04.09
A few weeks ago a poll was posted to see how people viewed paranormal contact by asking if EVP was safer than using a Ouija board or conducting a seance. I was a little surprised to find that the majority of our voters said that EVP is safer.
A lot of groups and tv shows seem to tell people to “never use a ouija board” and some will go a little farther to include seances. Then these same groups will conduct EVP sessions and even suggest that the clients try recording themselves.
For a while PPS was among these groups, not necessarily recommending that clients record EVPs, but we never discouraged it either. We also took the stance that since there are so many conflicting theories about Ouija boards, we thought it would be best to play it safe and advised against their use.
But in all honesty all of these are just tools used to contact the other side and all tools can be dangerous in the hands of someone who doesn’t know how to use it properly. So the new official stance of PPS regarding EVP, Ouija boards and Seances are that if you have never been trained to use these tools properly and are unaware of the consequences then stay away.
I too, was surprised at the widespread outcome of the poll. Although there are many who say that the Ouija Board is dangerous, I find that most people view it as innocuous and that they “wouldn’t sell it in ‘Toy’s R Us’ if it were dangerous”. The truth of the matter is as Rex stated; There is little difference between sitting at home with a Ouija, or a digital recorder. The very act of asking for something to either move the planchette, or to record their voice is attempting to open a channel to the “other side”.
The members of our team are aware that we tread on unknown ground in every investigation. We have accepted the risks and put the potential rewards above them. Yet we take many precautions before performing such tasks. We always say a prayer asking God for protection from malevolent spirits. We never provoke the potential entity in an attempt to ‘get a response’, and we generally treat them with the respect due to another living being.
We don’t want to appear to be elitists by advising the general public to not enter into spirit communication, but we would be negligent by not advising of the inherent dangers of such.
I believe much of the stigma against Ouija Board vs. EVP recordings is due to movies and school age slumber parties. Most people when they think of a Seance or a Ouija Board think of a con artist in a turban or a bunch of giggling high school girls looking for a thrill. People today trust technology; they rely on it everyday. It would only make sense that they would trust technology to prove to them the unknown. I can not say that I was all too surprised in the results.
This is the 21st Century, and most people are far too “comfortable” with their high tech toys and gadgets. I would have been shocked if the survey results showed that most people thought that ouiji boards were safer. We all grew up with, and are constantly bombarded by Hollywood portrayals of ouiji boards as nothing less then portals to hell raising doom and grotesque slasher type demons. Although we might hesitate to admit it, we are none the less still victims of our own technology. All research tools are no better then the minds of those using them.