How the Ouija Board Works

This week (now back from my April hiatus) I'd like to look into how Greywood Manor's signature effect works: The Ouija Board.

First debuting with the attic scene in 2007, the Ouija Board effect, generally unchanged, has intrigued trick-or-treaters every year since (except 2009). If you do not know what this effect is that I am talking about, please view either the Greywood Manor 2007 & 2008 or Greywood Manor 2010 blog posts. Both showcase video of the Ouija Board effect found in the attic scene of the haunt.

The Ouija Board effect inspiration cam out of actually using the Ouija Board (read more on that here) as well as the fact that this effect is important to the story line of the haunt. From The Back-Story:
"She [Elizabeth] was said to have tried to contact her parents in the spirit world using many techniques, including the use of a Ouija Board.  No one is sure if she ever succeeded.  Some believe she aroused a demonic spirit in place of her parents.  The evil spirit may have pretended to be her parents, gained her trust, and then turned on her.  On Halloween of 1908, she is said to have died, perhaps by the evil spirits that had become part of her life."


But how does this ethereal effect work?
The mechanics behind it are actually fairly simple. Below is a quick sketch I drew of the apparatus.

A continuous piece of fishing line is connected to the two metal bars that a cam rig moves up and down. One string end on each bar. The fishing line is then fed up over the attic's "background" curtain through some fish-eye hooks. It is then fed down to a simple pvc and plywood "turnaround." Finally, it is fed to two holes found in the upper corners of the ouija board. The planchette, or movable ouija board pointer, then rests on the string, weighed down by some washers secured to the backside of the planchette. The different movements of the two cams causes the planchette to have an apparently random course - but if you watch it long enough, it does go through a loop that takes about thirty seconds to complete.


To see the cam rig in action, you can view this short video posted below.

And there you have it! How one of the most interesting effects at Greywood Manor works.