how does an ouija board works?

Answer 1

As others as rightly mentioned, it works by the ideomotor effect. Eri mentioned using the board blindfolded to support that conclusion, and I think that's a good idea. It's an example of good science in action: you have a hypothesis, you make a prediction using the hypothesis, and then you test it to see whether your hypothesis is supported or not.

In fact, such an experiment was performed and reported in the Journal of Paranormal Research (see link below). The protocol used here was pretty good as paranormal research goes. The experiment showed that the blindfolded participants only produced nonsense when using the board.

So what can we conclude? The evidence supports the hypothesis that the board relies on vision to work, further supporting the conclusion that it is the ideomotor effect propelling the planchette. It doesn't PROVE this hypothesis is true, however. It's impossible to prove any hypothesis using the scientific method, but what you can do is collect an impressive amount of evidence for it. Furthermore, if you really want to still think spirits are the right explanation, now you're painted into a pretty absurd corner, e.g., that the spirits need to "see" through the participants eyes. As science marches on and adds more support to a successful hypothesis, you're inevitably forced into greater and greater absurdity to rescue unfalsifiable hypotheses from the dustbin.

Answer 2

Well, let's see if I can clarify this for ya.

The Ouija board and the planchette are used by one or more persons to 'contact' a 'spirit' and to get answers to questions that are asked of the 'spirit' that comes through.
By placing their finger tips lightly on the edge of the planchette or 'pointer' the 'powers' of the minds will guide the planchette to a series of letters that will spell out words that may or may not make sense. The users might also ask simple yes or no questions and the planchette may go to the yes or no points on the board.

Most people don't take the board seriously and it can be used in fun.

BUT

There are those who claim to have had good and bad experiences with the board.
It has to do with the users 'esp' strength and talent.
Since the ouija board isn't picky about what kind of 'spirit' comes thru, there is a possibility that a 'bad' or so called 'evil spirit' will make contact.

To say that it is 'evil' is kinda ridiculous cuz it is just a board...it's like saying a phone is evil. People get good and bad news thru their phones, but no one thinks that their phone is 'evil' for it.
Anything is possible, so having a bit of respect can't hurt now, can it?

Answer 3

Ouija boards were popular back in the 1930's and how they work depends on you and your partner (as it takes two to play the game). Supposely you ask the board a question and then with each of you resting your finger tips on a plastic pointer (in the shape of a heart with a viewing hole in the center to see letters below it that are on the board).

After a few minutes the pointer will start to move (supposely on it's own) and slide over different letters on the board and thus spelling out your answer.

Personally, I think it is more to do with you and your partner's desire to provide an answer than any magic on the part of the board.

Answer 4

The Ouija board (link below) does come with instructions.
Also the ideomotor effect explanation is the only scientific answer given thus far.
Michael Faraday (link below) tested the boards and always found that force was applied to the planchette (center piece) to cause movement.

However, debunkers would stop there and discourage the pursuit of all other forms of knowledge and the advancement of science whereas I will suggest a better test for you.
The blindfold test by the way is not credible (read bad science) unless we are attempting to prove that spirits (or you) have X-Ray vision.

Have at least two people using the board.
Have another person outside the room that can not see the users or board.
Have the outside person prepare a list of questions that are unknown to the the users of the board and are not easily guessed. Have that person write down and seal the answers in an envelope. Give questions to the users.
After the session compare the information from the board to the answers (previously unseen by the boards users).
This can serve as a basic ESP test if not a test of spirit contact.
A variation of this technique called "Sitter by proxy" was used in early research on mediums.
So, you can ask and answer if your subconscious is moving to the answers does it know the answers that you don't.

Answer 5

I had a horrible experience with a ouija board.
When I was a kid I bought one at a yard sale for 50 cents. My friend and I sat in this pavillion in the park with it and were just messing around, playing with it. Then we asked if a spirit was there, and to have it give us a sign if there was one. All of a sudden on one side of the pavillion it got black as night and started to thunder and lighten. The other side was a bright and sunny afternoon. Needless to say we ran like crazy for her house and threw the ouija board in the trash. I swear I will never touch one again as long as I live.

Answer 6

Ouija board is like an answering machine. Players focus their senses to receive message from the enegies they attracted from calling spirit's name. They become so sensitive that their minds could receive answers. The forms of energies may transform in any form using the body of the players to move the board and the board become the medium of the spirit in coordination with the energies from the players.

Answer 7

They are manipulation of the hands and some it is said it may cause a spirit portal but i really don't give it a theory because the paranormal is full of theories there is a ton over this Ouija board as well!!! New theories come out everyday for classifying paranormal phenomena so all's i can give you is thoughts and theories.

Ryan ~Paranormal Investigator/Researcher~
www.theprosonline.com

Answer 8

Parker Brothers did not invent the Ouija Board. It had already been around for awhile when it was bought by Parker Brothers in 1966 and turned into a commercial success as a board game. Its beginnings lie in the distant past when an earlier version (a tripod device) was used in the ancient ways of Babylon and Greece to contact departed spirits. The tripod became the pointer now used with the Board, which is printed with the alphabet, the numbers 1-9, a 0 (zero), and the words 'Goodbye', 'Yes', and 'No'. There are other boards like this with different names, but with the same history and purpose. The modern version of this game was developed by a man named Planchette, a spiritualist (someone who contacts the dead as part of their religion). The Board was further transformed around the turn of the century under the direction and ownership of two men, Elijah J. Bond and William Fuld. Fuld’s name can be seen on the Ouija Board today. The name Ouija is a combination of the French and German words for 'yes': Oui and Ja. According to Bond and Fuld, the Board suggested its own name. The primary purpose of the board is and always has been to contact disembodied spirits. Contacting the dead is called necromancy, and contacting spirits is spiritism, both strongly condemned by God (Deut. 18:9-12; Lev. 19:31, 20:6; I Sam 28, II Kings 21:6; Is. 8:19, 19:3-4). The Board’s translated name, 'yes, yes', is an ingenious and subtle way to invite spirit contact. Dead people cannot hang around after death; you cannot communicate with a dead person. The practices and techniques of contacting the dead and contacting spirits are used widely in the occult. Although the pointer is often moved intentionally or subconsciously by the players, you are putting yourself in a vulnerable position when using the Board. By 'playing' this 'game', you are showing an interest in spirit contact. If contact is made, it is demons (evil spirits, fallen angels), not the dead, who are responding. If Satan can disguise himself as "an angel of light" (2 Cor. 11:14), then it is not improbable that fallen angels can disguise themselves as the dead. The Ouija Board is not harmless just because it is marketed as a game. Satan, the master of deception and seduction, is good at twisting the truth into lies (Gen. 3:1-6; Jn. 8:44). Satan likes disguises and his lies are often disguised as games. The next time you are tempted to play the Ouija Board as a game, look beyond its disguise and see it for what it really is. Think about this: Just what or who are you trying to contact? God tells us to seek Him instead of the dead (Is. 8:19), and Christ "lives forever to plead with God" on behalf of those who believe Him (Heb. 7:25b). Who wants the Ouija Board when you can know the One Who has "complete authority in heaven and on earth!" (Matt.28:18). If you are wondering about Christ, think on His words in John 5:23b-24, "He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father , who sent him. I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."

Answer 9

By one or more people in the circle influencing it (maybe consciously or subconsciously) with just a little extra pressure on the board.
As the board moves slightly with this extra pressure, other people in the circle "go with it" giving a little extra impetus.
It has been proved time and time again that it is easy to fake.
Unfortunately, gullible and superstitious people have sometimes become so "hooked" into believing that what they have seen is real, that they inadvertently become their own destructive force.
That is why, unless you treat it as just a piece of fun, you should find other ways of passing an evening.

Answer 10

It's quite simple. The ouija board operates on the power of suggestion. In other words, you ask a question and your subconscious responds by guiding your fingers to direct that thingamajig arrow so it points to letters, thus answering the question to your satisfaction.

I believe that any other explanation is pure bullcrap.