I got drawn into watching a bunch of Halloween specials about hauntings and exorcism on the Discovery Channel last night. The whole “time change” thing messed me up too. I justified staying up late watching TV because I gained a whole extra hour of rest — makes sense to me.

One of the specials was about the case that The Exorcist was based on. It started off with a teenager’s crazy Aunt introducing him to a Ouija board. When the Aunt mysteriously dies, strange things start happening in the boy’s room. Finally it moves from the room to possession of the boy.

It all reminded me of one time in my younger days of playing with a Ouija board at a friend’s house. If you’ve never done one before maybe you are smart enough to stay away. Or maybe you’re skeptical and just haven’t ever had the chance to do one. Let me tell you, I could tell when my friend was pushing the pointer around and when he wasn’t. It correctly predicted my math grade on my upcoming report card, that my neighbor’s parents would get divorced, and answered questions neither I nor my friend would know — stuff like the birthdays of his more obscure relatives. (What young boy knows the birthday of his mom’s great Aunt twice removed?) I don’t think I’m possessed today — some may argue otherwise — but it was just plain freaky.

Captain Howdy … what a great name. I think I’ll use it when I reference the Devil in spiritual discussions from now on.