The Ouija Board

On a chilly autumn evening, a group of five adventurous kids gathered at the edge of the small, forgotten cemetery that lay hidden deep within the woods just outside of town. The trees loomed like sentinels, their twisted branches reaching out like skeletal fingers toward the sky. The only light was the pale glow of the crescent moon, casting an eerie pallor upon the moss-covered tombstones.

Among the group was Sarah, the brave and curious leader; Mark, the skeptical jock; Emily, the bookish skeptic; Jake, the quiet but superstitious artist; and Lisa, the enthusiastic believer. They huddled together in a circle, clutching a weathered ouija board they had found in the attic of Sarah’s old, creepy house.

“This is going to be epic,” Lisa whispered, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

Sarah, the one who had initiated the dare, laid the board out on an old mausoleum’s stone slab. “Remember, guys, we’re just having fun. Nothing’s going to happen.”

Mark scoffed, “This is just some silly game. Nothing to be scared of.”

But Jake, who had heard his grandmother’s eerie stories about ouija boards, couldn’t help but feel a shiver crawl down his spine. He was less than thrilled to be participating. Emily, although skeptical, felt a growing unease as well. Despite their reservations, they all placed their trembling fingers lightly on the planchette.

“Is there anyone here?” Sarah asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

For a moment, nothing happened, and they all exchanged uncertain glances. Then, slowly but surely, the planchette began to move. The words spelled out: H-E-L-L-O.

A collective gasp escaped their lips, and they stared at each other, wide-eyed. The atmosphere around them seemed to grow colder and more oppressive.

“Who are you?” Lisa stammered.

The planchette moved again, spelling out: F-R-I-E-N-D.

Jake’s hand trembled as he whispered, “Are you a good spirit?”

The planchette moved in response, spelling out: Y-E-S.

Relief washed over them, and they began to relax. Sarah grinned, “See, guys? It’s just a game.”

But just as they started to calm down, the planchette moved again, spelling out: L-E-A-V-E.

The atmosphere grew heavier, and the wind picked up, rustling the leaves in the nearby trees. They looked at each other in alarm, but curiosity pushed them forward. Sarah asked, “Why do you want us to leave?”

The planchette moved with increasing urgency, spelling out: D-A-N-G-E-R.

A sense of dread washed over them, and Mark’s skepticism began to wane. “This isn’t funny anymore,” he said. “I think we should listen to the spirit and leave.”

Just then, a gust of wind extinguished their flashlight, plunging them into darkness. Panic seized their hearts as they heard eerie whispers all around them. Shadows danced among the tombstones, and strange, ghostly apparitions seemed to materialize from the mist.

In their fear, they scrambled to pull their hands from the ouija board, but the planchette moved on its own, spelling out: T-O-O-L-A-T-E.

Suddenly, the ground trembled beneath them, and the tombstones began to rattle. The spirits of the cemetery rose from their eternal slumber, their hollow eyes fixed on the intruders who had awakened them.

The kids screamed and fled in all directions, but the ghostly figures closed in, their moans echoing through the night. Sarah, Mark, Emily, Jake, and Lisa ran blindly through the woods, their hearts pounding in terror. The spirits pursued them relentlessly, their bony fingers outstretched.

In the end, only Sarah managed to escape the cemetery. The others were never seen again, lost forever in the haunted graveyard, victims of their own curiosity and the ancient, restless spirits they had awakened.

From that night on, the old cemetery became known as the “Children’s Graveyard,” a place where the souls of the lost children played with an eerie ouija board, forever seeking companions to join them in their spectral games. And the legend served as a chilling warning to all who dared to tamper with forces beyond their understanding, in a place where the line between the living and the dead blurred into darkness.