religion that we see today that combines catholicism and african tribal worship. Voodoo comes from the word ‘Vodu’ witch came from the fon language of dahomey which was made from what we now know as Togo, Benin and Nigeria. It meant ‘Spirit’ which is definitely correlated with Voodoo as spirits are the core of the practice. The Voodoo practitioners allow Catholicism to expand their religion executing many of their Saints, Relics and Prayers in tribal rituals.

Africa was sold and shipped to the West Indies, and New Orleans. They were ruled

Black magic’s influence within African cultures is no surprise when taking a look at the culture itself. Known as Vodou in Haiti, which later evolved into the practice known as Voodoo in the United States, along with Conjuring, also known as the practice of Hoodoo which evolved from West African countries such as Ghana, the practice of black magic persistently played a role in African culture constantly following the dispersal of Africans worldwide throughout the past centuries. Throughout a multitude of societies in the world, specifically places with backgrounds connecting to African heritage, it is evident that forms of black magic have played a role in their past. While examining the history and trade of black magic through a multitude

For those of you who don't know what a ouija board is, it is a “game” that has been produced since the 1890’s that is used to contact the souls of the dead, many people also call them a “tool” or “vessel” of the devil. Using a Ouija board is an act that has become very controversial in today's age, because of all the supernatural stories that are associated with them. The stories tend to cause hysteria, and you can usually find hundreds forums or blogs of people telling their stories and how after their experiences they wouldn't touch one with a flag pole, Some people wouldn't advise being in the same room as one, or even in the same building. These warnings are usually accompanied by outrageous stories of a friend of a friend of a friend who once tried a ouija board and had their life completely ruined by supernatural spirits. Most of the hysteria surrounding ouija boards is a mixture of urban legend, hollywood interpretations, and religious paranoia. And all those put together have influenced us to believe these crazy stories of possessions and brutal assaults by ghostly encounters are in fact true.

The physiological explanation attributes the impression of paranormal activity to physical causes such as tilted floors, unsquared rooms, blood sugar imbalances and eye floaters (McCue, 2002, p. 6). Lastly, the parapsychological theory includes phenomena that cannot be explained through physical or psychological factors.

For this unit’s learning journal, I picked an article from the BBC called “Psychology: The Truth About the Paranormal” by David Robson. In his article, Robson tries to analyze why so many people believe in the paranormal from a psychological point of view. According to the article, “believers may have weaker cognitive ‘inhibition’, compared to skeptics” (Robson, 2004, par. 11). Robson also explores the possibility that belief in the supernatural may be a self-defense mechanism created by the brain, “belief in the paranormal can be a kind of shield from the even harsher truths of the world.” (Robson, 2004, par. 7)

It is easy to look back at history and see a clear pattern and relation between different cultures, objects, rituals, etc. When you take a deeper look into origins, you’ll often be surprised by what you find. Minkondi (plural for nkondi), are sculptures made and used in the 19th century by African cultures. They served a very specific purpose and had a very sacred importance. The Nkisi Nkondi functioned as a hunter-healer of conflicts. The people would take their worries, requests and fears to the figure to call on the spirits. Voodoo dolls on the other hand, are often misunderstood and misrepresented. The Voodoo doll is a ritualized way of calling on spirits to target a specific person. The doll can be used a number of things including luck, power, love and most commonly recognized, for evil and harm. The Nkisi Nkondi sculptures and Voodoo dolls, even though they are from different cultures and time periods, have a number of similarities and one may have influenced the creation of the other.

Ghosts, as with any other misunderstood group or people, have been preyed upon by others without understanding. The lack of knowledge about ghosts and haunting activity has led people astray as to what they really are. What Hollywood and television portrays is very inaccurate and cannot be relied upon as truthful. They show these spirits of the dead as being evil in nature, filled with malice and harmful intent. But that this is not the case. The field of paranormal activity is amazing. It has caught the imagination of people from every walk of life. It has always interested me and has influenced me to pick this as the topic for my research. Through this research I wish to uncover the truth about the existence of ghosts.

People who believe in spirits, for the most part, belong to one of two groups: those who delight in ghost stories but run at the first signs of a haunting and those who want nothing more than to encounter a ghost firsthand. For the latter group, seances are likely the best way to contact the other side. Nowadays, a seance may refer to any number of spiritual processes, from automatic writing to playing with a Ouija board, and it's part of a long history of humans trying to speak to the dead (see Shamanism in its countless iterations). But, according to the original definition, a seance is a guided conversation with a single spirit, held at a candlelit table.

Voodoo is a religion rich in heritage and founded in faith and community. The religion has been villainized by western culture and has been wrongly portrayed as malignant and dangerous. The religion is not founded in any of the (known) "black magics" or fear popularized by Hollywood films, but rather it is based on balance and tradition. The religion is not something that should be encountered with inhibition or fear induced from childhood horror stories, but embraced for its strength and history.

Since then, many experiments and studies on the effect have been completed. It has a well-supported history, and one significant study would be one recently done, during October of 2012, by Dr. Chris French, a psychologist at the University of London. The study was completed with an Ouija-playing robot and a blindfolded player. The robot’s purpose was to simply act as another player, so that the real person would assume that another person was moving the planchette with them. The study showed that when asked factual questions (such as, “What is the capital of Brazil?”), people would answer correctly 50% of the time on their own, but 65% of the time with the aid of the board (with techniques above in place). This proves that the ideomotor effect has a strong amount of valid support and that the board can delve into the secrets stowed in your subconscious mind.

Horror stories focus on creating a feeling of fear and shock using many sources. There are many sources of horror besides monsters and there are more factors involved in making stories part of the horror genre, including supernatural elements, hubris, and setting. Stories including the “Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, “The Outsider” by H.P. Lovecraft, and “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs include these elements.