If there really is an afterlife, I'll bet the best way to contact it is through a plastic, mass-produced board game from Milton Bradley! --Mad Magazine

A Ouija board is commonly used in divination and spiritualism, often by friends out to have some fun. Sometimes, users become convinced they've been contacted by the spirit world. The board usually has the letters of the alphabet inscribed on it, along with words such as 'yes,' 'no,' 'good-bye,' and 'maybe.' A planchette, a small 3-legged device with a hole in the middle or a pointer of some sort, is manipulated by those using the board. However, users often feel the planchette is moving of its own accord rather than responding to their own unconscious muscle movements (ideomotor action). The users ask a "spirit" a question and the pointer slides until it stops over "yes" or "no" or a letter on the board. Sometimes, the selections "spell out" an answer to a question asked.

Some users believe that paranormal or supernatural forces are at work in spelling out Ouija board answers. Skeptics believe that those using the board either consciously or unconsciously move the pointer to what is selected. To prove this, simply try it blindfolded some time Have an unbiased bystander take notes on what words or letters are selected. Usually, the results will be unintelligible.

The movement of the planchette is not due to spirits but to unconscious movements by those controlling the pointer. The same kind of unconscious movement is at work in such things as dowsing and facilitated communication.