Three American friends have been taken to hospital after reportedly becoming ‘possessed’ by evil spirits while playing with a Ouija board.
Alexandra Huerta, 22, was playing the game with her brother Sergio, 23, and 18-year-old cousin Fernando Cuevas at a house in the village of San Juan Tlacotenco in south-west Mexico.
But minutes into it, she apparently started ‘growling’ and thrashing around in a ‘trance-like’ state.
Possessed? Alexandra Huerta (pictured), 22, her brother Sergio, 23, and cousin Fernando Cuevas, 18, have been taken to hospital after reportedly becoming ‘possessed’ by evil spirits while playing with a Ouija board
Meanwhile, Sergio and Fernando also reportedly started showing signs of ‘possession’, including feelings of blindness, deafness and hallucinations.
Paramedics were called to the house and took the trio to hospital, according to Alexandra’s parents.
They restrained Alexandra to prevent her from hurting herself, before treating the three with painkillers, anti-stress medication and eye drops, which seemingly worked.
Victor Demesa, 46, the director of public safety in the nearby town of Tepoztlan, said: ‘The medical rescue of these three young people was very complicated.
Taken to hospital: Minutes into the game, Alexandra started ‘growling’ and thrashing around in a ‘trance-like’ state, according to her parents. Above, she was restrained by paramedics to prevent her from hurting herself
Board game: The trio had reportedly been playing with a Ouija board (pictured) when they started to show signs of ‘possession’. Above, the Victorian parlour game is also known as the spirit board or talking board
‘They had involuntary movements and it was difficult to transfer them to the nearest hospital because they were so erratic.
‘It appeared as if they were in a trance-like state, apparently after playing with the Ouija board.
‘They spoke of feeling numbness, double vision, blindness, deafness, hallucinations, muscle spasm and difficulty swallowing.’
He added that whether the trio were really possessed, or had simply convinced themselves that they were, was not for doctors to comment on.
Scene: Alexandra’s parents said they had called paramedics after a local Catholic priest in the village of San Juan Tlacotenco (pictured) refused to perform an exorcism on the three because they were not churchgoers
Alexandra’s parents said they had called paramedics after a local Catholic priest refused to perform an exorcism on the three because they were not regular churchgoers.
The Ouija board – also known as a spirit board or talking board – is a flat board marked with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0-9, the words ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ and various symbols and graphics.
It uses a small heart-shaped piece of wood or movable indicator to indicate the spirit’s message by spelling it out on the board during a seance.
Participants place their fingers on the wood and it is supposedly moved around the board by the spirit to spell out words.
Mainstream religions and some occultists have associated use of a Ouija board with the concept of demonic possession, and have cautioned their followers not to use one.
