"Listen, Dipper, I'm not sure this is a good idea…" Mabel said, closing and locking the door behind herself and her brother. Dipper kept his mouth shut and proceeded to dump the contents of his arms onto the coffee table. Mabel sighed and went to the kitchen, grabbing a bag of yogurt pretzels out of the cabinet to munch on while Dipper set up.
She silently watched her twin from the doorway, leaning against the frame and chewing thoughtfully. Dipper was almost unhealthily obsessed with the paranormal, and it was really beginning to show. Of course, he always lugged around those huge books and junk, but now that they were a bit older, he wanted to get into some serious business. Business that made Mabel's skin crawl.
This week had been hectic enough- their parents had to take an emergency trip out of state, leaving the high schoolers to their own devices for about 8 days. They had entrusted the twins to not burn the house down or host the party of the century. The normal teenage stuff. But they hadn't said anything against summoning the dead.
"Alright, that should do it. Board, planchette, candles for ambience…" Mabel worried her bottom lip as Dipper stood up straight, surveying his work. He looked as proud as a peacock. "But I can't play alone."
"Dipper…" She whined, but she moved to return her food. Then, she positioned herself across from Dipper, holding her tongue. Dipper placed his hands on the planchette sitting benignly between them, nodding for her to do the same. Mabel did so with some reluctance, ignoring how sweaty her palms were. Her brother began moving the planchette in the typical circular motion, taking a deep breath.
"Is anybody here with us?" he said, and Mabel was surprised at how strong his voice seemed. Her two fingers on the planchette started to tingle, and she hoped that it was just some static they were building up. Somehow. Dipper looked down at the board expectantly, but nothing happened. Not one to give up easily, though, Dipper asked again. And again. And one more time after that. By the fifth time, Dipper was starting to lose some of his gusto, and Mabel was hoping that they were nearing the end of this little experiment.
"Hey, Dipper. Maybe we should-"
"No, no, I know this can work! Just give them a minute more, maybe. Maybe our energy isn't strong enough…?" Dipper interrupted her, eyes searching for any abnormal movement. Mabel puffed her cheeks out, blowing out a calming breath. Dipper was getting on her nerves.
"No, bro-bro. I'm out. Maybe it's just a dud board or something." She offered, taking her hands away from the board. Dipper's eyes widened, and he stopped moving the planchette.
"Mabel, it's dangerous to play by myself."
"Then, like, don't play. I dunno." Mabel sighed, exiting the living room. Dipper watched her leave, frustration burning under his skin. Everything he'd read, seen, heard, said that these things were a surefire way to prove the paranormal existed. He pursed his lips and glanced at the board, pushing the planchette around a little.
"I don't need Mabel to play, right?" He thought aloud, and started up the movement again. He felt a slight tug at his fingers, and then the planchette nearly flew to the "yes" in the corner. Dipper sat frozen for a moment.
"Is anyone there?" Dipper asked softly, gingerly moving the planchette in circles. The same tug, and the same answer. Dipper laughed incredulously.
"H-hey! Hello! So, um… did you want Mabel to… leave? Is that what you were waiting for?" The planchette circled under his fingers while his question was seemingly processed, then it darted to the "yes" again.
"Wow, okay, I have so many questions! What's the spirit world like?" Dipper wished he had a pen and pencil, because he wanted to ask more than yes or no questions. He watched excitedly as the planchette stopped for a few seconds on four letters, before returning to the center of the board.
"D-A-R-K. That doesn't sound very fun. Are you happy?" The top right corner, "no".
"Oh, that sucks. Are you bored?" A sweep across the board, to "yes". Dipper frowned.
"Is there anything I can do?" Another four letter word spelled itself out, P-L-A-Y. Dipper laughed softly. "Yeah, I can do that. So… what year were you born?" The planchette stayed in the middle of the board, circling slowly. "Hello?" The planchette jerked up to "no".
"Wh- are you finished?" It didn't move from the word. "So… no to what?" The planchette zipped back to center, and circled almost angrily. "Different question?" Another zip to 'yes". Dipper released a tense breath. He remembered how dangerous these things could be, too.
"What's your favorite thing to do? Or, maybe, was?" The planchette took its time working across the board, and Dipper took note of the letters mentally.
"Dream? That's nice. Can you sleep in the spirit world?" Instead of a yes or no like Dipper expected, another word was spelled out. O-T-H-E-R-S.
"Others? Like, other dreams?" The board pointed to "yes". "Oh." Dipper's eyebrows furrowed. He tried to think of something else to ask, remembering an article he read a while back.
"Hmm. Who sent you?" Dipper tried, and goosebumps spread unbidden over his skin. He was starting to get why Mabel didn't want to play. This was sort of unnerving.
"M...Y...S...E...L… Yourself? You came by yourself? Are you alone? Yes. Okay. Um… Does God exist? Or, heaven?"
"Dipper. are you still busy? I'm boooored." Mabel called to him, and he reluctantly looked away from the board, keeping his hands in place.
"Yeah, sorry. I'll be done in a minute. Probably." He yelled in reply. A back and forth movement from what felt like two letters called him back to the game. H-A-H-A-H-A.
"Are you laughing?" The movement continued, and Dipper swore the room temperature dropped a few degrees.
"Are… are you a good spirit?" The planchette completely stopped, and Dipper's fingers tingled uncomfortably. How long had he been playing? The indicator slowly moved to "no". Dipper's breath caught.
"Are you a bad spirit?" He asked shakily, eyes glued to the board. It moved slightly away from no, then moved back. "No to both? Then, what are you?" The planchette darted back to the center and began to move in a figure 8.
"Dipper, did you touch the thermostat? It's freezing!" Mabel said, coming around the corner. Her eyes narrowed when she saw that he was still playing. "Ugh, Dipper."
"No, you don't understand, I've made contact with an actual spirit!" Dipper tried, and the planchette started going crazy. He stared at her, begging her to believe him.
"You know, those things are manipulated by subconscious thought, right?" Mabel quipped, following the planchette with her eyes. "Dipper, that's not funny."
"What…?" Dipper looked back at the board, to see the planchette actually pointing to letters. "Aha! See, I told you…" Then he noticed what it was spelling. N-O-T-A-S-P-I-R-I-T.
"Stop it, Dipper!"
"I'm not-" The planchette returned to the letters H and A, repeatedly, and Dipper's fingers suddenly felt like they were lit aflame. "Ah!" The planchette then moved to the very top edge of the board, where the word "Ouija" was printed, then to each bottom corner. The pattern was repeated three times, before it stopped in the dead center. Dipper's breathing was laboured, and he felt drained. He looked up to Mabel, who had a hand shakily covering her mouth.
"Put that thing up, right now! If this is a prank…!" She whispered, muffled, and he shook his head.
"It's… not." Dipper managed. "I have to close the seance." Dipper sat up straighter and positioned his fingers more surely on the planchette. They still stung.
"Okay, hurry, cause whatever or whoever is talking isn't good." Mabel breathed, and backed up into the hallway, still unable to look away. Before Dipper could say goodbye, the planchette began leisurely pointing to three letters. Dipper gulped and watched, but the energy was different, calmer. Still, he wanted to get this over with.
"It's spelling a name." Mabel said, and Dipper tuned her out. He pretended that he was surrounded by a white, cleansing light, taking deep breaths in and out.
"This session is over. Thank you, and goodbye." He waited for a few moments, then the planchette drifted to hover over "goodbye". All the tension in the room seemed to let up, and Dipper pulled his aching fingers away from the board.
"Never ever do that again, Dip." Mabel warned, and went back to her room to bundle up. Dipper carefully picked up the living room, putting out the candles and returning the game to its box. He put it away in the closet, and went to his room to lie down. Though, he couldn't shake the burning feeling of eyes watching him. Then, he remembered.
"Hey, sis!" He shouted, though Mabel wasn't that far. She probably was blasting some sort of peppy song to take her mind off of what just happened.
"What!" she yelled back, and yeah, she had headphones in.
"What was the board spelling when I was closing it?"
"The name, you mean? It was something like Bill. Can we… not talk about it?"
"Sure. I was just curious. Sorry."
"No prob, bro."
Dipper shook off the chills and pulled his laptop onto his bed. Time to do some research.