Most of us can remember sitting cross-legged with friends, an Ouija Board balanced on our knees, asking the divine spirits questions about our futures, and accusing other players of pushing the pointer. Countless hours have been spent puzzling over the mystery of the Ouija Board, and although having an actual Ouija Board is still popular, there has been a recent push toward online uses. If you type “Ouija Board Online” into any search engine, you are likely to get hundreds of thousands of hits for sites all having access to an online Ouija Board. These talking boards work in much the same way that traditional boards do with all the same ouija board rules, though they can be played alone at the computer.

There is a huge cult following for paranormal studies right now. Between television shows chronicling the activities of ghost hunters, and a genuine interest in life after death, there is a huge interest in trying to figure out the unknown. Spirit boards are no exception. People have been trying to commune with the dead since the beginning of time, and Ouija Boards have given then average person a means to do this. While the Ouija Board may have changed over the decades, the purpose behind it remains the same.

While the Ouija Boards most of us are familiar with are marketed by Hasbro as a board game, there has been some form or another of talking boards around for centuries. As early as 1100 A.D., forms of spirit boards were used in China to communicate with the dead. The form of Ouija Board most of us know and remember was originally created in 1890, however, and was considered nothing more than a parlor game at dinner parties. They have since been portrayed in many movies, including the 1980’s horror movie Witchboard, which warns against ever using a Ouija Board alone to contact a spirit.

Online versions of Ouija Boards, however, allow users to ask questions without having more than one participant. Most work by simply typing a question into a space on the site, then moving the mouse over the planchette to answer the questions posed to the board’s spirit. You can use different websites to pose simple yes or no questions to the board, or to ask specific questions about names, places, numbers, or dates. These online Ouija sites are usually free to use, though some sites require payment to pose questions to otherworldly spirits.

Though Ouija Boards have evolved over the centuries, people’s fascination with the occult and the paranormal certainly hasn’t wavered. As a matter of fact, within the last few years there seems to be an endless supply of paranormal shows and documentaries being produced every year. The mainstream public’s desire for the supernatural and mystery in general is unrelenting. Ever since the beginning of time, people have been trying to find answers to questions regarding life, death, and the unknown, and have certainly tried to find ways to communicate with the dead. As far back as Ancient Egypt, people have believed in some sort of afterlife. While we don’t necessarily build tombs filled with items to make our transition to the afterlife more pleasant, we still try to find ways to connect and communicate with people who have passed on, and we will always continue to search for answers to the meaning of life and what the future may hold in store for us. As a side note, whether you believe in the Ouija board or not there are a set of Ouija board rules to be followed which should be known.

• “Ouija” is a registered name of Parker brothers. The generic term is ‘Talking boards’. Since the Nineties, the Ouija board’s level of popularity has declined significantly, and today sales are just a small percentage of what they were during the 1970s.
• A number of religions consider such “spirit summoning” to be prohibited, a type of divination or occultism. For the rest of the world, it is yet another manifestation of superstition. And to the believers an Ouija board online or otherwise is a direct path of communication to the spirit world.