16. Play With A Ouija Board
The innocuous Ouija board originated as a harmless parlor game in the late 1800s, but soon became intrinsically linked to the occult and the threat of demonic possession. One of the most explicit indicators that everything is about to go tits-up, Ouija boards have been a popular convention in horror films since the 1944 classic The Uninvited, and they hold a fairly unusual position in horror iconography. While other items will be unwittingly used by horror movie protagonists to summon demons or channel evil spirits, the Ouija board is one of the few tools that characters will use with the explicit aim of opening up communications with the dead. Most often utilised during seances but also often during party games or as a dare when the Ouija board is pulled out in a horror film it usually triggers a Why would you do that!? moment, particularly considering the aftereffects of talking board sessions in films ranging from Thirteen Ghosts to Witchboard, The Exorcist and Paranormal Activity.