Receiving an Ouija Board I Never Paid For...

Writing this, still terrified, I realized that this story had to be told.

Two days ago I went over to my parent's house to hang out and my mother pointed to the boxes that were near the front door. She says, "Your Ouija stuff has arrived." And just sort of rolls her eyes at me.

Utterly confused, I went to glance into one of the boxes she had opened accidentally and saw a rather large planchette within. The thing had a crack running down it and I picked it up, trying to think about what this could be since the box was addressed to me.

Then I recalled that, a few nights earlier, I had been browsing eBay and had added a Circa 1938 to 1950 Ouija Board to my cart. I never intended to buy it and later received an email from eBay stating that there was an unpaid item awaiting and, only after I paid, would the seller send it.

Why was I looking at Ouija Boards in the first place? Good question! Late at night I tend to get curious and I wondered when the first Ouija Board came to be.

'Ouija, the Wonderful talking Board' entered toy shops in 1891, originally in Pittsburgh then steadily become a worldwide phenomenon. Especially between the 1910s and ’20s because of World War I.

Discover more about the history of Ouija Boards on The Smithsonian Magazine's article.

This fascinated me and I took to eBay to see what was the oldest Ouija Board I could get that would be below $100.

Some of the ones for sale ranged from over $1,000 for the vintage ones to a measly $20 for the ones that were 'Stranger Things' themed and so on.

Unwilling and still confused... I brought it back to my apartment. I live with my boyfriend of 6 years, a true skeptic and inching near the non-believer mark, who didn't think much of it. He wanted to hang it as decor!

As I carried it up to our second floor, one bedroom apartment that we had only moved into less than a week before, I felt a tingle on the top of my hands that gripped onto the planchette and board.

But, this was not my first experience with an Ouija Board. Actually I had made a video on my first experience and how it turned out for me. Below is that video.

So this actually happened. The seller shipped me the Ouija Board without payment. Upon trying to contact them back, their account was no longer in existence. Now I truly freaked out. This only meant that they shipped it off to the first person that showed the slightest interest, likely to get it out of their house.

Below I've included the picture that says this unpaid item case is closed and the seller will no longer be sending the item. In this case, that "item" being a possibly possessed Ouija Board.

The first person, other than my boyfriend and parents, that I told about the unexpected item, was my best friend. She has a natural curiosity in these things so we planned a night where we'd see what this board was all about and maybe discover why it now belongs to me.

This. Was. Really. Happening.

My friend arrived. We researched the rules of an Ouija board and understood that it was not a game to be played. Full disclosure: We did each have a margarita before beginning.

The top rules, if you are not familiar with them, are as follows:

1) Never ask an Ouija board when you are going to die.

2) Never taunt or goad a spirit to communicate with you through the Ouija board.

3) Don’t leave the planchette on the board.

4) Don’t use a Ouija board in a cemetery.

5) If you are experiencing depression, it may be good to avoid using a Ouija board.

6) Always say 'Goodbye' and move the planchette to where it says 'Goodbye' before removing your fingers.

We had each come up with a list of questions to ask but, when it came around to setting up the board and placing our fingers on the planchette, she froze. So I did all the talking. To start, I asked; "Are there any spirits here who wish to communicate with us?"

When minutes passed with no movement of the planchette, I kept asking more questions and simply rephrased an introductory statement a few times. Here are some examples; "Is there anyone here who would like to speak with us? How many spirits are among us? If anyone is here, what is your name?"

On the board, my friend and I placed the jewelry of people who have passed on that we cherished. I had my great grandparent's rings and she had her grandparent's necklace and ring.

Since no other questions were getting responses, I decided to ask; "Is there anyone here that is related to either of us?"

A solid ten seconds passed and I was close to giving up on this whole experience, but then the planchette began moving. Slowly it moved to "Yes." My friend and I knew that neither of us were pushing it to move it because we had done a few tests to get accustomed to the feeling of it being moved and how the muscles in the wrist twitch slightly.

Next we asked for a name.

All we received in response was- "GAB".

Then, nothing. We continued to ask for more information and no response ever came. Very abruptly, my friend informed me that she was exhausted and wanted to go to bed. We moved the planchette over to 'Goodbye' and said our farewell to the board, then left it on the table to go to bed.

Upon laying down, my friend fell asleep immediately and began snoring. I couldn't seem to go to bed though. I texted my boyfriend and mother, who were surprised to hear that my friend was already asleep so early, since it was only 11PM.

I stayed up until 1PM, browsing through Facebook and Instagram. Before deciding that I needed some sleep, I walked to the kitchen to get some water and also to turn on the air conditioning. When I got to the kitchen and turned around, I realized that I'd have to pass the Ouija board on the way back to the room. When passing it to get to the kitchen I hadn't noticed it, but now I was staring at it in the dark room, still on the table with blown out candles around it.

It took a lot in me to dart past it and get back to the bedroom, which (obviously) went fine. I got under the covers and settled into bed, looking up at the ceiling until I fell asleep. Throughout the night, my two little dogs would randomly bark while looking out the bedroom door and into the hallway. I rationalized that this was due to my boyfriend not being home and they were just protecting me.

The next morning I reflected on the name we were given.

Gab. This could be- Gabe, Gabrielle, Gabby, Gabriel... Some kind of nickname.

When I told my father, he offered another alternative. He said it could be initials. My research didn't pull up much so far and my friend is still asking her family too.

After a few days of thinking this all over, thinking of possibilities and circumstances, I find myself still as puzzled as when I first saw the Ouija Board.

Now I want to ask all of you, what's your experience with Ouija Boards? Do you believe in them? Do you believe in the paranormal or are you skeptical?

Let me know in the comments! Thank you for reading about my experience and I hope you learned something from it.

An update is coming...