I trifled with spirits at Gimghoul Castle and was truly shook

But as someone who loves tea, the rumors surrounding the supposedly-haunted castle were too tempting not to investigate. I figured the best way to know for certain if Gimghoul Castle was really haunted would be to be extra and use a Ouija board at the grounds.

Around 11 p.m. I, along with my friend RJ and fellow DTH staffers Alice Wilder and Jenni Ciesielski, piled into Alice’s car and headed toward the castle.

The old Honda crawled through a dimly lit residential area and slowed to a stop at the foot of a gravel road. My iPhone flashlight illuminated a stone cross in the ground with a tombstone right beside it. “The Grave of Saint Sir Thomas More,” it read.

This wasn’t just fun and games. We were about to get Blair Witch Projected and never be heard from again.

Nevertheless, I donned a witches’ hat and we placed the Ouija board on the ground. Alice lit a white candle to ensure we only attracted positive spirits. We joined hands and began a prayer.

“Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name,” we said.

Suddenly, headlights appeared in the distance as the car they belonged to crawled toward us. We left the board and the candles and started walking toward the street. We feared whoever was driving the car could be a member of The Order of Gimghoul.

“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we continued.

The candles we had brought were now missing. Jenni got up and looked for them. We joined her, but they seemed to be gone for good.

“Give us this day our daily bread,” we kept on. “And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Another car pulled up. It rolled down its window slowly and we all froze.

“Hey, did anyone order an Uber?” the driver asked.

We absolutely did not. We didn’t even have the coins to be ordering an Uber like that. Convinced the next vehicle that approached would be the bus from “Halloweentown,” we finished our prayer and headed back to Alice’s car to use the board in peace. Upon re-opening the box, the candles were there.

“I’m positive that’s not where I left them,” Jenni said.

I balanced the board between all of us while Alice re-lit a candle and blessed the board. We lightly placed our fingertips on the planchette.

“Are there any spirits present?” I asked. No response.

“What is your name?” RJ asked.

The planchette started moving and alarmed, we all looked at each other.

“Jenni, are you moving it?” I demanded.

“No. I’m barely touching it. RJ are you moving it?” Jenni said, her voice filled with worry.

“I swear to god I’m not,” RJ answered, vehemently.

With our fingers slightly lifted above the planchette, it was clear none of us were behind this. Our hearts raced raced and palms became clammy as something beyond this realm controlled the planchette, spelling out a combination of random letters and numbers: O34BDZ.

What if it was a license plate number? Maybe the spirit died in a car crash? Maybe the spirit or someone it knew drove a car with those plates?

Amidst our speculation, Alice, who had been silent, interrupted.

“We have to go,” she said. She explained that a voice in her head had been bellowing, “get out, get out, get out,” increasing in volume each time. Terrified, we buckled our seat belts and we drove off.

We headed back to The Daily Tar Heel office to drop off my Ouija board.

But when we pulled into the parking lot, the candles were nowhere to be found.

@noni_ski  

swerve@dailytarheel.com