Many people think that Ouija boards can be a fun way to pass the time with friends, but there are plenty of folks who won't ever touch one of the boards, which are said to be able to communicate with the dead. Well the parents of a group of girls probably aren't going to allow their kids to go near one again after what happened this week.
According to the Daily Mirror, 28 girls in Colombia were rushed to the hospital after fainting while allegedly playing with a Ouija board at school. Hugo Torres, the head of the Galeras Educational Institution where it happened, told the media, "There were 28 possible cases of anxiety in school students." No further information has been released about the kids' diagnoses, but Torres said there is some misinformation out there, explaining, "Given the reported cases, a series of comments were unleashed on the community that, rather than helping to resolve the situation, led to confusion and an adverse environment for our work. The students were referred to the local municipal hospital according to protocols in place. Directors and teachers accompanied the students during the evaluation process. The respective parents and/or guardians were informed of the situation at the time."
Those parents are not pleased and blame what they believe was the in-school use of Ouija boards for their daughters' health issues. One mom who works at the hospital where the kids were taken said she saw three or four of them come in after fainting. She stated, "Parents, you have to move, investigate what's happening at school because our children cannot continue in this situation. Our children always have a good breakfast and it cannot be said that what’s happening is due to lack of food."
The school is awaiting information from the hospital before providing any updates on the incident. Meanwhile, it isn't the first time something like this happened in Colombia. Just a few months ago, another group of teens collapsed following Ouija board use, with five being taken to the hospital. It occurred at another school where 11 students, ages 13 to 17, fainted in a hallway and, according to the town's mayor, were found "short of breath and thick drool was coming out of their mouths."
Ouija boards first became popular in the late 1800s when they were known as "talking boards." They've been available commercially as Ouija boards since 1901.