The Horror Within

Ouija

The lights were switched off and we were seated at the roundtable. Set on the table was an ancient, dusty Ouija board surrounded by slow-burning wax candles dripping hot wax. The candles gave off an eerie orange glow.

"Ready?" Susan asked from across the table.

"Ready," Melissa and I replied in unison.

Melissa looked uncomfortable, she was eyeing the Ouija board nervously. She looked like she wanted to say something. Susan noticed her too.

"What? Are you scared? It's too late. We have to start," Susan said.

"Okay," Melissa said choking back tears.

Honestly, I also felt a little scared. Okay, not a little scared, terrified.

Susan was the first to put two fingers on the planchette. I also put two fingers on the planchette and Melissa reluctantly put her fingers on it too, her hand trembling with fear.

The Ouija Board was simple. On the top right corner, there was a picture of a mysterious, smiling moon and the word NO. On the top left corner, there was a picture of a joyful, smiling sun and the word YES. In the center were letters from A to Z. Below that was a line of numbers labeled from 1 to 9. Finally, at the bottom was the word GOODBYE.

Playing the game was also simple. One person in the group called out to spirits and the entity would be summoned. That same person asked questions and the planchette everyone was touching would move to the letters to form answers. The planchette could also move to the words YES and NO. But the most important part was to say goodbye at the end of the Ouija Board session. Or else, the Ouija Board session would remain open and the doorway to the Other Side would be wide open, and spirits, demons, and all kinds of entities could enter the real world.

"Zach, speak," Susan said.

"Me?" I replied.

"Yes,"

"O-Okay if you say so,"

I took in a deep breath and cleared my mind.

"We are calling out to the Other Side. If you hear us, please come to us. We would like to ask a few questions. Is anyone there?" I said. At first, everything was still and silent. We waited for about a minute. Still, there was still no sign of any movement. We patiently waited for another minute. Then the planchette started to move and it guided our fingers to the word YES. A chill went down my spine. Was this really happening? Was Susan moving the planchette? To make sure I decided to ask another question.

"Thank you for coming. Would you mind telling us your name?" I said and I managed to suppress a smile.

The planchette moved swiftly to spell out a word.

G - O - D - Z - E - I - K -L

Godzeikl. It was a peculiar name. Melissa whimpered. She was scared.

"Hello, Godzeikl," I continued. Then I did not know what to say. My brain was whirring full speed but nothing came to my brain. Before I could say anything, Susan spoke.

"Are you a good spirit or a bad spirit? Say yes if you are good and say no if you're bad," she bravely said. She broke the rules of the game; only one person was supposed to speak. The planchette stayed still. I knew this was not going to work. But, surprisedly our fingers were once again guided to YES. I guess anyone could speak.

"So, you're a good spirit. Can you show us any sign that you're here?" she continued without hesitating. It sounded like she had planned it all out. She was making sure if one of us was moving the planchette to freak Melissa out. Sometimes, Susan could be really smart. I watched the planchette very closely - even for the slightest movement. But, I was looking in the wrong place because the painting on the wall beside us, slowly started to sway from side to side. In alarm, Melissa removed her hand from the planchette and gasped. Godzeikl was really here.

The door behind Susan that I remember locking before the session flew open exposing the dark hallway. The darkness yawned before us and I was starting to imagine a frightening shadow emerging from the tenebrosity. I shuddered and without noticing, I removed my hand from the planchette too. An eerie silence hung in the air.

"W-we should get out of here," Melissa whispered in a shaky voice, breaking the silence.

"No! We should finish the game or the Ouija session will remain unfinished!" Susan reminded us. With that, we gathered around the board again and put our fingers on the planchette.

"Godzeikl, will you leave?" I timidly asked. The planchette stayed still for a very long time as if Godzeikl was thinking. But finally, the planchette moved to somewhere I did not expect. It had moved to NO.

"Oh no, this is bad," Melissa said tears welling in her eyes.

"No! If Godzeikl doesn't leave, we will make him leave," Susan courageously said. Now, this made Godzeikl mad.

The Ouija board was flung off the table by invisible hands onto the floor breaking into countless wooden splinters. Susan shrieked. We all stood up and went for the door. But, it roughly slammed shut with an earsplitting bang. I tugged at the shiny brass handle but the door firmly stayed shut.

That was when the candles flickered out.

The next day, three police cars were parked in front of a house on the corner of a shady street shrouded with tall oaks. Bright yellow crime scene tape was surrounding the house, sectioning it off from the rest of the neighborhood.

In that very house was where three dead bodies of two girls and a boy were discovered...