We accidentally summoned the Devil
And it was at the HUB
With Halloween around the corner, we thought we’d share the tale behind why we have to sleep with our lights on every night. We want to tell you about our most recent encounter with the other side, but first, let us start at the beginning.
It all started last year when we decided it’d be fun to make some dead friends via the Ouija board, after Megan received one from her mother for Christmas. Thanks Mom.
Our inspiration: the unsolved murder of Betsy Aardsma in the Pattee stacks in the 70s. So, we decided to take it to the library to talk to the infamous student. As we walked into the stacks that night, there was an announcement over the intercom noting the closing of the stacks.
Plan foiled, so we took it to the next best place: the HUB. On the third floor at three in the morning, we found a quiet area for all of us to gather around and talk to the dead.
We talked to a deceased football player, who truly wooed us, Megan even wanting to date him. As his story continued (we’d been talking for about a half hour), it became clear something wasn’t right. When we asked if he was lying, it said yes.
It continued to move across every letter of the board (we thought it was trying to be “funny” but according to a Google search, it means an evil spirit is trying to escape LOL).
With those two facts, a sudden silence came over the room. We all freaked out and left immediately. All scared and half crying (and one of us throwing up) (Megan) we returned home. Our faces pale and bodies feeling empty and heartless, we stayed up until sunrise watching rom-coms. It was the only thing we could do.
Needless to say, we threw out the board and tried to forget. It was hard to sleep for at least a week. And, worst of all, Megan hasn’t eaten Doritos since.
Weeks went by and we had the urge again. This time, we made our own.
Below are some of the rules for the Ouija board that we found most important and relevant, according to popular opinion on the Internet. Keep in mind that before playing for the first time, we had no idea that any of these rules existed, so when we saw the planchette move to the four corners, in a figure 8 motion, and to every letter of the alphabet, we were clueless that we were apparently quite casually talking to god damn Satan himself.
- Do no let the planchette go through all the number or letters; the spirit is trying to release itself.
- Always say goodbye or the conversation is NOT over.
- If the glass starts to make a figure eight pattern, stop it immediately. This is a demon trying to escape. Probably Zozo.
- Zozo is the Ouija demon king. If a figure eight pattern is drawn, or more simply spelled out “ZOZO”, you are talking to the spirit.
- And of course, always be polite. Can’t hurt.
At home, we talked to the same entity that we spoke to in the HUB, getting to know it better. We broke most of the aforementioned rules that night. The figure eight appeared. Then, the board spelled ZOZO.
It repeatedly spelled out phrases such as “repent,” “free me,” and just for fun, said it wanted my roommate’s soul (was not the kindest of souls, no pun intended).
I know you’re thinking this can’t be real. So were we. So, we even went as far as to blindfold two of our friends to make sure nobody was moving the planchette on their own.
To our surprise, it spelled everything out perfectly, including specific details the two players had never heard of or known about prior to playing. Our fears were intensified the next day when one told us over breakfast how he saw a figure standing in the corner of his room the night before. We stopped playing for good, or so we thought.
As the summer rolled around and the nice weather brought lazy days, especially when you spend a quiet summer in State College, we decided to play again.
It was the same spirit we talked to on occasion, who went by the letter “G”. It told us it was following us, and even liked listening to Megan talk on the radio; she had interned at B94.5 this past summer.
Kody visited home one weekend and his mom pulled him aside one night. Apparently at dinner that night, while he was out, she heard a voice warn her to be careful. Sorry mom.
Upon return, we once again sat in a circle and talked to G. Nothing pleasant came about. The last time we played this year was one for the books.
It pointed out that I was drinking coffee: “Not your usual drink.” It got way too real and we asked if we could say goodbye… the response: “it won’t change anything.”
Then, in a very intense moment, it honestly felt like the spirit was grabbing my arm as the planchette went flying to the end of the board. Remember: if the planchette leaves the board without saying goodbye, it could be released into the real world.
I had to hold on to it with all of my strength to keep it on the board. I kid you not- Kody’s eyes then rolled behind his head. I screamed bloody murder and threw the board out the window. It haunts me to this day, and I still blame my sleep paralysis on it.
Now, with Halloween quickly approaching, and for this journalistic purpose, we decided to try to talk to Betsy again, one last time. We ventured back to the library, homemade Ouija in tow, and pressed our luck.
The stacks were quiet per usual, but still stirred with students studying for midterms and catching up on Netflix. We found where the murder happened and plopped down.
After our usual opening ritual, we tried to get in contact with the deceased. The glass moved slowly across the board, and straight to goodbye. Whatever it was did not want to speak to us.
We then tried it at home; the scene of the crime. There was no response yet again.
Although we dreamt of levitation, head spinning, and eyes turning back inside of our heads, the ouija board had something else in store for us: silence. I don’t know if I am grateful for this, or if the silence is a way of saying we’ve probably already summoned Zozo and all of his demonic friends and we’re as possessed as the little girl in the ‘Exorcist’ screaming “Your mother sucks cock in Hell!”
Oh well. Till next time, Zozo.