Ouija

The Swamp Road Chronicles^®

"Ouija"

Dear Swamp Road Chronicles,

Here is the dumbest story you have ever heard, probably: I was at a party, it was a fall-time outside party with bonfire, hotdogs on a stick, apple cider, you get the idea. We were sitting on bales of hay around the bonfire and someone told a ghost story. Soon one person after another told about local legends and ghosts they had experienced personally or stories about a relative who had an eerie thing happen to them. A girl from Kentucky told a story that I still find disturbing about a "Crown of Feathers" found in a saintly deceased mother's pillow.

Another girl said that she had a Ouija board in her car; she had just bought it that day in preparation for a Halloween get-together she had planned. She asked if the group would like for her to get it; of course, being a bunch of dumb kids we all said, "Sure!"

So, we sat around that campfire and those who had experience with one of those things ran the show, so to speak. They had no luck. The little arrow thing didn't move, no spirits spoke to us, no one floated into the air, or vomited green pea soup (Thank Goodness!). It was a dud.

Then I, yes, I (Dumb A that I am) suggested that we go to Swamp Road, which wasn't far away, and try it there. If there were spirits to be found that night they would be found there, I told everyone. Remember, this is a bunch of high school kids mostly, so, yes, about six of us went there. Dumb, huh?

I will never forget how it looked that night. There was a lot of patchy fog floating just above the ground and there was a very slight breeze, so the fog was drifting slowly across the ground. High in the sky the moon was completely full and shining brightly. It would have been the perfect setting for a horror film.

Well, we found an old, short, dirt driveway near the middle of the swamp and we got out and sitting on the ground, we formed a circle. The Ouija board was placed in the center of our circle and some girl began to lead us in the words you are supposed to say in preparation: "As friends we gather, hearts are true, spirits near, we call to you."

I swear to you, that board began to rock violently, back and forth. Everyone touching the board and arrow thing looked confused, startled, and then, scared. They let go of it and drew their hands away. The board kept moving about on its own. No one was touching it. It was not a trick, I saw it with my own eyes. All at once that arrow pointer thing shot straight up into the night and out of sight. I didn't know teenaged boys could scream like little girls, but that night I saw and heard it for myself.

Everyone got back in the cars and left as fast as they could. Back then, I thought, and probably most people think the same way, that Ouija boards and spirits are just fun and games, but if you had seen the violence and sheer force that acted upon that board that night you would think a lot differently.

I want to warn you, there is great power for evil in those boards. Do not mess with them. Do NOT have one in your home. If you do, you may open a door to something so evil and dangerous that you could be risking your body and your soul. And, for God's sake, NEVER take one to Swamp Road.

As submitted by Greta Miller 4-28-21 Greencastle, Indiana

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