Depending on what side of the fence you sit, Ouija boards are the agent of the devil or harmless bits of fun. There is usually no middle ground here. Without a doubt, the Ouija board remains the most controversial divination tool there is.

But is this reputation actually deserved?

Whilst we can never dream of providing the definitive answer to that question here, what we hope to provide is some background history and a discussion of the various theories and misconceptions surrounding the board that have come into being over the years.

Then perhaps, you can make up your own mind.

It’s not our intention to discuss how to actually use the board (this is taken as read), provide protection rituals or debate the pros and cons

 History

The Ouija board, as we recognise it today, dates back over 150 years to 1853, when E C Reiche designed and produced for the first time the basic format that we still use today.

Reiche was also responsible for the name, but contrary to popular belief, ‘Ouija’ was not used as it was the combination of the French / German words for ’Yes, but because Reiche incorrectly believed that it was Egyptian for ‘Good Luck’, claiming he was told this through a spirit channelled through the board.

Reiche sold the rights to the board to a friend, Charles Kennard, who started producing the boards commercially in the mid 1880’s.

The first patent for a Ouija board was filed on the 28th May 1890, listing the assignees as Kennard and William Maupin.

In turn, their shop manager William Fuld decided to try and go into business himself and forced Kennard out of the company, subsequently changing the manufacturer’s name from the Kennard Novelty Co. to Ouija Novelty Co. starting mass production of ‘Fuld’s Talking Board’.

The popularity of the Ouija board as a parlour game soared.

Interestingly, during a dip in sales, Fuld died in disputed circumstances, one story was that he committed suicide by jumping from a building, another that he fell accidently from the top of the building whilst supervising the fitment of a flag pole. Either way, the story of his alleged suicide gave the board a tinge of darkness.

Despite this set back, production continued, sales being boosted in the aftermath of the Second World War, with grieving relatives wanting to contact their recently deceased loved ones.

However, in the 1960’s interest in the board began to wane and production rights sold to Parker Brothers, who still hold the rights to this very day.

Interestingly, the bad press that surrounds the board can be traced back to 1973 with the release of ‘The Exorcist’. Up until then, the board was viewed no differently to that of other divination tools such as Tarot, Crystal Balls or Scrying mirrors.

Incorrectly, it was widely publicised that the film was based upon a true story and people soon came forward claiming to have been possessed by demons following their use of a board, stories that were snapped up by the Sunday press, spreading the myth to an even wider audience.

How does it work?

The first question on many people’s lips is how does the board actually work?

There are many theories surrounding this.

These range from either extremity, from claiming that that the spirits work the board, to the more mundane, that the planchette is being manipulated by (perhaps unknowingly) by one of the sitters present at the board.

In the middle ground sits the theory that the board is used as a tool by one of the sitters to connect to a place in the depths of their subconscious mind, perhaps linking with the spirit world, then channelling the information back through the board.

Alas, we don’t have the answers for you, although we do find it strange that demons, who can possess, kill and maim at will, need someone to touch a planchette before it will move.

All we ask, at the end of the day, is to always bear in mind that, whatever way you want to look at it, a Ouija board is nothing more than a piece of wood or card with letters printed on it. 


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