Ouija board

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"Talking boards" came into existence during the late 1800's, when séances were at the height of their popularity. The Ouija board (pronounced 'wee-ja'), while not the original talking board, was the first talking board to receive a patent and the first to be commercially marketed. Though "Ouija" is a trademark name, the term is often used generically to describe any talking board. Users of Ouija boards generally believe that the spirits of the dead exist in a "spirit world", and can be contacted through the Ouija board. The board consists mainly of numbers and letters, and participants place their fingers on a planchette, or small, heart shaped piece of wood, which then moves around the board to spell out messages from the spirit world.

Precursors to the Ouija

Ancient Ouija Boards?

It is often claimed that the Ouija has roots in ancient divination methods and oracles. According to Stoker Hunt's 'Ouija the Most Dangerous Game' (1985), one of the first use of "Ouija-like instruments" is found in China, centuries before the birth of Confucius (circa 550 B.C.E.). In reality, Fu Chi (also called Fuji, Fuluan, or Jiangbi), a well-known form of Chinese spirit writing, is simply automatic writing, with no board, letters, or message indicator. Aside from its purpose of contacting the spirits of the dead, there is nothing particularly Ouija-like about Fu Chi.

Another often quoted statement taken from Lewis Spence's 'Encyclopedia of Occultism' (1920) states that the Ouija board "...is very old. It was in use in the days of Pythagoras, about 540 B.C.E. According to a French historical account of the philosopher's life, his sect held frequent séances or circles at which 'a mystic table, moving on wheels, moved towards signs, which the philosopher and his pupil, Philolaus, interpreted to the audience as being revelations supposedly from the unseen world." Critics of this claim point out that there is no record of any such French historical account, that this description is the first and only account of such a talking board in historic record, and that Spence also made the dubious claim that the planchette was invented by a french spiritualist named "M. Planchette" (a fact that would be highly coincidental given that "planchette" means "little board", not to mention the fact that there is no record of any person named "Planchette".) Additionally, the claim of ancient Greek use is called into question through historical accuracy, as Philolaus was born roughly twenty-five years after Pythagoras's death. While the ancient world certainly possessed various oracles and techniques for divination, the Ouija board was not developed until the nineteenth century.

The Development of the Ouija Board

Before talking boards came into use, spiritualist mediums would use various methods to contact the spirit world. Raps on tables, table tilting, and spirit or automatic writing were all commonly used by mediums. In the early phases of automatic writing, a pencil was attached to a small basket, which would theoretically be controlled by a spirit to write a message. Later, the basket was replaced by the heart-shaped planchette; a small wooden board with two casters and a pencil attached. However, all of these methods were somewhat frustrating; raps and table tilting were tedious and time consuming for even the shortest message, and automatic writing was often difficult to read. Some mediums gave up on the planchette and simply held the pencil in their hand, writing messages while in a trance state. Others devised complicated apparatuses involving moving needles and letter wheels, called "dial plate instruments" or "psychographs". The talking board first came into being around 1886, when reports of "do it yourself" boards circulated through the Midwestern United States.

The first patent for such a "talking board" was granted on February 10, 1891, listing businessman Elijah Bond as inventor of the new "Ouija board", and Charles Kennard and William Maupin as assignees. As the legend goes, Bond named the board "Ouija" during a session where the board told him that "Ouija" was the Egyptian word for "good luck" (which it is not). It is also possible that Bond adapted the name of the fabled Moroccan city "Ouijda", particularly in light of the psychic popularity of the Middle East at the time.

The Ouija Board Gains Popularity

The Kennard Novelty Company employed a young man named William Fuld as shop manager. Fuld would erroneously come to be known as the inventor of the Ouija board. Kennard's financial backers withdrew their support and placed Fuld in charge of the company. Fuld, a natural salesman, was responsible for record numbers of Ouija board sales. Fuld reinvented the board's history, claiming himself as inventor, and saying that he took "Ouija" from the French and German words for yes ("oui" and "ja".) Reporters were told that the Ouija board gave Fuld all his most successful ideas. Due to Fuld's excellent marketing skills, Ouija boards outsold all competitors' talking boards. In 1927, Fuld died from a fall off his factory roof. While it is most likely that the fall was accidental when Fuld leaned on an unstable railing while supervising the installation of a flagpole, darker versions of the story involve demons, a tormented Fuld, and a tragic suicidal leap from the factory roof. The rumors surrounding his death only served to boost Ouija sales.

In 1966, the rights to the Ouija board were sold to Parker Brothers, who, during the following year, sold over two million boards. The Ouija board outsold Monopoly, Parker Brothers' previously bestselling game, and, though its popularity has declined, is still sold today.

Theories on How Ouija Boards Work

Aside from the belief that it is all a hoax, there are two main schools of thought on how the Ouija board operates. Many believe that the board serves as an aid to contacting a spiritual or supernatural realm. Others believe that it is a way to get in touch with one's own subconscious.

Contact With Spirits or Demons

Spiritualists believe that the Ouija board allows them to make contact with the spirits of the dead. By channeling, the spirit is able to control the user's body enough to move the planchette and spell out a message. Critics like the skeptic and magician James Randi point out that, when blindfolded, Ouija board operators are unable to produce intelligible messages. Supporters of the Ouija's spiritual abilities claim that the board has no intrinsic power in and of itself, but rather, is used simply as a tool to aid a medium while in communication with the spirit world. According to spiritualists, the blindfolding of a medium places too great a handicap on the exercise, as the contacted spirits actually utilize the eyes of the medium during a Ouija session to point to the words and letters needed to form a message.

The Automatism Theory

Others believe that the Ouija board is merely a method of contacting one's own subconscious. Ideomotor action, a term coined by William Carpenter in 1852, refers to the idea that suggestion or expectation can create involuntary and unconscious motor behavior, or muscular movement. The ideomotor effect has been used to explain dowsing, the actions of the Ouija board, and other seemingly "supernatural" occurrences. The ideomotor effect can occur in individuals as well as in groups, where it is referred to as a "collective" action. Sometimes called the "Automatism Theory", the idea that the Ouija board or automatic writing can provide quick access to the subconscious has some popularity as a therapeutic tool. The technique to use the Ouija board for therapeutic insight into the subconscious is similar to the technique used for contacting a spirit. The main difference is that the user, operating the board alone, addresses his/her own subconscious as though it were a separate entity instead of calling a certain spirit or asking if "anyone is there". Proponents of Ouija therapy also claim the technique works well for couples therapy, as it cuts through barriers erected to avoid conflict and helps the couple better understand each other..

The Dangers of Ouija Boards

Although Ouija boards are viewed by some to be a simple toy, there are many people who believe they can be harmful, even dangerous. Those opposed to the use of Ouija boards claim that the board facilitates contact with evil spirits or demons, who, masquerading as cooperative ghosts or dead loved ones, then proceed to trick players into becoming spiritually possessed. Others claim that evil spirits or demons can cause a user to start using the Ouija board as though it were a drug, eventually ignoring personal relationships and obligations.

The use of a Ouija board is also said to cause users to go insane. As early as 1924, Harry Houdini wrote that five people from Carrito, California were driven insane by using a board. That same year, Dr. Carl Wickland stated that "the serious problem of alienation and mental derangement attending ignorant psychic experiments was first brought to my attention by cases of several persons whose seemingly harmless experiences with automatic writing and the Ouija board resulted in such wild insanity that commitment to asylums was necessitated." In 1944, occultist Manly P. Hall, the founder of the Philosophical Research Society and an authority on the occult during the early 20th century, stated in Horizon magazine that, "during the last 20-25 years I have had considerable personal experience with persons who have complicated their lives through dabbling with the Ouija board. Out of every hundred such cases, at least 95 are worse off for the experience." He went on to say that, "I know of broken homes, estranged families, and even suicides that can be traced directly to this source." Ouija board users have reported experiencs of depression, hearing voices, and seeing apparitions after using the Ouija board. Suicides, and occasionally murder are sometimes attributed to Ouija board use. Psychic Susy Smith claimed in her 1971 autobiography, "Confessions of a Psychic", that use of a Ouija board caused her to become mentally disturbed.

Most Christians are against the use of Ouija boards, mainly because the Bible forbids all forms of divination. Most Christians also believe that no dead person's soul can be summoned, and therefore all spirits contacted through the Ouija board are demons trying to harm humans. Additionally, the late Roman Catholic priest Malachi Martin believed talking boards are dangerous and claimed that by using these devices a person opens themselves to demonic oppression or possession, topics upon which Martin spoke and wrote extensively for many years.

Spiritualists often use protective rituals before using the Ouija board, in order to lower the risk of attracting "low level entities". Visualization, the use of incense, and a call to spirit guides are all common methods of protection. Many spiritualists believe that "like attracts like"; those that use the Ouija board while intoxicated or those that possess a great deal of negativity will attract similar, low level spirits from the other side, increasing the risk of negative experiences.

Whether one believes that the Ouija contacts spirits or is merely a vehicle to probe one's own subconscious, there are definitely psychological risks to using the board. During Ouija sessions, it appears common to receive vulgar or vile messages, as well as messages that tap into the users' fear of death. These messages can be highly disturbing to some, no matter what their source, and have the potential to exacerbate any existing mental disturbances. It is well advised that those with emotional or psychological disturbances refrain from the use of the Ouija.

Literature From the Ouija

Talking boards have become an iconic part of culture, demonstrated by their appearances in many books and movies. Their roles in such vary from benign object to an evil entity. A more peculiar role of talking boards in literature stems from authors using the board to channel complete written works from the deceased.

In the early 1900s, St. Louis housewife Pearl Curran used her Ouija board communications with a spirit named Patience Worth to publish a number of poems and prose. Pearl claimed that all of the writings came to her through séances, which she allowed the public to attend. In 1917 writer Emily G. Hutchings believed she had communicated with and written a book dictated by Mark Twain from her Ouija board. Twain's living descendants went to court to halt publication of the book that was later determined to be so poorly written that it could not have been written by Twain, dead or alive.

Since the 1970s, author Jane Roberts has transcribed text channeled from what she described as an "energy personality essence" named Seth. Topics attributed to Seth discuss the nature of physical reality, the origins of the universe, the theory of evolution, the many-worlds interpretation, the Christ story, and the purpose of life, among other subjects, and form a collection of more than 10 books and a number of videos and audio recordings.

Author John Fuller used a Ouija board in his research for his 1976 book The Ghost of Flight 401. As he was skeptical of its effectiveness, he worked with a medium and claimed they both contacted Don Repo, the flight engineer on the flight which crashed into the Everglades en route to Miami. According to Fuller, the information divined described facts that neither he nor the medium previously knew.

Pulitzer Prize winning poet James Merrill used a Ouija board and recorded what he claimed were messages from a number of deceased persons. He combined these messages with his own poetry in The Changing Light at Sandover (1982).

Ouija in Popular Culture

The Ouija has been a part of popular culture since its introduction. Representative of our fascination with the unknown, the Ouija board has been a presence in many homes, amateur séances, and slumber parties, and is often found in literature, film, and television. In particular, the occult side of the Ouija board is popular in the horror genre. In the classic horror film The Exorcist, a young girl uses a Ouija board and contacts a demon, who soon possesses her. The plot of 'The Exorcist' is loosely based on the life of a Maryland boy around 1950 and his experiences with possession and exorcism after his use of a Ouija board. The "Witchboard" trilogy of horror movies also have plots centered around Ouija board use and possession. The Ouija board has made appearances in various television series, including "Charmed", "Futurama", and "Supernatural", among others. The Ouija has also made appearances in literature, such as in Stephen King's "The Stand".

There have been many notable users of the Ouija board. The famous occultist Aleister Crowley advocated the use of Ouija boards, which played a major role in many of his magickal workings. Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi held a séance in 1978 with other professors at the University of Bologna during which the board was asked the location of a prominent politician kidnapped by terrorists. The Ouija board, as the story goes, spelled out the word "Gradoli". Searches for the missing politician were made, but no no avail. It was only after the murder of the kidnapped politician that it was discovered he had been kept prisoner in a nearby suburb, on a street named "Via Gradoli". In a happier Ouija-related story, California resident Iris Maloney credits the Ouija for providing her with lottery numbers that won her and her husband 1.4 million dollars. The rock bands Alice Cooper and Cheap Trick are both rumored to have obtained their names through Ouija sessions.

Additional Reading

• Cornelious, J. Edward Aleister Crowley and the Ouija Board. 2005 ISBN 1-932595-10-4 [1]
• Gruss, Edmond C. The Ouija Board: A Doorway to the Occult 1994 ISBN 0-87552-247-5
• Hunt, Stoker. Ouija: The Most Dangerous Game. 1992 ISBN 0-06-092350-4

External links

External links of sites with information on talking boards

• Museum Of Talking Boards
• Related Names for Talking Board
• Paranormality A-Z Paranormal Phenomena
• 'Ouija board' appeal dismissed

External links skeptical of talking boards

• The Skeptics' Dictionary: Ouija
• An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural
• How does a Ouija board work? from 'The Straight Dope'

External links critical of talking boards

• Evangelical Outreach "Dangers of Ouija Boards"
• Ouija Boards Are Evil - religious site
• Ouija Board Website

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