Ouija Board

The japanese version of the Ouija Board is called Kokkuri San.

Two girls, sitting across from each other over a paper scrawled with the hiragana alphabet grasp a pen between them, chanting the name softly. “Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, tell me, when is the date of my death?”

The question hangs in the air as the pen slowly begins to move, spelling the answer out on the sheet of paper. The rest of the group watches in breathless anticipation.

Kokkuri-san, Japan’s answer to the Ouija board, has graced schoolrooms across the country for years with answers from the beyond.

In this game, the hiragana alphabet is drawn on a piece of paper, and two people hold a pen, ballpoint touching the paper, in the center.

Closing their eyes, they ask “Kokkuri-san” a question, and the spirit is supposed to move the pen in an answer.

According to a Japanese friend, much like Ouija, most people realize that the other person is moving the pen purposefully, but everyone makes their dutiful squeals of “sugoi!” and “kowaii!” anyway.

Also, in line with its Ouija board counterpart, the game has been subject fodder for horror movies such as the aforementioned “Shinsei no Toilet no Hanako-san,” and one called simply “Kokkuri-san.”

Ouija Board Rules

1. Never insult the spirit. If you are rude or disrespectful, it can attract evil spirits.

2. Never play alone. When you’re alone, you are vulnerable and evil spirits may try to possess you.

3. Never use the board if you are sick, drunk, depressed or mentally disabled. When you are in a weakened state, you are vulnerable to possession.

4. Do not force anyone to use the ouija board against their will.

5. Never use the ouija board in a cemetery or any location where a murder or an unnatural death has occurred. It could cause terrible manifestations.

6. Never trust a spirit. Evil spirits will use lies and false flattery to gain your confidence and trick you.

7. Do not ask questions about God.

8. Do not ask when you’re going to die.

9. If you encounter a spirit called ZOZO, stop playing. Many people have had bad experiences with this evil spirit.

10. If the planchette moves to the four corners of the board it means you have contacted an evil spirit.

11. If the planchette keeps moving in a figure 8, it means the spirit is trying to gain control of the board.

12. If the planchette begins to count down through the letters of the alphabet or the numbers it means the spirit is trying to escape from the board.

13. Never let the planchette fall or fly off the board. It could allow an evil spirit to escape.

14. Do not leave the planchette on the board when you’re not using it. This could allow evil spirits to enter the world.

15. When you’re finished, the board MUST be closed down properly. Say “Goodbye” and do not leave until the spirit moves the planchette to “GOODBYE”.

16. Do Not burn the board. There have been cases where people burned the board and:
(A) it later turned up in perfect condition,
(B) they heard an unearthly scream,
(C) it released an evil spirit or
(D) the board wouldn’t burn at all.

17. To properly dispose of a ouija board, you need to break it into seven pieces, pour holy water on it and then bury it.

18. Do not become addicted. Evil spirits may try to make you dependent on the board in order to gain control of you.

19. If the ouija board starts freaking you out, stop using it.

20. If you are religious, do not use the ouija board. The Catholic Church warns against it and they have done many exorcisms to cast evil spirits out of people who were possessed through ouija boards.