Ouija boards, also known as spirit boards, talking boards, or séance boards, have been a popular part of séances since Victorian times. Ouija boards are usually wooden and have the letters of the alphabet, numbers zero to nine, and the words "yes," no," and "goodbye" marked on them. There's also often a sun and moon symbol.

From a skeptic's point of view, a Ouija board is nothing more than a perfect demonstration of the ideomotor effect. Ouija boards work on the basis of this subconscious behavior. It's the same principle that makes dowsing rods swing, and it manifests itself in the subtle subconscious movement of the planchette as it spells out the words the participants of the séance are willing it to.

You can use a Ouija board on your own, but you may find it hard to get any response from the spirits, so it's best to find at least one...