If you come and participate in our séance, currently running at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, you might, as the poster suggests, be asked to use a Ouija Board.
What exactly is a Ouija Board? Is it an ancient demonic tool, crafted by Satan himself to allow us to communicate with the other side? Or is it merely an innocent toy that has been grossly misinterpreted?
“The Talking Board,” or as it is more commonly known “Ouija Board,” is actually a fairly recent invention. American businessmen Elijah Jefferson Bond and Charles Kennard patented the first board with letters on it to be sold with a planchette (the pointing device you put on the board) in 1890. A keen inventor, Bond also trademarked the word ‘Nirvana’ and invented a steam boiler. In fact, he would have made an excellent addition to “Dragon’s Den.”
In 1901, an employee of Kennard, William Fuld took over production of the talking boards and marketed them under the name “ouija” from the French and German words for yes, oui-ja. The board grew in popularity from the 1920s-1960s and many similar boards were marketed by Fuld’s competitors. He filed several lawsuits at other companies who were using the term ‘ouija’ in their marketing. Fuld reinvented the history of the board and anounced that he alone devised it.
The true origin of the board, however, is claimed by Fuld’s rivals to date back much further in history. Fuji is a form of automatic writing from China first appearing on record in 1100 BC. With Fuji, no board is used, instead a large planchette with a pencil attached is placed onto paper and when the planchette moves it creates letters, pictures or symbols. This apparently was the inspiration for Bond’s invention.
Years of ghost stories, horror movies and tales of people opening doorways to the other side through improper use of the board has led many to believe that the board should not be sold as a toy. Despite this, Parker Brothers, who bought the rights to the Ouija Board in the 1960s, market many variations of the original design, including a lovely pink edition designed for teenage girls who want to find out if the spirits can give them a date for the night.
