What do you know about the infamous Ouija or Spirit Board?

The first Ouija board, as we know it, was made and sold in Baltimore, Maryland in 1890 by the Kennard Novelty Company, founded by a Charles Kennard. The popularity of the board seemed to surge during the American Spiritualist movement following the Civil War, which sought ways to communicate with spirits.

The board was then patented by an attorney by the name of Elijah Bond before William Fuld later took over and popularized the product according to some sources.

Other versions of the board would be made and sold in Boston, Massachusetts in 1891, but under the guise of a different name -- the Espirito board. Production ceased in 1892 due to competition from the Ouija brand.

Marketed as a toy, its creators saw it as a way to make a profit from the Victorian-era fascination with Spiritualism. It was advertised as an innocent and fun game, not at all an occult tool, to broaden its appeal to a more mainstream audience -- families and children.

What do you think of this? Fun for the whole family, right?

Have you ever heard of The Vallecas Case and Estefania Gutierrez Lazaro?

The case took place between 1990 and 1991, in a very modest apartment on Calle Luis Marin No. 8 in the Vallecas district of Madrid, Spain where the case gained its name.

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Estafania Gutierrez Lazario was 18 years old and the eldest of 4 siblings. Sources say that she had been drawn to spiritualism before the hauntings occurred and that she was especially fascinated with Ouija boards.

In March of 1990, Estafania went to school as she normally would. However, there was something very different about today -- her friend snuck in a Ouija board and they intended to make use of it.

They had just started to dabble in the occult after the boyfriend of a friend had died in a motorcycle accident -- like many of those during the American Spiritualist movement of the 1800s, they sought comfort in communicating with the deceased.

The group took the board to the girls bathroom and attempted to make contact while Estefania's sister guarded the door. However, it did not take long until a teacher burst in, took the board, and immediately broke it in half.

At that very moment, all of the girls -- including the teacher -- say that they had seen gray smoke, which Estefania appeared to inhale.

Everything changed that day... especially for Estafania and her family.

Shortly after this incident, the hauntings started.

Estefania began to suffer from insomnia, had hallucinations, and epileptic seizures that no one could explain. Stating that she was seeing faceless shadows wearing hooded cloaks who wanted her to go with them -- to where, she did not know.

Her parents brought her to many different hospitals, but nothing seemed to work, and no source could be founded.

Her mental state was diminishing, and on July 13th, 1991, she attacked her sister so badly that she had knocked her unconscious. During the attack, Estafania was foaming at the mouth.

After the attack, her health only continued to decline. After a seizure, she was taken to the hospital where she fell into a coma and shortly died. There was no official cause of death and the autopsy reported "sudden and suspicious death".

Believers of the supernatural/occult came to the conclusion that Estafania had become possessed after messing with the board -- this likely came from the 'Satanic Panic' that was common in the 80s and 90s. One of the theories was that the grandfather of the family wanted to take revenge on his daughter, as they did not end things on good terms, and had something to do with the incident.

The strange occurrences did not stop after Estafania's death -- in fact, it was the exact opposite, as it seemed to escalate quickly to the point of driving the remaining family out of the home.

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The family claimed to hear strange noises coming from inside the walls of the apartment. They would hear knocking, scratching, and even indistinguishable whispers.

According to Juan Pedro, the sounds would be so loud that they could be heard throughout the entirety of the building.

The family also claimed to see the strange shadows like Estafania had spoken of before -- they would move around the home.

Objects would move on their own, both out of vision and right before their eyes. Doors would open and close and even glass would shatter.

The mother of the family claimed to hear the screaming voice of Estafania calling out for her, as well as what she believed to be the sound of an old man laughing at her.

The sisters would claim that they would wake up with their wrists slammed against the wall.

Two years after Estefania's death, a picture of hers burst into flame -- the frame and the glass were unharmed, as it was only the picture that burned.

Gutierrez called the police after his wife felt pressure on top of her and insisted someone was there. After feeling the pressure and advising her husband, something grabbed her feet and hand. That was enough to convince him to make the call, and a team led by an inspector by the name of Jose Negri arrived on November 27th, 1992. Upon arrival, the Gutierrez family had long run out of the building, despite the pouring rain, and appeared to be absolutely terrified. They stated that a large shadow was watching them from the hallway and that all of their crucifixes throughout the house had moved.