Ouija Boards: The History and Rules of the Board

Happy 1st day of October witches! With October coming, more and more people become interested in the occult and trying new things. A lot of people are also similarly opposed to the Ouija board but just as many are willing to try it out. I have actually found 2 people who are willing to try using a Ouija with me this season so I will post an update later on how that went. I have one but never had the opportunity to try it out so I think this will be quite the experience!

A Ouija board, also known as a spirit board, talking board, oracle board, mystery board, witch board, or angel board, is a flat board used in a form of divination that creates a link between the world of man and the spirit realm using a medium or communicator to channel information from the spirit world. The use of the Ouija board allows for the delivery of spiritualistic and telepathic messages with the dead because originally, the board was thought to have been made from the wood of a used coffin. However, more accurately, one of the original creators of the Ouija board was a carpenter turned coffin maker turned undertaker, a quite normal transition of the time. The Ouija board is marked with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0–9, the words “yes”, “no”, “hello” and “goodbye”, along with various other symbols and graphics. It uses a planchette (small heart-shaped piece of wood or plastic) as a movable indicator to spell out messages during a séance. The theory is that spiritual forces will “push” peoples’ fingers on the planchette towards particular letters and numbers to spell messages and communicate from the afterlife.

A Ouija board is often used during a séance. These days, a séance is accessible to everyone, not just psychics, through tools such as a Ouija board, automatic writing, candles, and crystal balls. The séance is the central ritual of spiritualism and has provided thousands of ordinary men and women with the opportunity to gain access to the spirit world. The classic picture of a séance involves a medium playing the central role, but since the early days of Victorian spiritualism, people have practiced more accessible types of séance based around a Ouija board or similar set up. This method does not require special psychic powers and can be used by anyone.

Some may find the idea of a séance to be archaic or even frightening, but there are several reasons why it is a great method of contacting spirits. Several people working together can combine their individual psychic energies to produce a greater force. Following a formal ritual helps to put you in the right frame of mind. The spirits have a vast store of wisdom, which comes from their own experiences and the knowledge they have picked up from other spirits. Traditionally, most people attend a séance to speak to a friend or loved one who has crossed over to the spirit world to hear that they are fine.

The 1^st Ouija Board

The 1^st Ouija board was called a planchette and was a heart shaped piece of wood with a wheel at each corner and a pencil placed in the middle. The planchette would actually write or draw pictures from the spirit world. Ouija boards have figured prominently in horror tales in various media as devices enabling malevolent spirits to spook their users. Most often, they make brief appearances, relying heavily on the atmosphere of mystery the board already holds in the mind of the viewer, in order to add credence to the paranormal presence in the story being told.

It has been theorized that the Ouija board contacts some secret place in the depths of the subconscious mind of the sitter and not a spirit entity. It is possible that this is true and a great number of the cases that have been reported. In some cases however, things have occurred which have no precedent in any area of subconscious exploration, nor can they be explained by psychologists or psychiatrists. Usually when this happens, it fulfills the goal of most serious experimenters using the board to explore the next world. Whether you will experience any or all of these phenomena, no one can say for sure.

The Ouija board itself isn’t even 130 years old but the idea of using “talking boards” to communicate with spirits or ghosts is very ancient. Attempting to divine the will of the gods or spirits through earthly interpretation was common among many civilizations.

One of the first mentions of the automatic writing method used in the Ouija board is found in China around 1100 AD, in historical documents of the Song Dynasty. The method was known as fuji “planchette writing”. The use of planchette writing as an ostensible means of necromancy and communion with the spirit-world continued, and, albeit under special rituals and supervisions, was a central practice of the Quanzhen School, until it was forbidden by the Qing Dynasty. As a part of the spiritualist movement, mediums began to employ various means for communication with the dead. Following the American Civil War in the United States, mediums did significant business in allegedly allowing survivors to contact lost relatives.

Businessman Elijah Bond had the idea to patent a planchette sold with a board on which the alphabet was printed, much like the previously existing talking boards that had been used for centuries. Bond filed on 28 May 1890 for patent protection and thus is credited with the invention of the Ouija board despite its history dating back far longer. An employee of Elijah Bond, William Fuld, took over the talking board production. In 1901, Fuld started production of his own boards under the name “Ouija”. Charles Kennard, founder of Kennard Novelty Company which manufactured Fuld’s talking boards and where Fuld had worked as a cabinet varnisher, claimed he learned the name “Ouija” from using the board and that the board told him it was an ancient Egyptian word meaning “good luck”. No Egyptian term like that actually exists but around that time, Egypt was exotic and all the rage so it was likely a marketing ploy to make the board sound exotic. When Fuld took over production of the boards, he popularized the more widely accepted etymology: that the name came from a combination of the French and German words for “yes”. While this may be the correct pronunciation for the French yes, it is not the correct pronunciation for the German yes. While “Oui” is “We”, “Ja” is pronounced “Yah”. Whichever theory is correct, it is a very recognizable word in today’s age.

The board started to acquire a sinister reputation almost immediately after its production. In 1919, J.G. Raupert published a book called The New Black Magic & The Truth About The Ouija-Board, in which he reported that doctors had told him about three people for whom “the use of the Ouija-board has brought about a state of dementia.”

The Ouija board was otherwise regarded as an innocent parlor game unrelated to the occult until American spiritualist Pearl Curran popularized its use as a divining tool during World War I. Allegedly, just before the outbreak of World War I, a spirit who called himself Isaac David Solomon used the board and made this prophecy: “Blood, blood, blood, everywhere. A great nation will fall; a small nation will rise; a great religion will stand in danger. News that will astonish the civilized world is at hand. Blood everywhere.” In 1935, 77 year old Herbert Hurd killed his wife Nellie after a Ouija board allegedly revealed he had given a lover $15,000. Nellie tortured Herbert until he was able to grab a gun and kill her. The death was ruled justifiable homicide.

Paranormal and supernatural beliefs associated with Ouija have been criticized by the scientific community and are characterized as pseudoscience. The action of the board can be most easily explained by unconscious movements of those controlling the pointer, a psychophysiological phenomenon known as the ideomotor effect. The ideomotor phenomenon is a psychological phenomenon wherein a subject makes motions unconsciously. Parker Brothers bought the Ouija board in 1966, at which point it had outsold Monopoly with over 2 million sales. Parker Brothers still own the trademark to this day and to date, they are estimated to have sold up to 25 million boards.

Mainstream Christian denominations, including Catholicism, have “warned against using Ouija boards”, holding that they can lead to demonic possession. Since early in the Ouija board’s history, it has been criticized by several Christian denominations. The Catholic Church in the Catechism of the Catholic Church in paragraph 2116 explicitly forbids any practice of divination which includes the usage of Ouija boards. In 2001, Ouija boards were burned in Alamogordo, New Mexico, by fundamentalist groups alongside Harry Potter books as “symbols of witchcraft”. Religious criticism has also expressed beliefs that the Ouija board reveals information which should only be in God’s hands, and thus it is a tool of Satan. A spokesperson for Human Life International described the boards as a portal to talk to spirits and called for Hasbro to be prohibited from marketing them. These religious objections to use of the Ouija board have in turn given rise to ostentatious type folklore in the communities where they circulate. Cautionary tales that the board opens a door to evil spirits turn the game into the subject of a supernatural dare, especially for young people. Occultists, on the other hand, are divided on the issue, with some saying that it can be a tool for positive transformation; others reiterated the warnings of many Christians and caution “inexperienced users” against it. Aleister Crowley had great admiration for the use of the Ouija board and it played a passing role in his magical workings. Jane Wolfe, who lived with Crowley at Abbey of Thelema, also used the Ouija board. She credits some of her greatest spiritual communications to use of this implement.

Don’t drop that mirror or you’ll have bad luck for seven years.
Never let a black cat cross your path.
Throw salt over your shoulder to ward off bad luck.

We have all heard these admonitions before. Somehow it’s comforting to know that you might be able to ward off misfortune with a pinch of salt or a knock on wood. This is especially true when dealing with the unknown or something particularly scary. So it isn’t surprising that the Ouija board has its own set of rules and warnings. Do you really need to worry about these things, or are they just superstitions garnered from Ouija folklore? In the end, it is up to you whether you believe them or not but they are good guidelines to follow either way just in case.

Never play alone.
Never let the spirits count down through the numbers or go through the alphabet as it said they can get out of the board this way.
If the planchette goes to the four corners of the board, it supposedly means that you have contacted an evil spirit.
If the planchette falls from a Ouija board, a spirit will get loose.
If the planchette repeatedly makes a figure eight, it means that an evil spirit is in control of the board.
If you should get an evil spirit, quickly turn the planchette upside down and use it that way.
The board must be “closed” properly or evil spirits will remain behind to haunt the operator(s) and/or those in the room/vicinity.
Never use the Ouija when you are ill or in a weakened condition since this may make you vulnerable to possession.
The spirit of the Ouija board creates “wins” for the user, causing him to become more and more dependent on the board. Addiction follows. This is called “progressive entrapment.”
Evil spirits contacted through the Ouija board will try to win your confidence with false flattery and lies.
Always be respectful and never upset the spirits. You should always be respectful regardless to both the living and the dead.
Never use the Ouija board in a graveyard or place where a terrible death has occurred or you will bring forth malevolent entities.
Witchboards are so named because witches use them to summon demons but really they are no different from any other Ouija board or “angel board”.
Supposedly, the very first Ouija boards were made from the wood of coffins. A coffin nail in the center of the planchette window served as the pointer.
Sometimes an evil spirit can permanently “inhabit” a board. When this happens, no other spirits will be able to use it.
When using a glass as a message indicator, you must always cleanse it first by holding it over a burning candle.
Ouija boards that are disposed of improperly come back to haunt the owner.
A Ouija Board will scream if you try to burn it. People who hear the scream have less than thirty-six hours to live. There is only one proper way to dispose of it: break the board into seven pieces, sprinkle it with Holy Water then bury it.
If you must use a Ouija board, make your own. Arrange the letters and numbers, into a circle so whatever is trapped within that circle can’t escape.
If you place a pure silver coin on the board, no evil spirits will be able to come through.
NEVER leave the planchette on the board if you aren’t using it.
Lecherous spirits from the Ouija board will sometimes ask young women to do rather . . . ah, odd things. Ignore them and always remember that your Ouija partner (i.e. boyfriend) has nothing to do with this.
Three things never to ask a Ouija board.
Never ask about God.
Never ask when you are going to die.
Never ask where gold is buried.
Lastly, be alert at all times, and in control of the situation.