Strange Ouija Experience: Coincidence Or Paranormal?

This story takes place in Southeastern Virginia, about 2005 or thereabouts, and is one of many unexplainable events that myself and others have witnessed in the home during the 40 years that I lived there.

The house itself is a beautiful, three story Colonial in a historic district. It was built in the early 1900s and served as the home and office of a prominent local doctor from the 1920s until his death in the 1960s. There is still a bedroom on the second floor with a sink on one wall where he kept very ill patients, I suppose. There have been numerous deaths in the house, including the doctor himself and my Grandfather.

It was a great house to grow up and spend my life in and I love and miss it deeply. I will post some other very interesting and strange occurrences which took place there in future stories, but there are so many during the 40 years I lived in the house that it would simply turn, into a novel-size post to relate them all in a single post; I have therefore, decided to write about a specific incident for my first submission.

Let me start by saying that I am pretty skeptical when it comes to so-called paranormal events and normally dismiss such things as coincidence. However, some are simply too strange to scientifically and rationally explain or chalk up to coincidence. If this event is a coincidence, it's a very strange one indeed. I welcome all theories and feedback, as they may offer a more rational, plausible explanation that may be a better explanation than a supernatural event. With that said, I will begin my narrative.

I have a friend (that I shall call "T") that I have known since the age of five (I am forty two as I write this) who lived three houses down the street from my girlfriend (who I will call "A") and I at the time. His wife ("H") practiced some kind of obscure "white witchcraft" type occultism and strange occurrences would seem to follow her (one example being that our front doorbell, which had not even been working or even connected to wiring for years, would sometimes ring and ten or fifteen minutes later she would knock on the front door to come for a visit). They came to visit my girlfriend and I one evening with their teenage son ("J") and his girlfriend ("M") in tow. He brought a Ouija board with them, hoping we'd be interested in doing a session.

Everyone took part except myself, I thought it was silly. The lamps were turned off and candles were lit. I read by the candlelight as they did their Ouija thing. I could hear the questions being asked of the board and they seemed to believe they had made contact with something after several minutes.

"Stupid," I thought. "Haven't they ever heard of the ideomotor effect?" I thought. H asked whatever they seem to have contacted, "Do you know "T"? The planchette slowly moved to no (I was half reading and half watching in a sort of amused way). The "Do you know so-and-so" questions went around the circle, each time with the planchette slowly moving to no until H asked "Do you know (my name)?" The planchette quickly slid to yes. I chuckled to myself, thinking "nice try "H", but I'm not even playing the silly Ouija game. "H" then asked "What is your name"? I heard them saying the letters O-Y-A-M-A, three times in fairly rapid succession.

At this point "H" said "Let's put it up, it's just spelling nonsense. A memory rushed into my head and I said "Wait, did it just spell Oyama?" Everyone answered yes. I was confused. My great-grandfather's name was Oyama (he was a Creek Indian). No one, not even my girlfriend, could possibly have known I had an ancestor named Oyama since I hadn't thought of that name in many years and had forgotten myself. I had certainly not mentioned it to anyone at any time, even years ago.

Odd, since I wasn't even playing, and that is such an unusual name that it would be impossible to guess. I even dug up some family records with our tribal role numbers and ancestry on them and showed everyone present. There was no way any of them could have known. If that was a random coincidence (which I believe it to be), it's a darned strange one. Any thoughts on this from anyone?

As I said, there are many strange things which took place in that house and I would like to relate more of them. Some are mundane and some really bizarre. I will be happy to answer questions, clarify anything unclear to readers, and take part in any discussions. Thank you to all who take the time to read this and give their opinions and thoughts.