Our paranormal Youtube channel hadn’t taken off as well as we’d hoped. We had made a dozen or so videos, the biggest one garnering just over a thousand views - hardly the next Ghostly Encounters. Ash was the first to suggest that we try something new to garner more viewers. I wasn’t too keen on the idea, but I wasn’t fond of our viewership either, so I agreed to test it out.
The level of skepticism between our group varied. Aaron was our main camera guy, and definitely one to get scared. I’m not sure of what he was scared of, for he didn’t seem to believe in any of it, yet he yelped each time he heard a scratch or a knock. Ash was always stone-cold when shit hit the fan, but ironically she really did believe in the paranormal. On the other hand, me and Matt were your average spook-nerds, or slightly edgier adrenaline junkies, hellraised by Pinhead, and baptized by Pennywise the Clown.
We had planned to do a series regarding the most well known techniques to communicate with the spirit world, and that’s how we ended up with…
Top FIVE ways to *see* and talk to REAL GHOSTS (#5 = OUIJA!!)
We pulled the five subjects out of our asses, pretending like there was some statistic which had measured the frequency of ghost-hunting techniques. Ouija boards seemed like the perfect place to start - everyone knows what they are, they’re sold in toy shops, and Hollywood really loves the ouija-trope in horror movies.
Five videos were made. None of them were published. I’m the only one left of our group, and I want to share this story as a warning. If you open a door, you never know what you’ll find on the other side.
- #5 OUIJA -
We got ourselves one of those cheap, mass-produced boards from the store, as well as some candles for ambiance. The board looked great; it had fake stains, old-timey letters, the sun and moon printed on the corners - the whole shabang. For filming purposes, Aaron’s place was the perfect fit, although he wasn’t too happy about it - I mean, we were gonna do a ouija board session at his house. After some convincing, he relented, mostly glad that he wouldn’t have to lug his equipment around.
One Friday we gathered at his house in the evening, ready to shoot. We had pizza beforehand, talking through how we’d shoot the video, going through some lines we wanted to incorporate. A little before midnight we sat down around the board, lit a few candles around us, and placed the planchette on top of the board. Aaron stood further away, readying the first shot. Ash sat to my left, and Matt to my right. We nodded to each other, and then looked up at Aaron, who gave a big thumbs-up behind the camera. Below is a transcript of the footage shot that night. For context, my name is Micah.
-
Micah: We’re gathered here tonight to try out our first method of talking to those beyond: the ouija board.
Ash: It’s almost midnight, we’ve got our board, planchette, and ceremonial candles all ready. Once we hit midnight, we will begin our first trial of contact. We have three people for the seance, which should be enough energy for us to find at least one spirit we can talk to.
Micah: And remember to like and subscribe, and tell us in the comments section your experience with ouija boards.
[video cuts]
Micah: It’s officially midnight. Time to begin. Now let’s put our index fingers on the planchette. Everyone ready?
Matt: Ready.
Ash: Let’s do this.
[Matt, Micah, and Ash place their fingers on the wooden planchette]
Micah: Is there anyone here with us?
[silence]
Micah: Is there anyone here who would like to talk to us? We come in peace.
[silence]
Matt: Really? We come in peace? I thought we were the ones who should be afraid.
[video cuts]
Ash: Let’s try this again. Is there anyone here?
[planchette moves over ‘yes’]
[Aaron gasps]
Ash: Can you tell us your name?
[silence]
Matt: Are you friendly?
[planchette moves over ‘no’]
Ash: What do you want?
[planchette begins spelling]
Micah: L… I… F, E. Life. Is that what you want?
Matt: I’m sorry to tell you, but if you’re dead, we can’t bring you back to life.
[Ash chuckles]
[planchette begins to move]
Micah: What’s it doing?
Matt: It’s just circling.
Ash: No, it’s more like an infinity symbol. I’ve tattooed a bunch of those.
[planchette begins gaining speed]
Matt: Or just an eight. Wait. Cut. Who’s moving it? I don’t know if any of our viewers care about a planchette taking laps.
Micah (looking at Matt): I thought it was you.
Matt: Ash?
Ash: I swear it’s not me.
[video cuts]
Micah: How long are we going to keep our fingers on it? It’s been spinning for like five minutes straight. If it’s not answering our questions and just going around, maybe we should quit and try again.
Matt: Yeah. Let’s do that. Ash?
Ash: Sure. Spirit, we say goodbye unto thee. We thank you for your time, and wish for you to leave now.
[planchette spins faster]
Ash: Goodbye!
[planchette moves over ‘no’ and stops]
Micah: We said GOOD-BYE!
Ash: I did not say goodbye.
Matt: But you just did. Right before Micah.
Ash’taroth: I do not want to say goodbye.
Micah: Ash, you okay?
[video cuts]
[camera points at asphalt, crickets sound in the distance]
Aaron: What the FUCK? What’s wrong with her?
Micah: I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t fucking know. Matt, you okay?
Matt: Yeah, yeah… I’m fine.
Aaron: No, SERIOUSLY, what happened? One moment she’s saying goodbye and the next she’s floating in the fucking air?
Micah: We need to go back there.
Aaron: We’re calling the police first. I’m not going back there without someone holding a fucking gun.
Micah: Jesus, Aaron! What do you want, someone to fucking shoot her?
Matt: That wasn’t her.
Aaron: Matt’s right. She doesn’t crawl on fucking ceilings, does she? Ash doesn’t spontaneously crack open her jaws and open up her mouth like that, does she? Or is that just something she does when I’m not around?
Micah: Fine, let’s call the cops.
Aaron: I’m sorry. I’m just… fucked. I hope she’s alright.
[video ends]
-
Ash, or whatever had become of her, had chased us out of the house. She crawled and bit and snarled. We ran as fast as we could. That’s all we could do and feel at the moment, just run. The cops took us in for questioning. Her jaw and body were found in different rooms. They said that her body looked like it had been dead for weeks.
Her family held a closed casket funeral three weeks later. Her dad almost banned us from the ceremony, but her mother insisted we’d be there. It was the first time after her death we’d all been together again.
It was Aaron’s idea to continue the series.
To honor her, as he said.
To try and reach her.