She flipped through the stack of printed reference pages to show Becky and Johanna as she continued, “I’ve actually been wanting to try it for a while now but rule number one on pretty much every site is don’t use a Ouija board alone, so…”
“You’re really serious about this,” Johanna asked, sounding surprised.
Kate shrugged, “I think it could be fun.”
With a sigh and a shrug, Johanna finally asked, “So what do we have to do?”
It took them about twenty minutes to get everything situated. The overhead light now off, the only source of illumination was seven white candles bordering a circle of salt at the center of Kate’s bedroom. The circle was just big enough for the three girls to sit inside of with the Ouija board positioned between them as Kate continued to explain the process, “The circle of salt acts as a barrier of protection from malevolent entities.”
“But what about demons?” Becky asked as she shot a worried glance at Johanna.
“Them too,” Kate replied in a reassuring tone. “Anyway, the rules are simple but important. If we make contact, never ask about yourself. Like who you’re gonna marry, how you’re gonna die because things like that, only a malev… a demon would know the answer to and so it’s like a surefire way of inviting bad stuff through. Plus, they’re usually gonna lie to you anyway.”
Becky gave a dismissive wave. “That’s okay. I already know who I’m gonna marry.”
Johanna shook her head. “I swear if you bring up Lance Bass one more time…”
(For my younger readers, woman used to think Lance Bass was attracted to them.)
“Anyway, rule number two: Don’t try to test the spirit with questions you already know the answer to. What’s my mother’s maiden name, etcetera. And rule number three, which is the most important… If the spirit starts spelling out strange words, do not read them out loud. Do not continue to talk with the spirit. Immediately move the planchet to GOODBYE. If we don’t say ‘goodbye’ the session isn’t officially ended, which means the portal stays open and anything can get through.”
“The portal?” Becky said, grinning. “Cool.”
Kate sighed and shrugged. “At least you’re paying attention.”
With Kate and Becky sitting across from each other and the board balanced on their knees, they began the session. Johanna, still feeling a bit awkward about the whole scenario, had opted to be the official transcriber. She readied her pen and note-pad as Kate and Becky placed their fingers on either side of the planchet.
“It helps warm things up if we make little circles with the pointer.” Becky nodded at Kate and they began to circle the board. The room’s atmosphere seemed to shift suddenly. It was like the darkness around them had somehow gotten… darker. At first, Kate thought it was just her over-hyped imagination but then she saw the concerned look on Johanna’s face as she started to glance around the room as well.
The planchet began to circle the board a third time and then suddenly darted over to HELLO. Kate and Becky exchanged the obligatory “was that you because I know it wasn’t me” glance and it dawned on Kate that this might actually be working. She took a moment to regain her composure and then said, “Greetings. Tell us, are you good or evil?”
