Something of an urban legend now, supposedly kids all across the country have, while playing with Ouija boards, contacted a demonic entity named “Zozo”. If this is even true—and it may well not be, as all existing evidence is purely anecdotal—then it’s easily explained away by the Ideomotor Effect. In case you’re unfamiliar with this term, a nutshell definition should suffice. As it applies to Ouija boards, the Ideomotor Effect explains how a person, a “player”, can move the planchette without being aware he or she is moving the planchette. This also explains things such as table tipping. Frustratingly for people who subscribe to the paranormal, planchettes in Ouija boards tend not to move unless there’s a human hand touching them. There’s also a reason why Ouija boards are so smooth, and there is felt placed upon the “feet” of the planchette. It’s all to facilitate the ease of it sliding. In laboratories, scientists have demonstrated that, when the felt is removed, the planchettes tend not to move at all. The Ideomotor Effect isn’t strong enough in most cases to overcome the drag.
So let’s say you’re a teen who’s heard this urban legend and then you decide to play with an Ouija board. Already having the whole “Zozo” thing in mind, the Ideomotor Effect could easily make the planchette spell out the word. That’s the Occam’s Razor definition. Does that mean there is never anything paranormal involved in a session with an Ouija board? Would I pull out a board and attempt to reach out and touch Zozo? Nuh-uh. Hell-to-the-no.
I believe in the Ideomotor Effect. And I believe that, in most cases, the phenomena associated with an Ouija board can be explained by the Ideomotor Effect at work. In most cases. Most. An Ouija board’s reception may be as lousy as Verizon’s these days, but why risk it?
