Witchboard (2024) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

David slashed the tires as an act of vengeance when Jim openly insulted him during the party session. The Ouija board had already established a connection to the spirit, and David's response proved he could affect the physical world beyond just communicating through the board. This incident was the first clear sign that the spirit was not merely a harmless communicator but a malevolent entity capable of taking physical action against those who disrespect or challenge him.

• david
• tires slashed
• ouiji board
• revenge
• spirit

David demonstrated seemingly supernatural knowledge by directing Linda to the exact location of her lost engagement ring. This convinced Linda that David was a genuine spirit with access to real-world information, deepening her trust in the board. However, this ability was later revealed to be part of a larger deception, David was actually a decoy used by the far more dangerous spirit, Carlos Malfeitor, to gain credibility and manipulate the group into continued contact.

• engagement ring
• david
• supernatural knowledge
• ouiji board

Carlos Malfeitor was an axe murderer who was shot and killed by police in 1930 inside the very house where Linda and Jim now live. The house itself became a spiritual portal, and Malfeitor used the Ouija board sessions as an opportunity to extend his influence beyond the house. He hijacked the communication that was meant for David, a boy who had drowned in a nearby lake, and posed as the innocent child to gain trust while actually working to possess Linda and ultimately kill those who investigated the truth.

Foreshadowing: The newspaper article about David Simpson's drowning initially seems relevant, but the story pivots to reveal Malfeitor's connection to the house.

• carlos malfeitor
• axe murderer
• house
• possession
• 1930

Zarabeth was killed because the entity communicating through the board was never actually David, it was Carlos Malfeitor. When Zarabeth attempted to channel and potentially exorcise the spirit, she posed a threat to Malfeitor's plans. Her murder, where her throat was slashed and her body was thrown through a window to impale on a sundial, was a violent demonstration that the supposed "child spirit" was actually a dangerous, centuries-old murderer capable of physical violence.

• zarabeth
• murder
• ouiji board
• exorcism
• killed

Linda's possession was triggered by her repeated use of the cursed witchboard and her deepening emotional connection to the entity she believed was David. Each session weakened the barrier between her and the spirit world, allowing Malfeitor to gradually take control. Her symptoms, nausea mimicking pregnancy and violent mood swings, were early signs of the possession. The more she trusted and communicated with "David," the more Malfeitor was able to infiltrate her mind and eventually take full control of her body.

Foreshadowing: Linda's symptoms intensify after each contact with the board, foreshadowing the eventual possession.

• linda
• possession
• malfeitor
• symptoms
• 怀孕
• ouiji board

The witchboard served as the primary conduit through which Malfeitor maintained his connection to the living world and his hold over Linda. When Jim shot and destroyed the board, he severed the spiritual link that allowed Malfeitor to communicate and possess. This act of destroying the "portal" broke the chain of control, forcing Malfeitor out of Linda and ending the immediate threat. The board was the anchor keeping the malevolent spirit tethered to the physical realm.

Foreshadowing: The house itself is described as a 'portal' that Malfeitor uses to reach them.

• board
• destroyed
• curse
• broken
• portal
• ouiji board

Malfeitor killed Brandon because Brandon was the one who had been most actively investigating the truth behind the spirits. After discovering the newspaper article about David Simpson, Brandon accompanied Jim to the lake to confront the entities directly. This direct challenge threatened Malfeitor's deception, so he intervened violently, killing Brandon with a hatchet on the dock, to silence the investigation and demonstrate the consequences of meddling with the supernatural.

• brandon
• killed
• malfeitor
• hatchet
• lake
• investigation

The ending implies that destroying the board was not a complete victory. While Jim and Linda broke the immediate curse and survived, the planchette's movement to 'yes' in the final scene suggests that Malfeitor's influence may persist. The board may have been destroyed, but the spiritual connection it opened cannot be fully sealed. The word 'yes' indicates the entity is still present and waiting, leaving the audience with the unsettling possibility that the evil has not been truly eradicated.

• planchette
• ending
• yes
• evil
• survived
• curse

Lloyd's death at the construction site, when drywall collapsed on him, was presented as a suspicious accident that appeared supernatural in nature. During Linda's subsequent contact with David, the spirit claimed he did not cause the accident, which was technically true, but misleading. The real culprit was Malfeitor, who was already manipulating events behind the scenes. Whether Malfeitor directly caused the accident or simply exploited the situation to increase fear and chaos remains ambiguous, but it established that supernatural danger extended beyond the board sessions.

• lloyd
• death
• construction site
• accident
• supernatural

Lieutenant Dewhurst suspected Jim because the murders followed a pattern that pointed to a human perpetrator: Brandon and Zarabeth were killed in ways that mimicked physical violence by a living attacker. The police had no knowledge of the supernatural elements and saw Jim as the common denominator, he was present at the party, had relationships with both victims, and had motive given the romantic tension. Additionally, Linda's erratic behavior was easily misread as trauma rather than possession, making Jim the logical suspect in a conventional investigation.

• police
• jim
• suspicion
• dewhurst
• murders
• investigation

David Simpson was a ten-year-old boy who drowned in a nearby lake, and his spirit was the original entity Brandon and Linda contacted through the board. However, Malfeitor, a violent axe murderer bound to the house, intercepted these communications and impersonated David. Malfeitor used David's innocent identity as a cover to manipulate the group into continuing the sessions. The real David Simpson was likely never malicious; he was simply a convenient disguise for Malfeitor's possession and killing spree.

• david simpson
• lake
• drowning
• impersonation
• malfeitor