What Is a Ouija Board?

Features

• A typical Ouija board is rectangular in shape and can be made of anything from thick cardboard (very common) to precious stones and even glass. Frequently, they are made of wood and painted or lettered and then finished in a coat of high gloss urethane or similar slick sealer. The common (toy) board has the alphabet in a gentle curve facing the main user. In the upper left corner of the board is the word "Yes." In the upper right corner of the board is the word "No." In the center of the board is an ampersand symbol (&). Centered beneath the ampersand are the numbers 1 through 0, and beneath the numbers are the word "Good Bye." Older forms used the words "Good Eve" and "Good Bye."

Types

• Handmade and commercial variations on the Ouija board are so extensive that it is possible to find boards in all types of languages and configurations. Professional Ouija readers even use circular boards that barely resemble the familiar toy variety.

Planchettes

• Ouija boards became successful because of their simple construction and the adaptation of the planchette, according to the Museum of Talking Boards. A planchette is a heart-shaped mini-table with short legs that glides across the talking board. Some planchettes have a hole to peer through, while others use a pointed end to point at the letter, number or word being isolated. The invention of the planchette made talking boards inexpensive to produce and easy to use.

Function

• To use the talking board, the board is placed on a flat surface and one or more people will place their fingertips on the edges of the planchette. Someone will ask a question and the planchette will, at some point, begin to move about. Often each person at the table will feel that other people are intentionally pulling or pushing the planchette about. Sometimes the planchette will move about quite fast. Often someone is designated to write down what the device spells out.

History

• Many people list William Fuld as the inventor of the Ouija Board when, according to his descendants at William Fuld.com, he took over running the company that produced the Ouija Board in 1892. He held that position over his lifetime (his heirs sold the patents in 1966 to Parker Brothers). According to the Museum of Talking Boards, a patent was granted to Elijah J. Bond on February 10, 1891, as the inventor of the talking board. One of the assignees on the patent was Charles W. Kennard. He famously coined the word "Ouija," which he claimed was the Egyptian word for "good luck." It isn't. But, the word resonated with the public and the board quickly became popular. Eventually the brand Ouija Board came to mean the same as a "talking" board. The Ouija Board remains a popular and sometimes controversial toy that people use to test out their superstitions.