Real Crime Stories/Paranormal Hauntings/Conspiracy Theories Book II

History of the Ouija Board: Good or Evil?

The ouija (/ˈwiːdʒə/ WEE-jə,/-dʒi/ jee), also known as a spirit board or talking board, is aflat board marked with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0–9,the words "yes", "no", occasionally"hello" and "goodbye", along withvarious symbols and graphics. It uses a planchette (smallheart-shaped piece of wood or plastic) as a movable indicator tospell out messages during a séance. Participants place their fingerson the planchette, and it is moved about the board to spell outwords. "Ouija" is a trademark of Hasbro, but isoften used generically to refer to any talking board.

Spiritualists believed that the deadwere able to contact the living and reportedly used a talking boardvery similar to a modern Ouija board at their camps in Ohio in 1886to ostensibly enable faster communication with spirits. Followingits commercial introduction by businessman Elijah Bond on July 1,1890, the Ouija board was regarded as an innocent parlor gameunrelated to the occult until American spiritualist Pearl Curranpopularized its use as a divining tool during World War I.

Paranormal and supernatural beliefsassociated with Ouija have been criticized by the scientificcommunity and are characterized as pseudoscience. The action of theboard can be parsimoniously explained by unconscious movements ofthose controlling the pointer, a psychophysiological phenomenon knownas the ideomotor effect.

Some Christian denominations have"warned against using Ouija boards", holding thatthey can lead to demonic possession. Occultists, on the other hand,are divided on the issue, with some saying that it can be a tool forpositive transformation; others reiterate the warnings of manyChristians and caution "inexperienced users" againstit.

History

Precursors

One of the first mentions of theautomatic writing method used in the ouija board is found in Chinaaround 1100 AD, in historical documents of the Song Dynasty. Themethod was known as fuji "planchette writing". Theuse of planchette writing as an ostensible means of necromancy andcommunion with the spirit-world continued, and, albeit under specialrituals and supervisions, was a central practice of the QuanzhenSchool, until it was forbidden by the Qing Dynasty. Several entirescriptures of the Daozang are supposedly works of automaticplanchette writing. According to one author, similar methods ofmediumistic spirit writing have been practiced in ancient India,Greece, Rome, and medieval Europe.

Talking boards

As a part of the spiritualist movement,mediums began to employ various means for communication with thedead. Following the American Civil War in the United States, mediumsdid significant business in presumably allowing survivors to contactlost relatives. The ouija itself was created and named in Baltimore,Maryland, in 1890, but the use of talking boards was so common by1886 that news reported the phenomenon taking over the spiritualists'camps in Ohio.

Commercial parlor game

Businessman Elijah Bond had the idea topatent a planchette sold with a board on which the alphabet wasprinted, much like the previously existing talking boards. Bond filedon May 28, 1890 for patent protection and thus is credited with theinvention of the Ouija board. Issue date on the patent was February10, 1891. He received U.S. Patent 446,054. Bond was an attorney andwas an inventor of other objects in addition to this device.