Ouija boards are moved by spirits
| Ouija boards are moved by spirits | |
|---|---|
| FALSE | |
| "The planchette on a Ouija board is moved by spirits of the dead or other supernatural forces, allowing users to communicate with them." | |
| Domain | Culture, Religion & Society |
| Tactic | Pseudoscience / Junk Science |
| Era | Historical |
| First seen | 1890 |
| Origin | The commercial Ouija board patented in 1890 and sold by the Kennard Novelty Company, which emerged from the American spiritualist movement's interest in contacting the dead |
| Last reviewed | 2026-10-27 |
| Further reading: books on Culture, Religion & Society | |
The claim that Ouija boards are moved by spirits dates to the late 19th century, when spiritualism was popular in the United States. The board, marketed as a "talking board," features letters, numbers and the words "yes" and "no," with a small pointer called a planchette that users rest their fingers on. The planchette appears to move on its own to spell messages. Scientists have explained this as the ideomotor effect: small, unconscious muscle movements guided by users' expectations. Experiments in which users are blindfolded, and the board is secretly rotated, show that the planchette no longer spells coherent messages when users cannot see the letters.
What the evidence shows
- Ideomotor effect. Physiologist William Carpenter described the ideomotor effect in 1852, explaining how expectation can produce involuntary movement. The same effect explains table-turning, dowsing rods and pendulums.
- Blindfold experiments. When users are blindfolded and cannot see the board, the messages become incoherent, indicating that users' own knowledge guides the planchette.
- Experimental research. Studies, including work at the University of British Columbia, have used Ouija boards to explore how unconscious knowledge can influence movement.
- History. The board was sold as a game, and its patent was granted after an attorney reportedly demonstrated that it could spell a known name. Parker Brothers later sold it and Hasbro now owns the brand.
Why it persists
The sensation that the planchette moves independently is genuinely convincing to users, who often sincerely believe they are not moving it. The board has been featured in horror films, which reinforced its mysterious reputation.
Lessons for readers
- Unconscious movement can feel like an external force.
- Testing with controls, such as blindfolds, can reveal the true cause.
- Personal experience can be sincere and still mistaken.
- The same mechanism can explain several apparently mysterious phenomena.
See also
- Statues of Ganesha drank milk in 1995
- Facilitated communication lets nonspeaking people communicate
- Astrology predicts personality and destiny
Sources
- Ray Hyman, "The Mischief-Making of Ideomotor Action," Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine 3, no. 2 (1999).
- Linda Rodriguez McRobbie, "The Strange and Mysterious History of the Ouija Board," Smithsonian, October 27, 2013.