Ouija boards, psychics, etc.

Didn't someone in the past do that? Was it Houdini? It rings a bell. As far as I remember, he never did make contact with the correct password.

It's not nonsense I've been to mediums quite a few times and some of them even give names of people that are in your life or have been in your life. I went a few months ago and a medium actually wrote down the names of two people and she was correct. it wasn't just giving me their names it was telling me my connection with them.

I think they are dangerous. I meddled with one as a stupid teenager. A friend and myself played with one for weeks, and odd things started to happen, a horrible smell developed one Sunday morning, it was as if something had been buried and dugup, my mum went bonkers! I went to my friends and the same smell was in her home, her mum went mad too, I have never touched it since, and tell people to leave well.alone.

Ouija Boards are IMHO very dangerous - we don't know what we may unleash, for the same reason I never dabbled in Drugs - I like to have some control over what is happening.

My DD often goes to see a Psychic & she is convinced that she is genuine, me I'm sceptical but then it's not me spending my money.

I firmly believe there are lots of things we don't understand - but it each to their own. I am not a practicing Christian in that I rarely go to Church but now I am settled within my new area I will probably start to attend my local Methodist Church (I was brought up as a Methodist although I have attended other Denomination Services) But Mediums/Psychics & Ouija Boards are out for me

My late husband was a psychology lecturer. He used to conduct an experiment with the second year students to demonstrate self-deception and suggestibility and how this correlated with personality. It involved a ouija board game in which the ouija board was 'wired' for movement and the whole thing was filmed from above. Some of the students were deliberately pushing the glass, and others were not aware of doing so, but could clearly be detected to move the glass by the apparatus and on film. Even when this was revealed, about half of the subjects were convinced that the glass was moving under supernatural influence and about half thought it was faked. This correlated very nicely with certain personality traits. He used to complete the Ethics form required by the university as follows: Risks of this experiment "Eternal Hell and Damnation". I think that ouija stuff is silly b****cks as my husband's experiment showed, but then, as it also showed, approximately half of the population will believe it is supernatural shenanigans regardless of evidence to the contrary. OP - I think your friend is very suggestible!

Did it quite a lot many years ago, non of us took it seriously but I'd never do it now.
I would still llove to know how that glass moved though.

I saw a psychic a couple of months ago. She had an assistant who wrote down what was said and gave it to each client.

As I sat down she asked me "who is B, is he your father, he's talking to me. M is your mother, she is with him, "

She said " your son is very clever, he lives abroad and has fabulous ginger hair and a ginger beard.

She said "you are with your lovely second husband called ..MrCoolgran, your first husband was mentally ill and has now died very suddenly"

And much more..... ie. S had to leave you, her cancer was too much, she's here now and says hi."

I can't explain it, but it didn't feel sinister or wrong. It felt reassuring and comfortable.

who is B, is he your father

That's basic cold reading. From your answer she would have moved to whichever relative you said it was.

Cold readers can tell a huge amount from the clients age, body language, dress etc. For example if the client is elderly there is every chance that she had a busband/father/brother called William or George or Fred. Younger client the same names could be father/grandfather.

There's even a possibility that they're not relatives but you know someone of those names.

Look at these Derren Browne recordings. He cold reads so convincingly, it's amazing.

www.bing.com/videos/search?q=derren+brown+cold+reading&&view=detail&mid=6B26CF2094C0D5CEC9F36B26CF2094C0D5CEC9F3&FORM=VRDGAR

www.bing.com/videos/search?q=derren+brown+cold+reading&&view=detail&mid=179E253E29E1FEDF590B179E253E29E1FEDF590B&FORM=VRDGAR

They move position very smoothly if their tentative cold reading doesn't get a reaction. The hints go from very general to prgressivle more detailed, until they have a "fact" which strikes a cord.

There is a skill to it, but what they are tapping into is not the "other world" it is the world inside the client's head. They may not even be consciously aware that they are doing it. Some people who wouldn't dream of claiming to be a medium are very good at this, and it improves with practice. They can meet a stranger and chat, and in a few minutes they have their life history.

Here is a version. Imagine yourself talking to a medium who has a warm friendly face and speaks directly to you, looking into your eyes as she does so.
"I am getting a G here. Do you know anyone whose name starts with a G?"
(Rack your brains, now. Think hard. You want to be helpful, and you must know ^someone - Graham? Gordon? Gracie? )^
You - "Ummmm, no - . . ."
"It could be a C"
(Think again. Don't know any C's either)
You - "No . . ."
"Did you know anyone in the past whose name began with C or G?"
(Well there was Uncle Charlie who we used to see a lot of, until he died of lung cancer when you were about six)
You - "Oh it could be Charlie. That was a long time ago.
"I think - yes - it is a Charlie. You were very young."
You - "Just a child."
"He was - it isn't clear - a brother? uncle?"
You - "Yes! Uncle Charlie!"
"He is saying . . . something about . . . Oh! was he ill? "
You - "Yes! very ill!"
"He says all is well with him now. And you are not to be upset, or about your mother either."

Etc Etc. You write the script that the medium gives back to you, with insertions that are suggested to them by what has gone before, and by what you react to, either verbally or by your expression.

That's exactly how it's done by cold readers.

There are some fantastic cold reading scripts online - you'll see how you can personally identify with them even though they're not aimed at you

but Ouija - I'm watching The Exorcism of Emily Rose on telly (great film..) and what's striking is that the "possession" is real, it's real whether its deamons, or spirits, or psychosis, or suggestively, or some other medical cause. - It's "real" whether you believe in spirits or not. - it's the same for ouija, they're real and dangerous, you don't need to believe in spirits to believe that, they still do harm even if the experiences people have after them are due to vulnerablity and susceptibility rather than spirits.

Nobody should pooh-pooh it

It is mucking around with your susceptiblity, whether it is cold readers or demons behind it prducing "answers" out of the hat. It is like taking mind-altering drugs - dangerous because altering back again gets increasingly more difficult as you are drawn in.

I agree that ouija boards are best left well alone. We experimented with them as young daft teenagers. The last time we tried was in the quiet room of our local catholic youth club which had a big mural of Our Lady on the wall. There was six or seven of us around the table and about ten lounging about looking on. Me- in the interests of science and authenticity-suggested we ask a question that only the asker..my mate Potter lol..knew. They would tell another person ie me what the answer was and neither was to touch the glass. Sure enough it started to move and we asked 'what's Potter's gran's name?'. The glass rapidly whizzed over to M..A..R..and just as it touched the Y a blood curdling scream rent the air and someone yelled 'the picture! The picture's lit up!!' It was probably comical to see us all scrambling, shrieking, for the door but we never ever dabbled after that. And yes..Potter's gran was called Mary...

That cured you all! But how many of those gathered in that Catholic youth club had grandmothers called Mary? Not exactly the least likely answer to the question - and did anyone waste any time checking to see whether the statue really had lit up?

Fair comment Elegran but i have to say we were mostly non Catholics so that would have lengthened the odds a bit i suppose. And really there was no way of checking if the mural had lit up other than believe the girls who saw it simultaneously. So no solid proof but the atmosphere and jolt of fear gave us enough of a scare to never mess around again. And older and wiser and MUCH more cynical as i am now there's still that arcane superstitious sense of leave well alone..unless it's under lab conditions with bright lights and lots of people around of course lol!

Please don't touch this. Look at Ben Alexander's site ASP MINISTRIES. He was very much involved in the occult & escaped from it. I met him. Believe me there is a spirit world good & bad.

It’s very clever cold reading. I watched some experiments where it was shown that we make a choice before we are even aware of it.

(check out Through The Wormhole on Youtube)

The brain, with all it’s stored information about your life, makes a choice before the choice reaches your conscious awareness.

That’s enough time for you to unconsciously react to a question and for them to act on it before you are even aware of your reactions to the question.

They are simple very good readers of people. It’s something you can learn. I have always been able to read people very well and have often been asked if I’m psychic.

Anyone else here ever been asked if they are psychic?

I read somewhere that when stopped by a Gypsy palm reader in the street the writer offered to read the Gypsy's palm. She told her that she was hardworking and apart from working she also had to take care of her home which she shared with her husband and children. This was an awful lot to do and she was always tired. Sadly all her hard work was taken for granted by her husband and children.

The Gypsy was convinced that the writer had 'the gift' but when you read it, it fits most working wives and mothers lol.

(to Ana)

The woman did talk about other matters directly relating to my life - such as that my husband would retire very soon and it would be better for him. This hadn't been on the agenda at all, but happened within the year. She also asked 'Who is **?' The name meant nothing to me, but within six months my daughter had met and subsequently married a man of that name. She described my Mother's appearance and personality accurately; all in all it left this sceptical person a little shaken. All coincidence perhaps?

Rosina I have mentioned my visit to a clairvoyant sometime ago on gransnet. I had never seen this man before and made my appointment by phone only giving my first name. He opened the conversation by saying "your mum tells me that she died in 2002 in a nursing home". (true) and went on to say that she saw that my husband was very supportive to me during her illness (dementia) but was sad to see that after her death that support was withdrawn when he had an affair.He also had a message from my father saying that he had little to do with my upbringing when I was a child and when I passed to the other side we would talk to me about it. (You can imagine that made me go cold). There was also a message from my mother-in-law saying she understood why I didn't visit her much before she died and indicated that she died of cancer of the brain. He described the house that I live in extremely accurately and commented about a difficult friendship. All of this was absolutely true. He did all the talking so I gave him no clues. I can't think of any other way he could have got so much right. For a start, how did he know my mother had died. She could have been waiting for me outside. I am young enough to have a mother who is still alive. It was on my mind for months afterwards and I will certainly not be visiting him again.

You can see the phone number of the person phoning you if you have digital display.
It may not be difficult to get the address either.A lot of info is now 'out there' with the internet.Did a friend encourage you to go Rosina? If so, he may have got info from her, even if she didn't mean to get it.He could have looked up records of deaths of your Surname.There are all sorts of crafty ways of finding things out.

Rosesared The information I have just shared on here is mostly things that are very personal to me, I have only written them because this is an anonymous forum. I am usually quite a private person and haven't discussed them even with close friends (my husbands affair etc) . I can't pretend to know what the answer is but apart from the house I am now living in ,
it all took place sometime ago in another part of the country before we moved here,so there is no one else that could have given him the information. Also it seems an lot of hard work for the £20 that I paid him! As I said I don't know the answers so for now I will keep an open mind.

In that case, perhaps he really did have some psychic powers.

Yes. Why bother going to all that trouble for £20? My suspicion is that there are indeed some extremely good and genuine mediums around but they are very rare. Others may benefit from the reputations of these genuine people. Being human, there will be some 'at it' for entertainment or financial purposes but also some would be mediums who do their best or really believe they're any good.