Since the beginning of recorded time, man has claimed to be able to communicate with the spirit world. However, it would not be until the heyday of the Spiritualist movement that he would begin claiming to do so as an everyday occurrence. That particular movement was founded by two young girls, Kate and Maggie Fox, who established a way to communicate with a ghost. They used a series of knocks and raps that answered “yes” and “no” and eventually assigned a code for letters of the alphabet. In this way, they were able to spell out longer and more detailed messages. 

As Spiritualism grew in popularity, those with an interest began to establish what were called “home circles”, small groups of friends and family members who would gather around and attempt to communicate with spirits. They experimented with the knocking and rapping sounds and later with Table Tilting, which was accessible to everyone and no professional mediums were needed. The knockings and rappings of the early movement continued to spread in other directions as ordinary people began experimenting with their own skills as mediums. Soon, the tiresome and time-consuming method of knocking and tipping tables began to fall out of fashion and so mediums began a new form of contact called “automatic writing”. While practiced almost solely by spirit mediums, it still became very popular at séances as a direct line to the spirit world. 

Automatic writing was defined as writing that was done while the medium was under the control of the spirits. It was believed these ghosts would guide the medium’s hand and spell out messages for the sitters who were present. Most likely (ignoring cases of outright fraud), automatic writing actually consisted of material that was gathered in the unconscious mind of the medium and then put to paper as a message from the dead. However it may have worked, it soon replaced the slower methods of communication and soon mediums claimed to receive more complex messages from the beyond. 

Obviously, many questions remain as to the authenticity of automatic writing, although in some rare cases, the messages received were eerily precise. Just like with the other facets of spirit communication still to come, a number of mysteries remain unsolved.

HISTORY OF THE OUIJA BOARD

Shortly after the planchette came to America, a cabinet and coffin maker from Maryland named E.C. Reiche created a new method of communicating with the dead. He devised a wooden lap tray with the letters of the alphabet arranged in two lines across the center of the board. Below these letters, he placed the numbers 1-10 and the words YES and NO in each lower corner of the board. He used the planchette with his board but removed the pencil tips and placed wooden pegs on the bottom of it. In this way, the planchette was free to move about the board. 

It was always believed that Reiche named his board the "Ouija" because the name represented the French and German words for “yes” (oui and ja) but this was not the case. He named it that because he believed that the word "Ouija" was actually Egyptian for luck. Needless to say, it's not, but since he claimed to receive the word from a spirit on the board, the name stuck.

But Reiche was more interested in spirits than making money and he sold the invention to his friend, Charles Kennard, who soon founded the Kennard Novelty Co. with borrowed money and began producing the first commercial Ouija boards around 1886. The first patent for a "talking board" was filed on May 28, 1890 and listed Charles Kennard and William H. A. Maupin, both of Baltimore, as the assignees. 

Shortly after the company started, the shop manager, William Fuld, decided to go into business for himself. He forced Kennard out of the business and changed the name to the Ouija Novelty Co. He began producing the "Fuld's Talking Board" in record numbers and became a successful businessman. He was a member of the Baltimore General Assembly in later life and remained in control of the company for the next 35 years. Finally, in 1927, during a brief slump in sales, Fuld strangely took his own life. He climbed to the top of a Baltimore building and jumped to his death. Other versions of the story have it that Fuld died accidentally while supervising the replacement of a flag pole on top of the building. A support post that he was holding onto gave way and he plunged to his death. This is likely the more accurate version of events, although Fuld committing suicide gave the Ouija an eerie taint over the years.

The Ouija Board was anything but a curse to Fuld's company though. It became the most successful talking board manufacturer of all time, selling millions of boards as well as other toys and games. Fuld had created a new industry with the Ouija board, which he claimed to have invented himself. He started the apocryphal tales of the naming of the board (using oui and ja) and claimed many of his successful sales plans came from the board itself.

His heirs maintained the company until 1966, when they sold out to Parker Brothers. This company, also known for their success with toys and especially board games, produced not only reproductions of the Fuld board but also made a deluxe wooden edition of the board for a time. They hold all of the patents and trademarks to the board today and they still produce it in large numbers. In spite of the fact that it is now sold in toy stores, it remains a near duplicate (albeit a more cheaply made one) of the Spiritualist board that was sold many years ago.

USING A TALKING BOARD OR OUIJA BOARD

The board should be used by two persons at a time and can be placed on the laps of the sitters, or on a small table within easy reach of everyone. The sitters place their fingers lightly on the edges of the planchette, being careful not to push down too hard. If you should ever take part in a talking board session (or witness one) where you can hear the sound of the planchette scraping on the board, or it seems to be unusually loud as it moves, there is probably something fishy afoot. What this means is that someone is accidentally (or purposely) guiding the pointer and the session should be stopped immediately. Any information received from the board is bound to be false. (Of course, you can use a board on your own, but you may have to generate a little more psychic energy)

Once the session begins, it is recommended that the sitters invite a spirit to come through and speak to them. The sitters are advised to add that they wish to communicate with a “willing” spirit. The reason for this is that it’s been suggested that negative spirits will try to come through and confuse the sitters. For this reason, it’s best to state up front what you are looking for from the session. 

Then, the questions should be asked and repeated in a slow and deliberate manner. Only one question should be asked at a time, and by a single person, to avoid confusion. The answers to the questions will be theoretically spelled out using the planchette.

THE STIGMA OF TALKING BOARDS

But how common is this really? Not nearly as common (and I have yet to see an authentic case) as our society watchdogs would have you think. However, I will say that I think it is possible for people to become dependent upon, or even obsessed with, the Ouija. Of course, with that in mind, it’s possible for people to become dependent on or obsessed with anything, like religion for instance.

In the end, I am not going to say that it’s impossible for spirits to come through the Ouija board and cause problems for the users. There is really no way that I (or anyone else) can make a definitive statement on that. At this point, there are simply too many variables as to how the board even works, let alone if it is a doorway to the other side. 

But what do you think as a well-rounded reader? Is the Ouija a harmless toy or a way to way to communicate with the dead? You will have to judge that one for yourself for now, but I do want to leave you with a couple of thoughts.

There are many accounts of people using the Ouija and then discovering that “things begin to happen”. Some of these experiences are alleged voices and the movement of objects in their home. Those who believe the Ouija achieves spirit contact will say that the person used the board unprotected and thus attracted “lower entities”. It’s possible though (as mentioned) that the Ouija induces effects and that the lingering activity has more to do with the generation of psychic activity that ghosts. For this reason though, people who are overly excited should avoid the use of the board. 

It’s possible that the Ouija works as a sort of “lightning rod” for activity. The forced concentration of the sitters incites an effect that possibly creates a directed energy, or perhaps even opens a sort-of “doorway” to the other side. I have seen the Ouija used as a way to stir up activity in a haunted location as the energies of the sitters are directed toward a common purpose.