Ouija
We've had a lot of questions lately about the use of Ouija boards. Although we put a brief response under "Frequently Asked Questions", we felt that the issue needed to be addressed in greater detail. Perhaps the best place to begin is with a definition of "Ouija" and a brief description of Ouija boards and their generic equivalents, talking boards and spirit boards.
Definition:
Ouija is currently a registered trademark held by Parker Brothers, a manufacturer of board games, for a particular type of board; however the name has also become a generic term for any number of talking boards or spirit boards.
Ouija is also the name of a belief system that purports that spirit messages can be received through the use of a Ouija or similar board.
Description:
Ouija boards, talking boards and spirit boards are normally rectangular in shape and have a smooth face upon which letters, words and sometimes symbols are printed. The planchette, the "pointer" that is used with the board, is most often a small triangular or heart-shaped object. It usually has three legs with felt on the bottoms to reduce friction and allow it to glide easily across the board.
The participants place their fingers on the planchette, which then moves about the board. It can respond to questions by pointing to "yes" or "no" or by spelling out the answers using the alphabet. The planchette may spell out unsolicited messages as well.
According to The Museum of Talking Boards, over twenty brands of talking boards are currently marketed under various names, in addition to several manufacturers that use the name "Ouija" with different board designs.
Origin:
There's no consensus about the origin of the term "Ouija". One belief is that it's derived from the French "oui" and the German "ja", both of which mean "yes". We can't conceive of why anybody would use words with identical meanings from two very different languages, or why they would want to name a board "yes yes", but surprisingly we did find a brand of board actually named "Yes Yes".
Another belief is that Charles Kennard, founder of the the Kennard Novelty Company, learned during a séance that Ouija was an ancient Egyptian word or phrase that meant "good luck". Since the official language of Egypt is Arabic we inquired of several Arabic-speaking people, but none of them knew of such a word. In all fairness, however, modern Arabic is different from what Egyptians call "the language of the Pharaohs", so there could be some validity to this belief, even though we know of no historical evidence to support it.
There have also been unsubstantiated claims that the board originated in China around 1,000 BC and in ancient Greece sometime prior to 500 BC. While the Greek theory could be plausible, we doubt that the board could have originated in China because of the number of symbols in the Chinese language. In order to read a Chinese newspaper one has to know at least 3,000 symbols. Small Chinese dictionaries contain at least 6,000 symbols, and the largest contain 40,000 to 50,000. To accommodate even the simplest messages a Chinese Ouija board would need to be a much larger area than the operator could possibly reach with the planchette.
The first documented use of talking boards, however, was in the mid-1800's and was associated with Spiritualism, a religion that believes, among other things, that contact with spirits and departed souls is possible.
Evolution:
We suspect, but have no compelling evidence that the term "talking board" originally referred, not to the surface over which the planchette moves, but to the planchette itself. The word "planchette" is actually French for "small board", and early planchettes were made of wood. Their sizes and shapes varied, and some stood on small legs while others rolled on small castors.
In some cases a table with letters may have been used as a surface. In other cases a pencil was attached to the planchette, and a paper was placed beneath it in order to record what it wrote as it moved. In either case, however, it was the planchette that did the "talking" and not the surface over which it moved. We think that the confusion occurred when board games became popular, and people assumed that "board" meant the working surface instead of the planchette.
In 1891 Charles Kennard, Elijah Bond and other business partners developed and patented the first talking board, which was originally produced by the Kennard Novelty Company. It consisted of a smooth surface on which the alphabet was printed, and a planchette. After a falling out between Kennard and the other partners his right to manufacture Ouija boards was withdrawn. From that point Ouija boards were produced under the name of Ouija Novelty Company.
In 1902 William Fuld took over the talking board production. In 1919 he acquired all rights and patents, and his name still appears on the face of many Ouija boards. Fuld also claimed that he had invented the concept behind the Ouija board, and initiated lawsuits for infringement against many of his competitors.
After Fuld's death in 1927 his children took over the business and ran it until 1966 when it was sold to Parker Brothers. In 1967 Parker Brothers changed the design of the board to one that is still in use today. In 1968 Parker Brothers was purchased by General Mills. During the 1980's General Mills sold Parker Brothers to Kenner, which was later acquired by Tonka. In 1991 Tonka sold Parker Brothers to Hasbro, which created a bilingual (French and English) version to be marketed in Canada.
Believers vs. Skeptics:
Today there is vast disagreement between believers and skeptics about the validity of Ouija board use. Believers, as their name implies, believe that Ouija board messages are actual communication from spirits, the departed or similar non-physical entities.
Believers are divided into two groups; supporters and critics. These groups hold vastly differing opinions about Ouija board use and the source of the information that's revealed. Supporters view the Ouija board as harmless entertainment, a pathway to enlightenment, or some combination of the two. Critics claim that Ouija Boards provide a way for evil or demonic entities to pretend to be friendly spirits and trick users of the boards into doing their bidding or even becoming possessed.
Skeptics on the other hand simply claim that Ouija board use is either a fraud or wishful thinking. They maintain that the operators either consciously or subconsciously move the planchette with no assistance from unseen forces.
In his 1995 book entitled "An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural", skeptic James Randi, stated that Ouija board operators are unable to produce intelligible messages when blindfolded.
Magicians Penn & Teller, also famous skeptics, performed a televised demonstration during which they blindfolded Ouija board operators and without their knowledge, turned their boards 180 degrees. In response to questions, the Planchettes moved to what the operators thought were the positions of "yes" and "no", but with the board reversed, they were actually blank spaces.
Most believers agree that the Ouija board has no power in and of itself, and that it is simply a tool to assist a medium in communicating with the spirit world. They maintain that experiments and demonstrations where the medium is blindfolded are biased and prove nothing. They contend that restricting the operator's sight interferes with the process of spiritual communication because spirits must utilize the eyes of the medium to determine where to move the planchette.
Contemporary Statements and Writings:
Among the most famous critics was the renowned American psychic Edgar Cayce, who called Ouija boards "dangerous."
In 1924 Harry Houdini in his book entitled "A Magician Among the Spirits", wrote that five people from Carrito, California were driven insane by using a board.
In 1934 Dr. Carl Wickland in his book entitled "Thirty years Among the Dead " wrote, "The serious problem of alienation and mental derangement attending ignorant psychic experiments was first brought to my attention by cases of several persons whose seemingly harmless experiences with automatic writing and the Ouija board resulted in such wild insanity that commitment to asylums was necessitated."
In 1965, parapsychologist Martin Ebon in his book entitled "Satan Trap: Dangers of the Occult", states that "it all may start harmlessly enough, perhaps with a Ouija board," (which will) "bring startling information... establishing credibility or identifying itself as someone who is dead. It is common that people... (see themselves) …as having been 'chosen' for a special task." He goes on to state that, with the passage of time, "Quite often the Ouija turns vulgar, abusive or threatening. It grows demanding and hostile, and sitters may find themselves using the board compulsively, as if 'possessed' by a spirit, or hearing voices that control or command them."
In her 1971 autobiography, "Confessions of a Psychic" Susy Smith wrote, "Warn people away from Ouija and automatic writing. I experienced many of the worst problems of such involvement. Had I been forewarned by reading that such efforts might cause one to run the risk of being mentally disturbed, I might have been more wary."
In 1992, in their book entitled "Graveyard", demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren, stated, "Ouija boards are just as dangerous as drugs". They warn that, "séances, Ouija boards and other occult paraphernalia are dangerous because evil spirits often disguise themselves as your loved ones-and take over your life."
ESP's Perspective:
If you received a telephone call from an unknown person offering you advice, predicting the future, or directing you to perform certain acts or adopt certain beliefs, would act on it? We think not; even if that person claimed to be a long-lost relative or an old friend of the family.
What if you were contacted by somebody claiming to be a wealthy and good-hearted person offering you a chance to invest in some business venture, with the promise of huge rewards? How likely would you be to trust any of your hard-earned savings to a mysterious stranger?
Why then are people so eager to accept the validity messages from a completely unknown entity that communicates through a board? Why aren't they as cautious about "spirit world" situations as they would be of "real world" situations?
Here's something else to consider. Visualize yourself lost on a deserted street at night and seeing a large and menacing looking stranger coming toward us. As the stranger comes closer you see grotesque features, a scowling face and evil-looking eyes gazing straight at you. How would you respond? Most likely you'd turn and run!
Now visualize the same street, under the same conditions, but this time the approaching figure is that of a police officer on patrol. In that case you'd probably feel safe to approach and ask for help or directions. The point of that mental exercise was to demonstrate that if something appears evil or menacing we tend to panic and flee, but if something appears safe, friendly or protective we tend to trust and approach.
Most people, to some extent, believe in the existence of both good and evil forces. If evil forces exist, and are able to communicate through a Ouija board, how likely is it that they would say "I'm an evil entity, and I want to ruin your life and force you to do my bidding"? Wouldn't it be more likely that they would portray themselves as friendly spirits, ancestors or teachers in order to put you at ease, heighten your interest and entice you to return?
In case you didn't read our Frequently Asked Questions page, we'll repeat something that we said there in response to questions about Ouija boards. During a television interview on The Glenn Beck Show, the very gifted psychic John Edward, of the program "Crossing Over" was asked if he had ever let a spirit speak through him. His reply was something like, "Absolutely not! I'll deliver messages that I receive, but there's no way that I'll let anybody else use my body."
Now think about this… When you place your fingers on a planchette and focus on a Ouija board, you're opening yourself up to forces that you don't understand. If something other than your own consciousness moves the planchette, then something or someone else is at least partially in control of your body. How can you be sure that the energy flowing through you is positive and not negative? How can you really know what else is happening to you during the time that you've given up control, or what the longer-term effects might be?
Before you use a Ouija board you need to ask yourself whether you're prepared to take the associated risks. We did… And we aren't!
Definition:
Ouija is currently a registered trademark held by Parker Brothers, a manufacturer of board games, for a particular type of board; however the name has also become a generic term for any number of talking boards or spirit boards.
Ouija is also the name of a belief system that purports that spirit messages can be received through the use of a Ouija or similar board.
Description:
Ouija boards, talking boards and spirit boards are normally rectangular in shape and have a smooth face upon which letters, words and sometimes symbols are printed. The planchette, the "pointer" that is used with the board, is most often a small triangular or heart-shaped object. It usually has three legs with felt on the bottoms to reduce friction and allow it to glide easily across the board.
The participants place their fingers on the planchette, which then moves about the board. It can respond to questions by pointing to "yes" or "no" or by spelling out the answers using the alphabet. The planchette may spell out unsolicited messages as well.
According to The Museum of Talking Boards, over twenty brands of talking boards are currently marketed under various names, in addition to several manufacturers that use the name "Ouija" with different board designs.
Origin:
There's no consensus about the origin of the term "Ouija". One belief is that it's derived from the French "oui" and the German "ja", both of which mean "yes". We can't conceive of why anybody would use words with identical meanings from two very different languages, or why they would want to name a board "yes yes", but surprisingly we did find a brand of board actually named "Yes Yes".
Another belief is that Charles Kennard, founder of the the Kennard Novelty Company, learned during a séance that Ouija was an ancient Egyptian word or phrase that meant "good luck". Since the official language of Egypt is Arabic we inquired of several Arabic-speaking people, but none of them knew of such a word. In all fairness, however, modern Arabic is different from what Egyptians call "the language of the Pharaohs", so there could be some validity to this belief, even though we know of no historical evidence to support it.
There have also been unsubstantiated claims that the board originated in China around 1,000 BC and in ancient Greece sometime prior to 500 BC. While the Greek theory could be plausible, we doubt that the board could have originated in China because of the number of symbols in the Chinese language. In order to read a Chinese newspaper one has to know at least 3,000 symbols. Small Chinese dictionaries contain at least 6,000 symbols, and the largest contain 40,000 to 50,000. To accommodate even the simplest messages a Chinese Ouija board would need to be a much larger area than the operator could possibly reach with the planchette.
The first documented use of talking boards, however, was in the mid-1800's and was associated with Spiritualism, a religion that believes, among other things, that contact with spirits and departed souls is possible.
Evolution:
We suspect, but have no compelling evidence that the term "talking board" originally referred, not to the surface over which the planchette moves, but to the planchette itself. The word "planchette" is actually French for "small board", and early planchettes were made of wood. Their sizes and shapes varied, and some stood on small legs while others rolled on small castors.
In some cases a table with letters may have been used as a surface. In other cases a pencil was attached to the planchette, and a paper was placed beneath it in order to record what it wrote as it moved. In either case, however, it was the planchette that did the "talking" and not the surface over which it moved. We think that the confusion occurred when board games became popular, and people assumed that "board" meant the working surface instead of the planchette.
In 1891 Charles Kennard, Elijah Bond and other business partners developed and patented the first talking board, which was originally produced by the Kennard Novelty Company. It consisted of a smooth surface on which the alphabet was printed, and a planchette. After a falling out between Kennard and the other partners his right to manufacture Ouija boards was withdrawn. From that point Ouija boards were produced under the name of Ouija Novelty Company.
In 1902 William Fuld took over the talking board production. In 1919 he acquired all rights and patents, and his name still appears on the face of many Ouija boards. Fuld also claimed that he had invented the concept behind the Ouija board, and initiated lawsuits for infringement against many of his competitors.
After Fuld's death in 1927 his children took over the business and ran it until 1966 when it was sold to Parker Brothers. In 1967 Parker Brothers changed the design of the board to one that is still in use today. In 1968 Parker Brothers was purchased by General Mills. During the 1980's General Mills sold Parker Brothers to Kenner, which was later acquired by Tonka. In 1991 Tonka sold Parker Brothers to Hasbro, which created a bilingual (French and English) version to be marketed in Canada.
Believers vs. Skeptics:
Today there is vast disagreement between believers and skeptics about the validity of Ouija board use. Believers, as their name implies, believe that Ouija board messages are actual communication from spirits, the departed or similar non-physical entities.
Believers are divided into two groups; supporters and critics. These groups hold vastly differing opinions about Ouija board use and the source of the information that's revealed. Supporters view the Ouija board as harmless entertainment, a pathway to enlightenment, or some combination of the two. Critics claim that Ouija Boards provide a way for evil or demonic entities to pretend to be friendly spirits and trick users of the boards into doing their bidding or even becoming possessed.
Skeptics on the other hand simply claim that Ouija board use is either a fraud or wishful thinking. They maintain that the operators either consciously or subconsciously move the planchette with no assistance from unseen forces.
In his 1995 book entitled "An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural", skeptic James Randi, stated that Ouija board operators are unable to produce intelligible messages when blindfolded.
Magicians Penn & Teller, also famous skeptics, performed a televised demonstration during which they blindfolded Ouija board operators and without their knowledge, turned their boards 180 degrees. In response to questions, the Planchettes moved to what the operators thought were the positions of "yes" and "no", but with the board reversed, they were actually blank spaces.
Most believers agree that the Ouija board has no power in and of itself, and that it is simply a tool to assist a medium in communicating with the spirit world. They maintain that experiments and demonstrations where the medium is blindfolded are biased and prove nothing. They contend that restricting the operator's sight interferes with the process of spiritual communication because spirits must utilize the eyes of the medium to determine where to move the planchette.
Contemporary Statements and Writings:
Among the most famous critics was the renowned American psychic Edgar Cayce, who called Ouija boards "dangerous."
In 1924 Harry Houdini in his book entitled "A Magician Among the Spirits", wrote that five people from Carrito, California were driven insane by using a board.
In 1934 Dr. Carl Wickland in his book entitled "Thirty years Among the Dead " wrote, "The serious problem of alienation and mental derangement attending ignorant psychic experiments was first brought to my attention by cases of several persons whose seemingly harmless experiences with automatic writing and the Ouija board resulted in such wild insanity that commitment to asylums was necessitated."
In 1965, parapsychologist Martin Ebon in his book entitled "Satan Trap: Dangers of the Occult", states that "it all may start harmlessly enough, perhaps with a Ouija board," (which will) "bring startling information... establishing credibility or identifying itself as someone who is dead. It is common that people... (see themselves) …as having been 'chosen' for a special task." He goes on to state that, with the passage of time, "Quite often the Ouija turns vulgar, abusive or threatening. It grows demanding and hostile, and sitters may find themselves using the board compulsively, as if 'possessed' by a spirit, or hearing voices that control or command them."
In her 1971 autobiography, "Confessions of a Psychic" Susy Smith wrote, "Warn people away from Ouija and automatic writing. I experienced many of the worst problems of such involvement. Had I been forewarned by reading that such efforts might cause one to run the risk of being mentally disturbed, I might have been more wary."
In 1992, in their book entitled "Graveyard", demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren, stated, "Ouija boards are just as dangerous as drugs". They warn that, "séances, Ouija boards and other occult paraphernalia are dangerous because evil spirits often disguise themselves as your loved ones-and take over your life."
ESP's Perspective:
If you received a telephone call from an unknown person offering you advice, predicting the future, or directing you to perform certain acts or adopt certain beliefs, would act on it? We think not; even if that person claimed to be a long-lost relative or an old friend of the family.
What if you were contacted by somebody claiming to be a wealthy and good-hearted person offering you a chance to invest in some business venture, with the promise of huge rewards? How likely would you be to trust any of your hard-earned savings to a mysterious stranger?
Why then are people so eager to accept the validity messages from a completely unknown entity that communicates through a board? Why aren't they as cautious about "spirit world" situations as they would be of "real world" situations?
Here's something else to consider. Visualize yourself lost on a deserted street at night and seeing a large and menacing looking stranger coming toward us. As the stranger comes closer you see grotesque features, a scowling face and evil-looking eyes gazing straight at you. How would you respond? Most likely you'd turn and run!
Now visualize the same street, under the same conditions, but this time the approaching figure is that of a police officer on patrol. In that case you'd probably feel safe to approach and ask for help or directions. The point of that mental exercise was to demonstrate that if something appears evil or menacing we tend to panic and flee, but if something appears safe, friendly or protective we tend to trust and approach.
Most people, to some extent, believe in the existence of both good and evil forces. If evil forces exist, and are able to communicate through a Ouija board, how likely is it that they would say "I'm an evil entity, and I want to ruin your life and force you to do my bidding"? Wouldn't it be more likely that they would portray themselves as friendly spirits, ancestors or teachers in order to put you at ease, heighten your interest and entice you to return?
In case you didn't read our Frequently Asked Questions page, we'll repeat something that we said there in response to questions about Ouija boards. During a television interview on The Glenn Beck Show, the very gifted psychic John Edward, of the program "Crossing Over" was asked if he had ever let a spirit speak through him. His reply was something like, "Absolutely not! I'll deliver messages that I receive, but there's no way that I'll let anybody else use my body."
Now think about this… When you place your fingers on a planchette and focus on a Ouija board, you're opening yourself up to forces that you don't understand. If something other than your own consciousness moves the planchette, then something or someone else is at least partially in control of your body. How can you be sure that the energy flowing through you is positive and not negative? How can you really know what else is happening to you during the time that you've given up control, or what the longer-term effects might be?
Before you use a Ouija board you need to ask yourself whether you're prepared to take the associated risks. We did… And we aren't!
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