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Random facts about the Ouija board and the sisters that made it popular -Lucy- |
Hello everyone :)
I'm sure there many people here who will know the info I'm about to tell, but I've yet to really see a post about the history, or with facts, about the board. I'm no expert on it, but thought I'd share this with you all since I found it to be interesting.
The Ouija board, as we know it today, dates back to the late 1800s. Spiritualism was at a great hight back then, and sceances and other methods for contacting spirits had become a popular parlor game. However, Ouija boards were made popular by the Fox sisters in the 1840's. Catherine (Kate- 12 years old) and Margaretta (Maggie- 14 years old) had just moved with their parents to a town near Rochester, New York. Not even three months after living in their new home, the girls were reporting it as being haunted. They made claims of furniture moving, instruments being played by invisable fingers, bangs and bumps being heard all over the house, etc. On March 31st 1848, Kate Fox challenged the ghost and asked it to repeat 'the snaps of her fingers'. The ghost obliged, duly stopping when Kate did. Maggie continued with the communication asking the ghost to copy her counting as she clapped her hands. To further their contact, the girls pasted letters onto a board in order to communicate better with the spirit. Rather than asking yes and no questions, they could now carry on a conversation. A similar version of their board was later made into a game in the 1890's.
No one is sure how many different types of Ouija boards there are. Some say it is up in the hundreds, possibly even thousands.
The first Ouija board was made available for retail sale by Charles Kennard.
To capitalize on the Ouija's reputation of conjuring spirits and foretelling the future, some Ouija board manufacturers added witches to their designs starting in the early 1900's. Swamis were also a popular design. They were called oddly enough, "Swami boards."
The use of Ouija-like objects and instruments dates back as far as 479 B.C.
Starting in the 1850's, alphabet boards made the transition to the dial-plate instruments, also known as psychographs, first in the United States and then in Europe. The first talking board with a detachable sliding message indicator appeared around 1886. That's a short thirty-eight year time frame. If the Ouija board has relatives they are the devices of this period: the talking tables, the alphabet pasteboards, and the early dial-plate instruments.
'Ask the Glass' is game similar to a Ouija board. With a board very similar to that of a Ouija, a small glass (often a shot glass) is used as the planchette. It works pretty much the same as Ouija board.
Some of these facts I got from websites, so please don't blame me if it isn't 100% accurate lol. I have done my research though, and it all seems to line up very well :)
-Lucy |
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| Alias | Date | Reply |
| Freaqie |
1/29/2006 10:55:00 PM |
Interesting. I use to have a Ouija Board but my cat scratched it up. Maybe it sensed the board was evil. |
| Luna-cy |
1/29/2006 10:56:00 PM |
Maybe Freaq. Either that or it was telling you it needed a new scratching post lol. |
| nightscent |
1/30/2006 2:27:00 AM |
I've always been interested in Ouija Boards but never actually owned on. LOL@Lucy. |
| Luna-cy |
1/30/2006 3:04:00 AM |
I didn't buy my first board till about a year or two ago. I was actually a bit scared to buy one, but now I'm glad I did :) |
| nightscent |
1/30/2006 4:49:00 AM |
Im still kinda chicken. =P |
| Luna-cy |
1/30/2006 4:56:00 AM |
lol Understandable (honest!). I wasn't so much scared of using one, I was scared of what might happen once I kept it in the house afterwards (I have read all the Ouija horror stories here, afterall lol). But I've not had any increase in paranormal activity because of the board. Heck, I keep it under my bed at night, and being the chicken that I am, that says a lot lol. |
| Miss_mlila |
1/30/2006 5:51:00 AM |
Good Post! You know I find it too bad that most people think the board is "evil", its not... I wrote a post about this..But dont fear the board, its like fearing the phone.:) Great post! I give this a great rating!:)~*~Mlila |
| lightworker |
1/30/2006 8:21:00 AM |
Wow! Very informative! Thanks! Love and Light |
| Luna-cy |
1/30/2006 2:37:00 PM |
lol Exactly Milla. I can understand not wanting to use it if you've had a bad experience, but don't regard it as "evil" when you haven't even been in the same room as one. |
| Luna-cy |
1/30/2006 2:38:00 PM |
Thanks for reading, Lightworker :) |
| SHE BURNS |
2/11/2006 10:45:00 AM |
its nice to hear the FACTS for once instead of just horror stories about how "evil" it is. :P when i was a freshman in high school i wrote my term paper about ouija boards and it was a very interesting project; even my teacher decided she wanted to try one out after reading my paper. its a good way to pass time, reading the "evil ouija" stories on here but honestly i've used the board a gazillion times and have yet to have a single "bad" expirience... infact some of mine are quite fun and happy ones. |
| Luna-cy |
2/11/2006 3:49:00 PM |
Exactly, She Burns. I've used the Ouija so many times myself (and yes, even alone on a majority of the occasions!) and I've yet to become possessed, have things thrown at me, the house shake, or have gotten to the point where I felt to burn the board. Far from that. Not to say that all those things can't/don't happen...but I just feel there are more positive stories to be told than what's out there already. Thanks for replying :) |
| Snow white Queen |
2/20/2006 6:03:00 AM |
Very intresting info :) Thanks for sharing! |
| Munchi |
2/20/2006 10:45:00 AM |
thanks lucy for telling us the history of the ouija board ***munchi*** |
| Luna-cy |
2/20/2006 4:08:00 PM |
Thanks for reading, Metal Princess and Munchi :) |
| Russel |
2/21/2006 4:07:00 AM |
I feel that ALL such items, pendulum, dousing rods, and yes ouija boards are nothing more than a doorway for energies from within to manifest into the physical world. Many of us are very powerful or adept at using one or more such devices. The ouija board is very effective with most because all can see and read, not having to devine the answer to questions asked. Love ya ~Russel~ |
| Luna-cy |
2/21/2006 4:28:00 AM |
Good point, Russel :) |
| halfbaked |
2/23/2006 1:20:00 AM |
Ouija boards are nothing but harmless entertainment |
| Luna-cy |
2/23/2006 4:34:00 AM |
Yep, Halfbaked. :) |
| MysticB |
3/2/2006 5:53:00 AM |
Great Post, I think people should try ouija boards themselves before they judge if its evil or not. I dont believe its evil unless its used for evil intent. MysticB |
| Luna-cy |
3/2/2006 5:59:00 PM |
Yep MysticB, I agree. |
| OGGY DOGGIE |
3/18/2006 11:45:00 AM |
scary.. |
| Sparkler |
9/10/2006 4:32:00 PM |
I was just browsing through the oujia board section and read this. Very intersting thanks for the post I didn't know any of this until now. ;-) |
| Luna-cy |
9/10/2006 5:11:00 PM |
Thanks for reading :) |
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