Three candles flickered in the dimly lit basement as smoke from the incense curled around the room. Seven teenagers sat in a circle, each with oil on their palms in an attempt to gain protection. An Ouija board sat between them, and they all watched avidly as they received answers from the afterlife.
Many people enjoy celebrating Halloween. According to CNN, 171 million Americans celebrated Halloween in 2016 alone. Halloween celebrations can include scary movies, festivals, pumpkin carving, and haunted houses. But some people take it a step further. For some, ghosts are not just a fun thing to imagine but something very real. People will even discuss their haunted experiences from time to time.
Senior Jade Walker conducted a seance through use of an Ouija Board in her friend’s home in attempt to contact spirits. She had only done it a few times before and had not gotten much response. Even though she didn’t have high expectations, it soon became her most ‘in her face’ haunting experience yet.
“We began getting answers and quick responses I really wasn’t expecting. I hardly ever get so many answers. I had also seen a few different figures around us. I had spotted one right by us, dark and with a solid outline. I have not seen something so clear before,” Walker said.
The seance was very intense causing Walker to feel emotionally and physically distraught afterwards.
“After we had finished, I felt terrible. I felt like I could get sick, or pass out. It was a big mix of physical reactions for me, and I felt as if I was in a daze for the rest of the night. For the next few days, I was quick to anger and to cry. I felt totally flipped emotionally,” Walker said.
The seance seemed to not only affect her personally, but was also affecting the energy of her house.
“The activity in my house seemed to spike. My dogs were acting stranger, and my mom was feeling like something was watching her too. Her and I were feeling more and more uneasy, while my dad would tell us how our dogs were barking at nonexistent things,” Walker said. “We cleansed the house to see if we could get rid of some of the negative energy, and during the cleansing, my dogs had just started barking before a door had slammed upstairs.”
Since the cleansing, Walker had not felt any other experiences, but mentioned that she was cautious to future haunted events and experiences.