Don't Play with Fire

So, since you are reading this, it's likely you've read other stories like this before, so you most likely have heard of a Ouija board. If not, a Ouija board is sold as a game used to communicate with spirits, but my experience will hopefully be able to convince you that this is no game.

As a child, I was always interested in ghosts and haunted houses, and all the other things children were drawn into that concerned the paranormal. I would watch shows concerning the world's most haunted places, and play horror games like Resident Evil and such, but it wasn't until I was about 16 that I decided to actually get involved.

During my junior year in high school, I wasn't anybody special. I wasn't a nerd or a geek, and I certainly wasn't a jock. You could say I was more "neutral". There was this one girl, who was scene or something like that, and was always picked on. She looked like pretty much what you'd expect; blue hair, nose and cheek piercings, and wore My Chemical Romance t-shirts.

One day after school, I was walking home with my friend Jared, when we noticed her sitting in a corner by the back doors, using some kind of board. I was intrigued, but as I started to walk, Jared stopped me and said "Dude she's a freak, why do you want to go over there anyway?" I told him that I wanted to see what the board was. "Okay man, just don't let her bite you with her fangs." We both laughed.

I walked over there and said "Um, hi, I'm Joey." she looked at me with a confused look. "What are you doing here?" she said in a stubborn but calm way. "Well, I was wondering what that board you're using is." She then smiled in what seemed like relief. "Oh this? It's a Ouija board, you use it to communicate with spirits. I can show you how to use it if you want." I could see Jared in the background laughing at me. "Okay, sure" I said politely. "Hey retard, we gotta go!" Jared yelled from afar. "I can show you how to use it tomorrow if you want." "Okay, bye. Wait, what's your name?" "Jenny" she told me.

I ran back to Jared. "Well?" he asked. "Oh the board? It's called a Ouija board, apparently you use it to communicate with spirits." Jared looked at me and started laughing. "Are you serious? Do you know how stupid that sounds?" "Yeah, yeah. Let's just go home man."

That night, I asked my Mom if she knew anything about Ouija boards. She said what pretty much any mother would say "Don't get into that stuff sweetheart, you're playing with fire." I then did my homework for algebra and fell asleep on my couch watching an episode of Family Guy.

The next day, back at school, all I could think about was Jenny and her Ouija board. I was so curious, but nervous at the same time, about what it was. I didn't have any classes with her, so I couldn't ask her any questions, plus, I didn't want to come off as annoying.

At the end of the day, I went back to that spot and waited about ten minutes for her. "Are you ready?" she asked. "As ready as I'll ever be I guess." Out of her black backpack, she pulled out a wooden board that had a sun and moon on the top left and right corners, labeled "Yes" and "No", along with the alphabet and numbered zero through nine on the bottom. Along with the board she pulled out something that looked like an upside down heart with a hole in the center. We sat down as she told me what all of these things were and represented.

She told me to put my hand on the planchette (the heart shaped pointer). We bot had our hands on it, and she asked "Is there anybody there?" The planchette then moved up to the sun, marked "Yes". "Did you move that?" I asked. "Nope. Now you ask a question." "Okay then, um, what is your name?" The word "Alfred" was spelled out. She then asked "What year did you die?" The year 1901 was put together.

Jenny then got a phone call. After about two minutes of "Okay" and "Yeah", she told me she had to go. "If you want, tomorrow you can come home with me and we can actually use the board for a while." "What about your parents?" I asked. "They won't be home until 8:00." I thought for a second. "Okay, see you tomorrow."

After school the next day, I walked home with Jenny, and we discussed the things going on in our lives. She talked about the people at school who would pick on her, and I talked about the death of my Dad a few years back. After about ten minutes of walking, we got back to her house, and we went into the living room. She lit four candles for each side of the board, and turned off the lights. I was a little freaked out, but I went along with it.

We sat down on the couch and she placed the board and candles on a coffee table between the couch and the television. We asked all the casual questions, and to prevent this part of the story dragging on, this entity was apparently named Damian who had died at 14 after he was killed by his father. Jenny then asked if it knew our names. It spelled out "Jenny" and "Joseph". I was officially freaked out at this point.

I then lost it for a second and said "Who the hell are you?" In a calm but strict manner. the planchette spun out for a second and stopped. Jenny asked me if I was alright and to calm down. I responded "yeah, yeah sorry." The planchette then spelled out "I AM DEATH."

The candles blew out. At this point even Jenny seemed frightened. She tried to turn on the lights but it seemed as if somebody had cut the power. "Dammit!" she yelled. Now it was pitch black, and I could barely see anything. I was able to make my way back towards Jenny, and I grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry this is my fault." Before she could respond I heard a whisper that chilled me to the bone. "She must die." There was a pause for a few seconds. The silence was broken by Jenny's screams "HELP! JOEY! HE HAS-" She was cut off. I screamed her name "JENNY! JENNY! PLEASE!" one candle flickered back to life. Standing about ten feet directly across from me, on the other side of the candle was a hooded figure.

The figure was cloaked in black, with the only other things possible to make out was its eyes red as blood, its blood covered metal teeth, and its grim, menacing smile. It bolted at me, and I felt paralyzed. I remember thinking my life was over. It started to eat away at my leg, and I regained my senses. I was in agonizing pain, wondering what I could do to defend myself. Then I remembered, the candle. I kicked the phantom creature as hard as I could into the flame, and it broke the coffee table, but its head was lit on fire. The fire started to spread across the floor as well, along with the walls. That was the last thing I remembered before I blacked out.

I woke up in the hospital from a coma three days later. The doctor told me I had been pulled out of a burning house, and that another girl was found in the basement, who had died of brain damage after falling down the stairs. The fire alarm was set off in just the right amount of time, and I was pulled out by firefighters three minutes later.

I was so far from alright though. I had suffered third degree burns on my face, chest, and right arm. Half of my face was practically gone, revealing a cheek bone and my jaw. I was bandaged up and was expected to have reconstructive surgery four weeks later, but that never happened because nobody could pay for it.

I cannot go on though. The problem is, the phantom or creature or whatever it was is not dead. It watches me. I will look out my window every day, and I can just about make it out. I am always being watched, and as long as I'm alive, it will watch me. There is no escape. I have a noose tied to the ceiling above my bed, so I hope for my family and friends that this puts into context why this has to happen. This is my goodbye to you all, and please, learn from my mistakes. It's been three years, so this is my goodbye to you all, so please

Don't play with fire.