Real Ghost Demon Caught on Tape: ZoZo Ouija Board Investigation

By Tim Wood, founder and lead paranormal investigator of LiveSciFi.tv.

For years, one name has kept coming up during my live Ouija board investigations: ZoZo. I’ve seen it spelled on a board, recorded sessions where participants believed they were communicating with the same presence, and heard from people who say their own encounters left them frightened long after the board was put away. In this archive, I’m bringing together the original ZoZo Ouija board video, what I was attempting to investigate, and one of the most disturbing related incidents from my years at the Sallie House.

This is an investigation into reported paranormal activity—not proof that a demon appeared, that a possession occurred, or that an unexplained visual effect had a supernatural cause. I want you to examine the recordings, the circumstances, and the questions that remain unanswered.

Watch the Original ZoZo Ouija Board Demon Video

The surviving 2015 LiveSciFi article, ZoZo Ouija Board Demon Caught on Video, introduced a filmed session in which I used a ZoZo-themed Ouija board to attempt communication with the entity viewers knew by that name. Instead of only telling people what happened, we shared the session so they could see our approach and judge the material themselves.

Watch the original ZoZo investigation on YouTube. This is the video ID preserved in the original October 2015 article archive. If YouTube no longer offers playback, the archived 2015 article preserves the original context.

What was my question during these sessions? Not simply whether a board could spell Z-O-Z-O, but why that same name appeared across different investigations and accounts. Was there a consistent pattern? Could the conditions be documented? Would the same results appear if we changed the circumstances? Those are very different questions from assuming that every message is from the same supernatural source.

My First Encounters With the Name ZoZo

I began investigating haunted locations on live video in 2007, when viewers could follow a ghost hunt in real time and ask questions as the investigation unfolded. During a session at the Stanley Hotel in Colorado that year, I remember the planchette spelling the letters Z-O-Z-O. At the time, I didn’t know how often I would come across that name in the years to follow.

As LiveSciFi grew, we documented more Ouija experiments and received stories from viewers. Some described fast back-and-forth movements, repeated names, threatening messages or frightening sensations during a session. Others described events they believed followed them afterward. These were experiences people reported, not independently verified identifications of a spirit.

I’ve documented the recurring themes separately in my 14 warning signs associated with the ZoZo Ouija board demon, and our ZoZo reader accounts preserve what witnesses told us in their own words. The purpose of this article is different: it focuses on the footage and the experiments behind the headlines.

The Sallie House Experiment: Combining Sensory Deprivation With an Ouija Board

One of the most difficult experiences of my paranormal career took place at the Sallie House in Atchison, Kansas, during a 2012 LiveSciFi investigation. That night was part of an earlier investigation than the 2015 ZoZo video above. I want to be clear about that timeline because they are two distinct recordings, even though the experiments raised related questions for me.

During our 2012 Sallie House work, I experimented with sensory deprivation while investigating with an Ouija board. The idea was to limit ordinary sensory input, focus attention on the session, and record what happened. It was an unusually immersive method for the live paranormal broadcasts I was producing at the time. I cannot document that it was the first such experiment anywhere in the world, but it was an early experiment in my own publicly recorded investigations and one I remember vividly.

A sensory-deprivation or Ganzfeld-style experiment attempts to reduce or homogenize incoming stimuli. In paranormal research, some investigators use it while looking for unusual impressions or responses. But sensory deprivation can also heighten suggestibility and change perception; an unusual feeling under those conditions cannot be treated as evidence of an outside entity on its own.

During the basement session, the atmosphere felt deeply unsettling to me. We had also failed to close an earlier Ouija board session properly—a detail that would change how I approached spirit-board investigations from that point forward. For the practices I use today, read my five Ouija board rules and why I always end a session deliberately.

Did Tim Wood Experience Demon Possession at the Sallie House?

I’ve described the Sallie House experience as one of the closest things I’ve personally encountered to what witnesses call demonic oppression or possession. That is how the experience felt to me, not a medical or independently established diagnosis of possession. During and after the session, my reactions alarmed people around me.

The moment that continues to draw questions came when holy water was applied to my neck. On the recording, a visible effect appears around the area; I remember it looking as though steam or smoke was rising from my skin. It was disturbing to experience and to watch back later. I don’t claim the footage alone tells us what produced it. Lighting, moisture, temperature, camera behavior, and other ordinary possibilities deserve consideration alongside my recollection.

I also don’t want to blur the sequence into a single supernatural claim: the Ouija experiment, the failure to close a session, my physical experience, and the visible effect after holy water was applied are parts of the same account, but the recording does not establish that one caused another.

Watch: Holy Water and the Sallie House Ouija Incident

Watch the Sallie House holy-water recording directly on YouTube. The same primary recording is discussed in my Ouija board rules article, which explains why I consider ending a session so important.

What the Sallie House Footage Can—and Cannot—Tell Us

I understand why viewers call the scene a demon possession caught on video. When you see somebody visibly distressed during an Ouija investigation and then a strange effect appears after holy water touches their neck, it’s easy to connect the moments. I was there, and I still find it unsettling.

But if we’re treating a live broadcast as evidence, we have to separate what the camera recorded from what we think it means. The camera documents our experiment, my reactions and the visible effect. It does not by itself identify a demon, rule out physical explanations, or prove that water produced smoke through a supernatural mechanism. A responsible review would also examine the uninterrupted recording, lighting, temperature, materials used, and any available independent footage.

For deeper context on the building, the reported scratches and the basement investigations, see Sallie House: Dark Secret Exposed and our longer Demon Files episode about the Sallie House.

Is the Sallie House Entity the Same as ZoZo?

People have asked me whether the activity at the Sallie House was connected to ZoZo, Beelzebub, or another figure from demonology. My investigations have included claims involving all of those names, but there is no verified evidence identifying the Sallie House phenomena as ZoZo or showing that the same entity was present in different places.

The Sallie House has its own history, witness accounts and theories. Our Beelzebub history and evidence investigation examines a different interpretation associated with that location. It’s important not to turn similarities between accounts into certainty about the identity of a supernatural being.

What Does Historical Demonology Say About ZoZo?

My original 2015 article mentioned Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy and the different systems used to classify spirits in European occult traditions. That historical context is worth keeping, because it illustrates how complicated the word demon can be.

In occult writings attributed to these traditions, names such as Oriens, Paimon, Egyn and Amaymon are associated with the cardinal directions. Other systems arrange spirits into broader classes. Those traditions do not establish that ZoZo belongs to a particular rank or that the modern Ouija name refers to a historically documented demon. Similarly, online claims connecting ZoZo to Pazuzu are theories, not a settled historical identification.

To explore the differences between religious, grimoire and literary categories, see our guide to seven historical demon classifications, the nine classes of demons, and the A–Z list of demon names. These are historical and folklore resources, not identification tools for a Ouija session.

Could the Ouija Board Be Moving Through the Ideomotor Effect?

It is a fair question, and I’ve never thought it should be excluded from a serious investigation. The ideomotor effect describes small movements that people make without consciously intending to move. Expectation, group dynamics and suggestion may influence a planchette, especially when everyone is watching for a particular name.

That explanation may account for some Ouija movements; it does not automatically explain every experience a witness reports, nor does a surprising message independently establish a paranormal presence. This is why I prefer full-length footage, multiple camera angles, clear audio, and an honest account of how the experiment was conducted. The Smithsonian’s discussion of Ouija boards and the ideomotor effect provides useful scientific context.

What Happened After the Original ZoZo Video?

The 2015 session was not the end of my ZoZo research. In October 2016, LiveSciFi announced an investigation at the house associated with Darren Evans’s ZoZo experiences in Oklahoma City. The planned broadcast included Ouija experiments, sensory-deprivation techniques and attempts to document unusual audio and video. Read our ZoZo Demon House investigation retrospective and the contemporary October 19, 2016 production announcement.

In 2017, I worked with writer Celina Summers on Stalked by the Zozo Demon: Real Life Paranormal Experiment, a book documenting our month-long series of livestreamed spirit-board experiments. You can read more about the project on my biography and research history. These later projects are separate from both the original 2015 article video and the 2012 Sallie House recording.

Frequently Asked Questions About the ZoZo Demon Video

Was ZoZo really caught on tape?

The original 2015 article preserved a filmed Ouija board session that sought to communicate with a presence called ZoZo. The recording documents the session; it does not establish that a demon was captured or identified.

Did Tim Wood’s neck smoke after holy water was applied?

In the 2012 Sallie House investigation I recall an effect that appeared like steam or smoke near my neck after holy water was applied. The video records a visible effect, but its physical cause has not been established.

Was the Sallie House experiment proof of demonic possession?

No. I experienced the session as deeply disturbing, and some viewers interpret the footage as possession. The material does not independently prove possession or rule out non-paranormal explanations.

Was the sensory-deprivation Ouija experiment the first ever?

It was an early, unusually immersive experiment in my live paranormal work. I cannot verify a worldwide “first” claim; historical priority would require broader independent documentation.

Is ZoZo the same demon as Pazuzu?

Some online theories connect the two names, but no reliable historical evidence confirms that identification. ZoZo is best described here as the name reported in certain modern Ouija experiences.

Where can I watch more LiveSciFi investigations?

Explore In Search of the Paranormal LIVE, our Demon Files investigations, and the LiveSciFi YouTube channel.

Review the Footage and Share What You Notice

I started streaming ghost hunts so people could witness the investigation, not just accept my interpretation of a strange moment. Watch the original ZoZo Ouija video and the Sallie House recording. If you see something noteworthy, leave a comment with the video title, exact timestamp, and what you observed—and let us know whether you think there’s an ordinary explanation.

For more of my fieldwork and investigation background, visit my LiveSciFi investigator biography. You can also read my deeper firsthand investigation of who or what ZoZo may be.

Original Records and Further Reading

• LiveSciFi archive: ZoZo Ouija Board Demon Caught on Video, published October 28, 2015 — the surviving original text and embedded video reference.
• Original 2015 ZoZo Ouija video — primary recording cited by the archived article.
• Sallie House Ouija and holy-water recording — separate LiveSciFi primary recording of the 2012 incident.
• 2015 Sallie House investigation announcement — contemporary documentation of LiveSciFi’s return to the property.
• 2016 ZoZo Demon House broadcast announcement — contemporary description of the proposed methods and participants.