I recall going next door to Miss Annette’s house the next day. I sat at the dining room table while she prepared to make loose tea in a mug with Mickey Mouse on it.
I talked to her a bit about my job and how grateful I was to be on vacation. I was very attracted to her as a sisterly figure, and now that she knew I could use the Ouija Board, she seemed willing to help me understand it. She had used hers since she was around 13.
She and her friends got a Ouija board as a gift at a party, and so they decided to take it to a graveyard.
Typical kids are doing usual things they played with it until fire sparks shot up out of nowhere chasing them out of the graveyard, or so the story goes.
She left the board in the cemetery and then forgot about it. The next day when she got home from school, she noticed a Ouija board sitting on her bed. She was angry and yelled at her older brother, thinking he put it there. He did not. She asked if any of her friends had brought it over, they had not.
Before my experiences, I would have questioned the validity of these accusations. Now, as a fully formed adult of forty, I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that I believe the story.
That day we sat there while she had me sip all of the tea until there was nothing except leaves that were now sticking to my tongue and making me choke. What sort of diabolical practice was this? Finally, she laughed and said I was done and that I needed to put my cup upside down on my head. I looked at her what?
“Not directly on top just tip it upside down and rotate the cup three times and then set it upside down on the saucer.”
I looked at her like she was mad. I did it because I was curious to find out what she would tell me.
Finally, it was time for her to inspect the cup. Inside it, I recall her seeing a big black cat, and I laughed because she was referring to my cat, Panther. Then she said there was a large letter B in the center of the cup and nothing at all about “Ryan,” the guy I was really into at this time. Nothing about Ryan, the guy that had me conjuring spirits to see if he cared about me even just a little.
She looked at me, smiling, “You are going to be with someone new. His name has a B in it.” I sat and thought for a long time, and I couldn’t think of anyone with a B in their name beside some random people I worked with. “You will meet him on a plane. He will have hazel eyes, and you won’t be able to get rid of him.”
I was quite mad at this moment and very disappointed. I thanked Annette for the reading, and she and I hung out for a bit, and I don’t recall everything we talked about, I just knew that I was annoyed that I didn’t hear what I wanted to hear.
Fun fact, present day, my husband’s last name starts with a B. I would not meet him for another five long years. Even when I met him, I wasn’t thinking anything remotely spiritual. He was a cute young bartender who bought me drinks all night. Within two weeks of our meeting, he was living with me in my parent’s basement apartment. We never even dated for a second, we just were together. We did not meet on a plane, but he does have hazel- green eyes, and so far I’m stuck with him!
I didn’t believe what she was saying at the time. I thought she was way off. I have since had multiple conversations with her since about it, and we always have a good laugh.
The rest of my trip, I continued to use the Ouija Board until the end of my journey came. I was disappointed that I had to leave the board in Florida. It was not mine, and my niece had seemed very excited about her new toy. When she saw how excited I was that it worked, I knew she would want to continue to test it out more I was sure.
The last night I was there, I picked up the Ouija Board from the box on my nightstand and took it out.
“I guess this is the last night we will be chatting until I come back later this summer,” I said, holding onto the planchette.
THIS IS NOT GOOD-BYE
FIND A WAY
It spelled out the words so quickly now that I understood what it was saying before it spelled out the words. I cannot explain the connection to this otherworldly thing.
“I can’t exactly; you don’t belong to me.” I laughed.
It went to goodbye.
I left it on the nightstand, and the next day, I was grabbing my suitcases to head off to the airport when my eleven-year-old niece came downstairs with the ouija board box.
“I wanted to give this to you. You seemed to like it. I don’t use it that much, plus Lauren has one we can play with.”
I stood there and looked at the board.
The ghost had chosen its new owner. He made it happen.
I was stunned and at a loss for words, but I was so happy that I was going to be able to take it with me.
So that is a little background of how I came to possess my very first spirit board.
My tale now gets a bit weirder. (If that is even possible) If you are still with me, I thank you for reading this far.
When I got home, it was the day before I had to go to work. There was not a lot of time to spend worrying about the board, so I unpacked my things, making sure to hide my new friend under my bed. My mom was very religious to a point, and if she had seen me with a spirit board in my possession, she might have thrown it out.
The next morning I was up unusually early for work, and at the time, I did not have a car of my own, so my mom drove me to work. I was in my room fully dressed, and to kill a few minutes, I decided to lock my bedroom door and pull out the dirty secret from under my bed.
The feeling of excitement seemed to override the genuine belief that something was immediately off. I placed my hand on the planchette and said my usual Hello Nome.
Then it did something weird. It moved very slowly and rigid so that I could see every single letter it was spelling out to me.
E V I L C A L L ME EVIL NOME.
Ordinary people would have thrown the board away at that time and never looked back, but I didn’t seem to think that was so odd. I recall laughing a little, and then I got a little uneasy.
MY NAME IS NOT NOME.
“Well, what is your new name?” I asked, thinking it was just a simple game.
CALL ME EVIL H
I said, “How did you come to be a spirit?” I felt like I needed to see what it would mean if it were a new spirit, it would tell me, whereas the sullen but kind NOME never wanted to talk about death at all.
MY MOTHER PUSHED ME DOWN THE STAIRS AT 13 I DIED A VIRGIN
I nervously laughed not expecting what it said to me. Then I heard my mom scream for me to come she was ready, and now I was running late.
I put the board away, thinking I would have to try again later, but now I was intrigued.
KB HURST & Her Menagerie 