[by Dean Smith] This past Christmas, Paul Carrol, 51, and his wife Margaret, 60, were playing with a Ouija Board in their home in Consett, County Durham, England when according to their testimony a “bad spirit” possessed their dog.

Paul then killed the dog. He hacked the dog’s body apart and stuffed it down a drain in their backyard. It was later uncovered by a utility crew sent in to unplug the line. The remains were turned over to the police. According to the Northern Echo, Paul has since pled guilty to causing “unnecessary suffering” to an animal.

Paul, who allegedly has mental-health issues, and his wife were using the parlor game to contact the dead. Ouija or spirit boards typically have a series of letters, words and numbers printed on a board. People place their hands on an often heart-shaped, piece of wood and deceased or evil spirits will guide a person’s hand over letters to answer questions.

However, the story doesn’t end there. A month later (Friday, January 30, 2015) , Margaret Carrol and her daughter Katrina Livingston (Paul’s stepdaughter) were hospitalized after a fire destroyed their home.

Neighbors stated that Margaret and Katrina were using the same Ouija board hours before the home burst into flames. According to reports, Katrina, 37, who has since been released from the hospital, told police the Ouija Board communicated to the two women that they would die. Margaret is still hospitalized in serious condition.

The police now allege Katrina started the fire and charged her with arson, the Northern Echo reported.

This past fall, Google stated, based on Internet searches, that Ouija boards were a trending Christmas gift in 2014 popularized in part by a horror movie called “Ouija” released earlier in October.

Last year, family members sent three Americans to hospital by ambulance after playing a Ouija board in Mexico. Shortly after they started playing the game, Alexandra Huerta, 22, brother Sergio, 23, and their cousin Fernando Cuevas, 18, experienced bizarre manifestations including hallucinations, barking, blindness, uncontrollable muscles spasms and a trance-like state.

Due to the occultic overtones associated with Ouija boards, Evangelical churches and the Catholic church have warned against playing the game.

The modern Ouija board was first sold commercially in 1891. Earlier versions of the board existed in China as far back as 1100 AD where they were referred to as “automatic writing” boards through which it was believed the deceased communicated with the living.

Related stories:

• Case of demon-possession in Mexico due to a Ouija Board?
• According to Google, Ouija boards will be a popular gift this Christmas?

Read more:

• The horrifying crime this man blamed on a Ouija board — and what happened just hours after his wife and stepdaughter reportedly used it: The Blaze
• Man drowned a dismembered pet dog, after “Ouija board left her possessed by the devil”: The Northern Echo

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