General Information About Item:

• Type of Lore: Customary, Superstition
• Language: English
• Country: United States
• Informant: Anya Sorensen
• Date Collected: 5/29/2020

Informant Data:

• Anya Sorensen is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. She lives with her family in Florida.

Contextual Data:­

• Cultural Context: The informant’s father’s side of the family has Norwegian roots. The informant’s maternal grandmother is a Sami Norwegian (the Sami are an indigenous people that live mainly in the northern regions of Norway, also referred to as the Lapps or Laplanders). The informant learned this superstition from her.

• Social Context: This superstition is in the vein of the cautionary/wives’ tale. It is most commonly used by parents to prevent their children from engaging in dangerous behaviors and might have a counterproductive effect, spurring the children to seek out these same behaviors.

Item:

• Playing with a Ouija board, even in jest, is a serious thing, and could cause supernatural harm to befall those who violate the prohibition.

 

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

• “So my maternal grandmother is a Sami Norwegian, which I think is like “s-a-m-i,” and they’re the native Norwegians. They are also typically known as Laplanders (she spells it). They’re basically from northern Norway, and she was always told not to play with, like, any form of Ouija board because you’ll actually be summoning something.”

Informant’s Comments:

• The informant mentioned that this is a superstition that she takes very seriously. She will avoid playing with a Ouija board or doing any kind of “divination” practice, as any kind of contact with the spirits could invite them into your life to potentially do you harm.
• When asked if this superstition applied only to Ouija boards, the informant indicated that this superstition applied to all instances of attempting to gain advice/information from a supernatural being.
• The informant mentioned that a common reaction to learning of this superstition is to immediately disobey it and to go play with a Ouija board or attempt to contact spiritual forces.

Collector’s Comments:

• This superstition also enforces humility in the face of forces beyond the realm of perception or reason. The explicit mention of the Ouija board makes this very clear. Any attempt to contact the supernatural world invites the supernatural world to contact you, potentially bringing harm or misfortune.

Collector’s Name: Ted McManus

Tags/Keywords:

• Ouija Board, Superstition, Norwegian, Norway, Sami, Ghosts, Spirits