Spooky Thursday with Haunted Britannia - Ouija Boards: Kids toy or a gateway to hell?

The feelings on Ouija boards are like the feelings for Marmite, only it's less of a love/hate thing and more of a love/fear thing.  I am not going to go through the full history and origin of the board, but if you are interested in reading about it then click here.  I will just say it has been around since the mid to late 1800's and sprang up from the love of all things spiritual in that era.  One unconfirmed story I really like is about the name Ouija which is said to have come from the board itself being asked what it should be called, it was then asked what Ouija meant and the board replied "good luck".

So why are so many people scared of the Ouija board?  This is just my view on it but it seems to be mostly from stories and films, rumours and urban legend.  The boards were around and widely used for such a long time with very few people having a problem with them.  Then they were used in horror films as an obvious choice because they are very visual and can give accurate messages plus the added factor of the audience being able to do it at home with a home made board and very little know how.  This was fuel for the fear and the urban legends got more graphic in people's minds because of the movies.  When you hear about how someone did a Ouija board in real life and it said they would all die then the dog freaked out and the light bulbs all exploded, who did it happen to?  That's right, a friend of a friend.  You don't often find someone telling you this stuff first hand, and the excitement of telling a scary real life story naturally brings on over exaggeration and embellishment.  Even if it doesn't it ends up with the Chinese whispers effect of altering each time it is told.  So are the stories of Ouija boards greatly over exaggerated?  Yes, I would say they are.  Big time.

Ouija boards are just one of many ways to try and contact spirits, others including a seance, pendulums and calling out for sounds in return.  It all boils down to the same thing.  The only difference is what you are asking the spirit or energies to effect, a glass on a board or pendulum in your hand.  The board is just the one that has a bad rap.  Some people are also quite hesitant when it comes to a seance as they have been shown to be scary in films and stories too but what about the poor little pendulum?  Or the dowsing rods?  No one bats an eyelid at them because they are famous for finding water underground which is more interesting that scary.

So in conclusion I would say that you have no reason at all to be scared of the board and it can't be used to open portals or summon demons, it won't kill you or curse you.  I know some people will still disagree and say they are to never be used for fear of death and destruction but honestly I have used them on investigations so many times I have lost count and you know what?  I have never had a good, clear, straightforward message from one yet, never mind a curse placed on me and I am fine as are the rest of the crew.

There is another question about the boards though, a big one.  How do they work?  Sometimes they really do work and you manage to get correct answers from them, so how do you think this happens? Let's look at that one next week.  For now, let us know what you think of the Ouija board.  Are you scared of it?  Do you have a good story?  Let us know on the Haunted Britannia post comments.

Ouija at Toys R Us, fun for ages 8 and up.

The Philadelphia Experiment

This is a very strange one and I am told my Granddad was a lover of this story.

So the story goes that in 1943 the unified field theory was used to make a cloaking device for the USS Eldridge, leaving it invisible.  This involved using electrical generators to bend light around the ship though it has not been proven that this is even possible. 

The first time they tried this is said to have worked but left a green mist in the ships place.  The ship then vanished and was teleported to Norfolk, Virginia.  There it was seen to appear and then vanish once more before returning to it's original place in Philadelphia.  The test was thought to be a great success by those watching until they found that many of the men aboard had various parts of them embedded in the metal of the ship.

The accounts do vary from place to place but that is the main gist of the story.  Many people believe this to be a work of fiction but there are people out there that say it has truth to it. Have the military have been testing things that seem impossible with devastating results?  Things which they then went to extreme lengths to cover up?  You decided.

USS Eldridge April 25th 1944

When an urban legend is true

There was a legend in Pennsylvania of The Green Man aka Charlie no face.  He was said to be some kind of terrifying green glowing thing that would prowl around at night on country roads with no face.

Unlike many urban legends this one was in fact true.  Almost.

Raymond Robinson had the misfortune to suffer an electrical accident when he was young which cost him his eyes, nose, an ear and an arm.  It left him looking rather strange and with a green hue to his skin.  For this reason he would go out for his walk in the fresh air at night.  He couldn't see anyway so the dark didn't matter to him and it would save him from hearing people's horrid comments on his appearance and even gasps or screams.  However there were still the odd few people that got a glimpse of him and thus the legend of Charlie no face was born.

The real Charlie no face, Raymond Robinson.