Spirit Board Bibliography: Ouija, Spirit Boards, Talking Boards, Their History and Use
Compiled by nagasiva bryan w yronwode for the Yronwode Institute (YIPPIE)
(c) 2010 YIPPIE, the Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and
Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology, catherine yronwode and nagasiva
yronwode. All rights reserved; contact the editors for permission to reprint or
use data.
Introduction
The practice of automatic writing is ancient, and despite the confusion
surrounding the devices employed to achieve it, its global character has been
confirmed in diverse forms, such as execution in soil by stylus, or selection of
letters, words and phrases by pendulum. The particular form of divination one
may call board automatism has a more recent and well-documented history,
particularly insofar as it has intersected patent records and game manufacture
from the 19th century to the present.
With the advent of Spiritualism in the 1800s, the development of means to
communicate with the dead, especially through raps and knocks the deceased might
make, placed a heavy focus of attention on the furniture of the seance. Table
tipping, rapping, and knocking were already of great interest before more
expedient methods to convey language began to be employed. One of these, the
planchette, was affixed with a writing instrument, but sometimes yielded
insufficiently meaningful marks from the spirit world. It became apparent that a
more suitable mechanism was a pointer of some kind whose movements were governed
by tentative fingertip contact on the part of the mediums. This pointer was
placed upon a simple alphabet board, and the messages were spelled out letter by
letter. Production of talking boards or spirit boards with an array of letters
and numbers for this purpose escalated from unique home-made boards to those
issued patents with intruiguing and exotic names like 'Egyptian Luck-Board',
'Nirvana Talking Board', and 'Igili Marvellous Talking Board'.
With the selection of the proper apparatus of spiritism, variations on design
had little affect on the uses toward which these tools were put. This included
capitalizing on afterlife communication with those celebrated as authors while
alive, the retained connection between spouses or good friends, conversations
with persons previously unknown for a variety of purposes spanning from the
composition of poetry and novels to researching historical events, and expanded
to communications with extraordinary intelligences such as angels and faeries.
Publications about spirit boards have focussed on the methodologies of
Spiritualism and its testing; the manufacture of the devices and their
pedigrees; coverage of, or expressions from the entities contacted through the
boards; and fiction incorporating them. This latter category was foreshadowed in
writings such as Jack London's 1906 serialized novella Planchette, featuring an
automatic writing instrument that carried news of impending calamity, and
extended to horror stories in which the main character uses a Ouija to make
contact with ultimate evil or accurately predict a coming apocalypse. More
recently, serious collectors and spirit board archivists have created online
museums with breath-taking photos of talking boards through time, putting the
Ouija into a coherent context. In addition, contests and festivals challenging
entrants to construct novel and innovative designs compete for the attention of
the web surfer, while board manufacture spreads to incorporate more diverse
designs and a wider range of targets for communication.
The intention of this bibliography is to catalogue the publishing history that
documents the subject of spirit boards, talking boards, and of Ouija through the
course of one hundred fifty years. References in literature and the media to
automatic writing devices that operate without the use of an alphabet board have
been excluded. In order to present these documents in their historical context,
the list, minimally annotated, is presented in chronological order, by original
publication date. It is intended for use by those who are doing research into
Spiritualism, the history of game boards, and the material culture of occultism.
==============================================================================
BIBLIOGRAPHIC ENTRIES
1857
Kardec, Allan. Le Livre des Esprits. Contenant les Principes de la Doctrine
Spirite. Recueillis et Mis en Ordre par Allan Kardec. (Second ed.; First ed.
1857 was not translated into English). Paris: Didier Et Cie, 1857.
Allan Kardec was the pseudonym of Hippolyte L. D. Rivail. French original was
translated into English (The Spirits' Book) by Anna Blackwell in the 1870s. This
is a classic of Spiritualism, and gives us some of the first descriptions of
spiritist devices for spirit communications, including rudimentary spirit boards
and planchettes. Referenced by Orlando 2000.
"Allan Kardec, the father of French Spiritism, reveals everything you ever
wanted to know about spirits, mediums, and the evolution of the planchette and
early talking board in three of his most important contributions."
From http://www.museumoftalkingboards.com/books.html (accessed 01/31/10).
"[Rivail] was approached by a group of fellow-researchers who asked him to
organize a set of fifty notebooks containing transcripts and journals of
numerous spirit communications. Using the same logical rigor that he had applied
to his work in education and science, Rivail set out to study this material. In
the meantime, he supplemented the transcripts with philosophical and scientific
questions, which he posed to different channels (mediums) in different
countries. The answers were compared, analyzed, and organized into the present
book, which was first published in 1857." -- dustjacket,
From http://www.afterlife101.com/Spirits_Book.html (accessed 01/31/10)
1861
Kardec, Allan. Le Livre des Mediums; ou Guide des Mediums et des Evocateurs.
(First ed.). Paris: Didier Et Cie, 1861.
This is a classic of Spiritualism, and gives us some of the first descriptions
of spiritist devices for spirit communications, including rudimentary spirit
boards and planchettes. It was translated, along with Kardec 1857, into English
(The Mediums' Book, aka Mediums and Evokers Handbook) by Anna Blackwell in the
1870s. Referenced by Orlando 2000.
"The first written communications were obtained by attaching a pencil to the
foot of a toy-table, placed upon a sheet of paper. The table, set in motion by
the influence of a medium, began by tracing letters, then words and phrases.
This method was successively simplified, first, by making use of light baskets,
boxes made of cardboard, and planchettes; and next, by finding that these
objects were mere pencil-holders, and might all be dispensed with, and the
pencil held the usual way, in the hand, which, moved and guided by an
involuntary impulsion, was made to write, without the concurrence either of the
will or of the thought of the medium. Thenceforth, communication was held as
freely with the world of spirits as with people in the flesh."
From http://www.geae.inf.br/en/books/codification/mb.pdf (accessed 01/31/10).
"141. Typtology was speedily improved by the adoption of a more extended method
of communication, which we may designate as alphabetical typtology. This
consists in designating the letters of the alphabet by tilts; words, sentences,
and even long communications are thus obtained. According to one method, the
table makes as many tilts as are needed to indicate each letter; that is to say,
one tilt for a, two for b, and so on; meanwhile, some one of the party writes
down each letter as indicated by the number of tilts. When the spirit has
finished, he makes some sign, previously agreed upon, to indicate the fact.
"This mode of proceeding, as will be readily understood, is extremely tedious,
and requires an enormous amount of time for obtaining communications of any
length; but practice soon suggested various abbreviative methods more rapid than
the above. That which is generally employed, consists in having the letters of
the alphabet, and the numerals, written on a sheet of paper or card-board. The
medium being seated at the table, some member of the circle runs a pencil or
other pointer along the letters, when words are wanted; along the ciphers, when
numbers are wanted. When the pencil reaches the desired letter or cipher, the
table gives a tilt, and the letter or cipher thus indicated is written down; the
person who holds the pencil going through the same operation for the next
letter, and so on. If a mistake occurs in regard to a letter, the spirit gives
notice of the fact by several tilts; and the pencil is again taken through the
alphabet. In this way, by dint of practice, it is possible to get on with
tolerable quickness."
Ibid.
"143. In order to render spirit-communications independent of the medium's mind,
various instruments have been devised. One of these is a sort of dial-plate, on
which the letters of the alphabet are ranged like those on the dial of the
electric telegraph; a moveable needle, set in motion through the medium's
influence, with the aid of a conducting thread and pulley, points out the
letters....
"144. A more simple contrivance, but one open to abuse, as we shall see in the
chapter on Frauds, is the one devised by Madame Emile de Girardin, and by which
she obtained numerous and interesting communications .... The instrument alluded
to, consists of a little table with a moveable top, eighteen inches in diameter,
turning freely on an axle, like a wheel. On its edge are traced, as upon a
dialplate, the letters of the alphabet, the numerals, and the words 'yes' and
'no.' In the centre is a fixed needle. The medium places his fingers on this
table, which turns and stops when the desired letter is brought under the
needle. The letters thus indicated being written down one after the other words
and phrases are obtained, often with great rapidity. "It is to be remarked that
the top of the little table does not turn round under the fingers, but that the
fingers remain in their place and follow the movement of the table."
Ibid.
1886
A Mysterious Talking Board and Table Over Which Northern Ohio is Agitated. New
York Daily Tribune, p. 9. March 28, 1886.
This is the 'lost link' article referenced by Horowitz 2009. The photograph
within the article is of a rectangular talking board he describes as "the
spitting image of Ouija". It predates the Bond patent by 4 years. (* - The title
of the article may actually be 'The New Planchette. A Mysterious Talking Board
and Table Over Which Northern Ohio is Agitated'.)
1899
Sargent, Epes. Planchette; or, The Despair of Science. Being a Full Account of
Modern Spiritualism, its Phenomena, and the Various Theories Regarding it. With
a Survey of French Spiritism. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Of Michigan
Library. 1899.
Cited by Goss 1991, reviewed in The Athenaeum, May 15, 1969.
1917
Barrett, Sir William F. "Proof of Supernormal Messages: The Ouija Board" In On
the Threshold of the Unseen : An Examination of the Phenomena of Spiritualism
and of the Evidence for Survival after Death; With an Introduction by James H.
Hyslop (p. 176). New York: E.P. Dutton and Co., 1917.
Chapter XIV details numerous experiments made with those employing a Ouija board
in association with psychical researchers. Professor James H. Hyslop (the
Secretary for the American Society for Psychical Research), wrote the
introduction. See
http://www.survivalafterdeath.org.uk/articles/barrett/ouija.htm (accessed
3/11/10).
Hutchings, Emily Grant. Jap Herron A Novel Written From Ouija Board With an
Introduction 'The Coming of Jap Herron'. New York: Mitchell Kennerley. 1917.
Emily G. Hutchings was a friend of Pearl Curran (see Litvag 1972) who
participated in the contact with Patience Worth via a Ouija board that launched
Mrs. Curran's writing career. Emily was a native of Hannibal, MO, a writer
herself, a fan of Mark Twain, and a correspondent with the author. In his
letters to her he explained his 'unconscious cerebrations' ("U.C."), by which
his books would seem to 'write themselves', and after his death, Mrs. Hutchings
teamed up with spiritualist and author, Lola V. Hays, employing a Ouija board to
contact his ghost. Their efforts, assisted by Emily's husband Edwin, yielded
this manuscript, which saw very few copies sold before being quietly withdrawn
from publication under threat of a legal suit from the Clemens estate and the
Mark Twain publishers.
"Missouri writer Emily Grant Hutchings, along with spiritualist Lola Hays,
claimed to have communicated with the spirit of Mark Twain via the ouiji board
in the composition of an 'after death' manuscript titled JAP HERRON.
Spiritualism was all the rage, and several clairvoyant novels had been published
with claims of authorship beyond the grave. In the novel Jap Herron, a young
Huck Finn-like boy, who sounds like he could be a Twain character, is taken in
and guided by a benevolent older couple. With their help, he becomes a
successful editor of the hometown newspaper. Author Hutchings and publisher
Mitchell Kennerly [sic] eventually halted publication of Jap Herron after being
threatened with a lawsuit from Samuel L. Clemens' daughter."
From http://tinyurl.com/choosebooks-twain-jap-herron (accessed 01/31/10).
Professor James H. Hyslop (the Secretary for the American Society for Psychical
Research) was investigating the spirit communications by Mrs. Hays and Mrs.
Hutchings, as was explained in the January issue of the 'Journal of the
Psychical Research Society', covered by the Times:
"It seems that Professor Hyslop and two women mediums, Mrs. Hays of St. Louis,
and Mrs. Hutchings, have held frequent conversations with the spirit of Mark
Twain, and have found the humorist in a state of intellectual torture because of
the difficulty he is having in getting his momentous work into print. He is now
greatly relieved because at last he has found a means of communication with the
world which he was forced to leave before he had time to put the volume into
writing. The great author is elated, Professor Hyslop says, because what he has
to say to the world will shed enlightenment where now there is only darkness and
dismay."
'Twain's Daughter Spurns Spirit Book', The New York Times, February 11, 1918,
http://www.twainquotes.com/19180211.html (accessed 01/31/10).
Ultimately the publisher, Harper and Brothers, got into the legal saddle and
demanded the destruction of all of the copies thusfar printed on the basis that
they allegedly or implied that they were dictated by a Samuel L. Clemens*, the
book contained a portrait of Mark Twain drawn by John Cecil Clay, and maintained
that the writing in the novel itself had no literary merit, not having emanated
from Mark Twain. They presented for support Twain's writings "What is a Man?"
and "Mysterious Stranger", in which he asserted the non-reality of the
afterlife. For details, see this collection of newspaper articles:
http://www.twainquotes.com/japherron.html (accessed 01/31/10).
(* A New York Times account of the suit against Hutchings and Mitchell Kennerley
claims that:
"The announcement in the book concerning the alleged spirit story states that
'after several messages had been spelled out the pointer of the planchette
traced the words "Samuel M. {sic} Clemens, Lazy Sam,"' and the story as printed
was then told."
The New York Times, June 8, 1918, http://www.twainquotes.com/19180609.html
(accessed 01/31/10)
and yet BOTH the archived text of the novel and its introduction at the link
above and the google books graphic copy (see immediately below) give the correct
middle initial of "Samuel L. Clemens, lazy Sam" in her introduction, The Coming
of Jap Herron, p. 2. http://tinyurl.com/google-books-lazy-sam (accessed
01/31/10)).
1918
Wilcox, Ella Wheeler. The Keeping of the Promise. In The Worlds and I (pp.
361-388). New York: George H. Doran Co. 1918.
1919
Davis, Katherine Mardon. The Light From Beyond: as Taken Over the Ouija Board.
New York: W. J. Watt and Co. 64 pgs. ASIN:B00087Z9AQ. 1919.
A short story about WWII code interpretation. It was apparently written using
the means of a Ouija board.
Jones, Lloyd Kenyon. Ouija-Board and Automatic Writings. In Development of
Mediumship (pp. 42-47). Chicago: William T. Stead Memorial Center. 1919.
Smith, Hester Travers. Introductory and Appendix: Hints to Experimenters at the
Ouija-Table. In Voices From the Void: Six Years' Experience in Automatic
Communications. New York: E. P. Dutton and Company. ASIN:B002WTVL50. 1919.
See http://tinyurl.com/googlebooks-void-voices (accessed 3/21/10).
Walters, Nellie Irene, and Perrin, Clarisse Eugenie. The Secret of the
Successful Use of the Ouija Board. New York: The Blakeley Press. Limited to 135
copies. ASSN:B0008B6ICU. LCCN:19004342. 1919.
1920
Casseres, Benjamin de. Madame Ouija, Bolshevik of the Spirit World Sinister
Suggestion by a Worshipper of the Psychic Goddess That There's a Slight
Impediment in Her Veracity. New York Times, p. 46. January 11, 1920.
An amusing article from which this is an excerpt:
"Mme. Ouija has rocked the bases of civilization and science to their gizzard.
She is the Bolshevik of the psychic realm, and her Soviet of Ghosts threatens to
fire all our Ephesian noodles and lay in ashes the little Swiss republics of our
certainties."
From http://www.williamfuld.com/ouija_articles_01111920.html (accessed 01/31/10)
A Literary Digest version of this article was cited by Ellis 2004, but the
author's name and previous publishing of this article before January 31 were
omitted.
Goodman, Edgar. Who Shall Own the Cable Line to Spirit Land? .... New York World
Magazine, 203, n.p. May 23, 1920.
Ouija, Ouija, Who's Got the Ouija?. Literary Digest, 66, 66-68. July 3, 1920.
A second description of the Ouija board legal struggle, (the first being in
Goodman 1920, above). See
http://www.williamfuld.com/ouija_articles_07031920.html (accessed 01/31/10).
William Fuld Made $1,000,000 on Ouija But He Has No Faith in It. Although He
Doesn't Believe Board Has Spiritual Powers, He Shows His Confidence in it as a
Money-Maker by Erecting New Factory to Supply Demand. Baltimore Sun, p. 12. July
4, 1920.
Referenced by Horowitz 2009.
Smith, Hester Travers. Oscar Wilde From Purgatory. New York: Henry Holt and Co.
84 pgs. ASIN:B001IE0BBU. 1920.
"More than half this script came to me when I was sitting alone at the ouija
board. Perhaps I had better explain this method of communication, as it seems
less familiar to most people than automatic writing. The ouija board, which I
use, is an ordinary card table covered in green baize. On this the letters of
the alphabet are placed; they are cut out singly and arranged in any convenient
order. A sheet of plate glass is laid over the table and the letters. When using
the board I rest my fingers on a small, heart-shaped piece of wood covered with
rubber and shod underneath with three pads of carpet felt."
From http://www.amazon.com/Oscar-Wilde-Purgatory-Hester-Travers/dp/1419139347
(accessed 3/7/10).
Spence, Lewis. Ouija Board. In An Encyclopaedia of Occultism: A Compendium of
Information on the Occult Sciences, Occult Personalities, Psychic Science,
Magic, Demonology, Spiritism and Mysticism (Vol. 2, p. 676). New York: Dodd,
Mead And Company. 1920.
Thiebault, Jules. Chapter VIII: Apparatus. In The Vanished Friend: Evidence,
Theoretical and Practical of the Survival of Human Identity After Death (p.
184). New York: E.P. Dutton and Co. ASIN:B00085NU3G. 1920.
1921
Nothing Occult in Ouija, Federal Court Rules. Boards are Taxable, According to
Opinion Handed Down by Judge Rose. Baltimore Sun, p. 10. June 2, 1921.
Referenced by Cornelius 2005. See also
http://www.williamfuld.com/ouija_articles_06021921.html (accessed 01/31/10)
1922
U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Say What it Thinks of Ouija Case Over Taxes, Long
Contested in Several Tribunals, Finally Thrown Out and Status of Board Remains
on List of Unsolved Mysteries. Baltimore Sun, p. 3. June 6, 1922.
Referenced by Cornelius 2005. See also
http://www.williamfuld.com/ouija_articles_06061922.html (accessed 01/31/10).
Raupert, J. Godfrey. Chapter IX: The Truth About the Ouija-Board. In The New
Black Magic and the Truth About the Ouija-Board (pp. 205-234). New York: The
Devin-Adair Co. 243 pp. ASIN:B00089OLI0. 1922.
Ch. IX was reprinted as "The Truth About the Ouija Board" in American
Ecclesiastical Review 1976 (November); pgs. 463-478.
"...Contents: claim of modern science; claim specified; evidence of history;
evidence of fact and experience; evidence of true science; evidence of Christian
thought and experience; evidence of reason and commonsense; inevitable
inference; truth about the Ouija board."
From http://www.amazon.com/black-magic-truth-about-Ouija/dp/B00089OLI0
(accessed 2/21/10)
A 1976 printing was cited by Ellis 2004, p. 180, referring to "American
Ecclesiastic Journal") as regards anti-Ouija warnings on p. 463.
1924
Blackmore, Simon Augustine. The Ouija Board and the Preternatural. In Spiritism
Facts and Frauds (pp. 144-175). New York: Benziger Brothers. 1924.
"In this exposition, the author summons to his aid the most eminent spiritistic
authorities, subjecting their testimony to a keen analysis, and their phenomena
and assumptions to a searching criticism. Blackmore proves that some of the
phenomena are preternatural beyond all questions, and distinguishes between the
frauds of spiritism that are deliberately done by the medium and those inspired
by spirits of evil."
-- product description.
"[On] pp. 144-175, ...an example is given of a Catholic priest who was
physically pursued by a ouija-board (propelled, of course, by a demon) when he
tried to give up using it!"
From http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/frseraphim_charismatics.aspx
(accessed 3/11/10).
"An anti-Spiritualist work by Simon Augustine Blackmore (1848-1926), a Jesuit
who basically believed that Spiritualism was just another form of occultism, and
that with some exceptions the related phenomena were either fraudulent or the
work of the Devil."
From http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogthirty/ (accessed 3/11/10)
Wickland, Carl A. Thirty Years Among the Dead. Los Angeles: Wolfer Printing Co.,
Inc. 1924.
"A record of experiment in the field of normal and abnormal psychology, with
treatment of cases of obsession...."
From Index to Psychic Science: An Introduction to Systematized Knowledge of
Psychical Experience compiled by Samuel Rowland Morgan, Swarthmore, PA, 1950.
See http://www.spiritwritings.com/IndexPsychicScienceMorgan.pdf (accessed
3/11/10).
Researchers used Ouija boards for communicating with the spirits. Cited by Ellis
2004. ISBN:0910122083.
1926
Wauchope, Virginia, and Wauchope, Robert. Invisible Inzi of Oz. Child's Garden
for Cheerful and Happy Homes, n.v., n.p. (1926, August).
Serialized within this children's periodical during at least 1926. Reprinted in
The Baum Bugle: A Journal of Oz, which is the official journal of the
International Wizard of Oz Club: Winter #1 1980/81 (Pt 1); Baum Bugle Spring #3
1981 (Pt 2). Issued as a book by Buckethead Enterprises of Oz, 103 pgs.
ASIN:B0006F3YTI. 1993.
"The [Wauchope] children, Robert (9) and Virginia (13), wrote an Oz book under
direction of a Ouija board. The year was 1920 and L. Frank Baum, the series
original creator, was dead less than a year. Could this book have been his final
literary effort from beyond the grave? Most Oz lovers doubt it. They agree that
Invisible Inzi of Oz is not the best of the Oz books and that is putting it
charitably. Some think that it may well be the worst."
From http://www.museumoftalkingboards.com/stories.html (accessed 2/7/10).
"Note: Back in the early '20's, the young authors of this manuscript claimed
they received this story from L. Frank Baum's spirit through the use of a Ouija
board. Not likely. First serialized in 12 monthly installments of Child's Garden
for Cheerful and Happy Homes beginning in 1926, and was later reprinted in the
Baum Bugle, Winter 1980 and Summer 1981. The above claim was considered a hoax
by many, and the story is said to be rather poorly written."
From http://www.timelineuniverse.net/Oz/Parallelhistories.htm (accessed 2/7/10).
1927
Wm. Fuld is Killed in Fall From Roof, Support Gives Way While He is Helping
Erect Flagpole Atop Factory. Plunges Three Stories. "Spirit" Board Inventor and
Toy Manufacturer Formerly Was Customs Inspector. Baltimore Sun, p. 24. February
25, 1927.
Referenced by Cornelius 2005. See also
http://www.williamfuld.com/ouija_articles_02251927.html (accessed 01/31/10).
1929
Tubby, Gertrude Ogden, and Bayley, Weston D. James H. Hyslop - X: His Book, a
Cross Reference Record. York: York Printing Co. 424 pgs. ASIN:B00085NTXM. 1929.
Ouija mediated post-mortem communication with James H. Hyslop (the Secretary for
the American Society for Psychical Research).
1937
White, Stewart Edward. The Betty Book: Excursions into the World of
Other-Consciousness. New York: E.P. Dutton & Company. 1937.
This text was mentioned by J. Gordon Melton in his Encyclopedia of Occultism and
Parapsychology (see Melton 1996) as a reference on Ouija boards.
"Author and adventurer Stewart Edward White and his wife Betty experienced a
spiritual revelation while using a Ouija board for the first time at a
party. Together they continued their exploration and Betty subsequently
reached an altered cognitive state in which she claimed to communicate with
entities named the "Invisibles." Through these communications, Betty relayed
the entities' religious doctrines and special techniques to teach humans
super-consciousness and higher awareness. Stewart wrote three books
recording these experiences: The Betty Book, Across the Unknown, and The
Unobstructed Universe. The books attracted many followers, inspiring him to
write several more. Betty continued to speak to Stewart even after her
death, through friend and psychic Ruth Finley."
From http://www.museumoftalkingboards.com/stories.html (accessed 01/31/10).
1939
Claimant to Title of Father of Ouija Board Craze Dies - Isaac Fuld Retired 2
Years Ago From Business That Sent Fad Roaring Across Country. Baltimore Sun, p.
24. November 19, 1939.
Referenced by Cornelius 2005. See also
http://williamfuld.com/ouija_articles_11191939.html (accessed 01/31/10).
Cross, Harold H. U. Table-Turning, Ouija-Boards and Raps. In A Cavalcade of the
Supernatural (pp. 42-55). New York: E. P. Dutton And Co. 259 pgs.
ASIN:B000856Z42. 1939.
A brief and simple overview on the use of planchette and Ouija board, including
an anecdote of parallel results.
1944
Hall, Manly Palmer. The Devil's Flatiron. Horizon, 4, 71-77. Winter, 1944.
Cited by Ellis 2004.
1945
Ouija Board is Wartime Fad. Science Digest, 17, 30. April, 1945.
Cited by Ellis 2004.
1959
Rawcliffe, D. H. Automatic Writing: Table Turning, Ouija and Planchette. In
Illusions & Delusions of the Supernatural and the Occult (pp. 134-151). New
York: Dover Publications. 1959.
Referenced by Orlando 2000. See also
http://tinyurl.com/google-books-rawcliff-ch9 (accessed 01/31/10).
1966
Monopoly on Ouija. New York Times, n.p. February 24, 1966.
Referenced by Cornelius 2005, cited by Ellis 2004 p. 181 (no bibliographic
entry).
Roberts, Jane. How to Develop Your Esp Power. New York: F. Fell.
ISBN:0883910160. 1966.
This book was aka "ESP Power" and aka "The Coming of Seth". In the early 1960s
Jane Roberts and Robert F. Butts used a Ouija board as part of an exploration
for this book, and during this contacted 'Seth', with whom the conversation
quickly extended beyond the board. The 2000 edition was titled "ESP Power", and
contained an introductory essay by Lynda Dahl including a clear explanatin of
Roberts' Ouija experiences. Also see the author's additional communications
(1970), where she summarizes her experiences with Ouija. Cited by Ellis 2004.
1967
Sann, Paul. The Wonderful Ouija Board. In Fads, Follies and Delusions of the
American People: A Pictorial Story Of Madnesses, Crazes, and Crowd Phenomena (p.
142). New York: Bonanza Books. 370 pgs. 1967.
A critical text written by the Executive Director of the New York Post.
Referenced by Orlando 2000.
1968
Corinda. The Ouija Board. In Thirteen Steps to Mentalism. Boston: D. Robbins and
Co., Inc. Step Nine, Part Three, #28, p. 299.
1970
Christopher, Milbourne. The Ouija Board. In ESP, Seers and Psychics: What the
Occult Really Is (pp. 124-131). New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co. 1970.
Referenced by Orlando 2000.
Heywood, Rosalind. Ouija Boards. In Man, Myth, and Magic: The Illustrated
Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion and the Unknown (Volume 24, p. 2089).
Denver: BPC Publishing. 1970.
Roberts, Jane. The Seth Material. Englewood Falls: Prentice Hall Inc. 1970.
Jane Roberts' interactions with the entity known as 'Seth' are explained in
detail here, having come into being during research for Roberts' book on ESP
(1966). This includes a summary of her use of the Ouija board with Robert F.
Butts. Cited by Ellis 2004.
1972
Balfour, Brad, and McInerney, Mike. Ouija 2. Cincinnati: Self-published. 17 pgs.
ASIN:B0013P1F0A. 1972.
Litvag, Irving. Singer in the Shadows: the Strange Story of Patience Worth.
London: The Macmillan Co. ASIN:B001FPK92S. 1972.
This is a summary of Pearl Curran's 1913 contact with a spirit called Patience
Worth through the device of a Ouija board employed with her friend (who happened
to be Emily G. Hutchings, see Hutchings 1917). Though the mechanism of the Ouija
board was given up, through subsequent years the spirit Patience dictated many
thousands of words in numerous volumes.
[Pearl Curran] "channeled an entity named Patience Worth through the Ouija board
and produced six novels, two thousand items of blank verse, and hundreds of
pages of poetry. She wrote so much that she had her own magazine devoted to her,
named appropriately enough, Patience Worth's Magazine. But when push came to
shove, Pearl Curran denied that the Ouija board was responsible for her prolific
output. Many of her admirers refused to believe this, and argued that Pearl had
buckled under the pressures and criticisms from outsiders."
http://www.museumoftalkingboards.com/stories.html (accessed 1/31/10).
This book was cited by Ellis 2004.
1975
Gruss, Edmund C., and Hotchkiss, John H. The Ouija Board: Doorway to the Occult.
Chicago: Moody Press. 1975.
The authors mention Fuld and Pearl Curran in association with the board's early
promotions and well-known usage, give a helpful introduction to the board's
origins, and examine the early developments of religious reaction to its use.
There are many articles and books (most of them Christian) from this time period
(known as 'The Satanism Scare' and falling between the late 1970s and the early
2000s) warning of the dangers of the use of a variety of occult and conventional
objects and games. They began flourishing at the end of last century, have
entered the used book market in a flood now, and can be picked up for a tenth of
their cover price and less. They often contain very little usable information to
the serious researcher unless one is interested in sociology and how religious
are seeing popular culture of the time (e.g. the fear-mongering about Dungeons
and Dragons made a good number of us laugh who like to play role-playing games).
Reviewed by Clarie, 1978:
"637 Gruss, Edmond C. [sic] _Ouija Board: Doorway to Occult._ Chicago: Moody
1975. 191p. $1.50 pa. ISBN 0-8024-1783-3
"This work gives a view of Christian thought on use of the Ouija board and other
such techniques, and attempts to present the Bible's answers to the occult. It
contains discussions of the history, operation, explanation, and verification of
the Ouija board; the board as a dangerous approach to psychic development; the
Bible on demons, possessions, and exorcism; and The Exorcist [See W.P. Blatty --
ny] (both movie and book). Appendices contain the following: Ouija board and
automatic writing, an article by Bill Brinkley titled "Priest Frees Mt. Ranier
Boy from Devil's Grip," and a list of selected readings. The author is against
use of the Ouija board, and laments the use of such devices by unskilled
amateurs. Since this is the only work out on the board, it is very useful.
Hopefully, a more complete, deeper study will someday be done without the
Bible/Christianity slant that appears here."
"Occult Bibliography: An Annotated List of Books Published in English, 1971
through 1975" by Thomas C. Clarie, Scarecrow Press, 1978; p. 130, entry 637.
Cited by Ellis 2004, pgs. 25-26, pgs. 34-35, 59, on Ellis p. 180, 181, and
attributes the text as authored by Gruss).
1976
Fuller, John Grant. The Ghost of Flight 401. New York: Berkley Publishing Corp.
1976.
"Author John G. Fuller used a Ouija board in his research for his 1976 book The
Ghost of Flight 401. As he was skeptical of its effectiveness, he worked with a
medium and claimed they both contacted Don Repo, the flight engineer on the
flight which crashed into the Everglades en route to Miami. According to Fuller,
the information divined described facts that neither he nor the medium
previously knew."
From http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Ouija (accessed 2/10/10).
1977
Stadtmauer, Saul A. Visions of the Future: Magic Boards. Chicago: Olympic
Marketing Corp. 48 pgs. ISBN:0817210407. 1977.
1979
Covina, Gina. The Ouija Book. New York: Simon and Shuster. 1979.
This seems to be one of the better sources on Ouija. Reviewed by Clarie, 1984:
"2386 Covina, Gina. _The Ouija Book._ London: Hale, 1981 (orig. pub., New York:
Simon and Schuster, 1979). 158p. Illus. [6.50 POUNDS] ISBN 0-7091-8983-4
"After years of practice on the board with a friend, the author feels that she
understands the uses, limitations, and pitfalls of the board that lie in wait
for the gullible and the 'disrespectful.' Covina discusses Patience Worth, a
17th-century spirit who supposedly dictated books to a 20th-century Ouija board
user, and covers other such cases. She recommends 'an open-minded skepticism, a
critical optimism' in studying such cases, saying she believes there are
elements of truth in both the view that the Ouija board puts one in contact with
spirits from the afterlife and that it merely reaches our own subconscious.
Covina relates the board to other psychic methods such as dowsing, and feels
that new scientific notions of electromagnetic fields and human consciousness
may help explain how the board works. _Library Journal_ says, 'at last, a
sensible book on Ouija.'"
"Occult/Paranormal Bibliography: An Annotated List of Books Published in
English, 1976 through 1981", by Thomas C. Clarie, Scarecrow Press, 1984; p. 91,
entry 2386.
Ellis 2004 cites it as a valuable reference.
Yarbro, Chelsea Quinn. Messages from Michael on the Nature of the Evolution of
the Human Soul. Chicago: Simon and Schuster. 303 pgs. ISBN:0872235262. 1979.
Author, teach and musician, Yarbro experimented with a Ouija board with friends,
consulting with a few spirits, but recording the one that they knew as 'Michael'
for the series of texts she published with his New Age ideology. Over time the
use of the board became unnecessary, and a series of channelling sessions
replaced the previous seances. Other books by this author include: "More
Messages from Michael" (1986), "Michael's People" (1988), "Michael For The
Millennium: The Fourth Book in the Michael Teaching" (1995, with Stan Drate),
and she inspired "The Michael Handbook: A Channeled System for Self
Understanding" (1995, by Jose Stevens and Simon Warwick-Smith).
In "Michael's Teachings: The Unexplained Board Mysteries", Mike Lichteig posts:
"During that time, other groups began purportedly channeling Michael and titles
not authored by Yarbro hit the nation's bookshelves. A web site for the
teachings currently lists 20 books written by authors other than Yarbro."
"... Several years later I made a most amazing acquisition. A friend from
California who heard about our Ouija board sessions asked if we would be
interested in owning some of the actual transcriptions from the Michael
sessions. Her father was a member of the first group documented in Chelsea Quinn
Yarbro's books, and she had inherited two huge volumes of transcribed sessions.
"...The Michael Teachings, unedited for public consumption, shed tremendous
light and shadow upon the published works and the individuals involved.
"...Eventually the group became comfortable with Michael's concepts, and their
questions were geared toward his thematic structure. Their work became
increasingly complex, and the group itself grew in purpose and scope. They
struggled not only to integrate these odd teachings into their daily lives, but
with how to function as a structured group. They noted in a session the need to
charge $10 per month for photocopying, and also discussed becoming a
corporation. Initiates were required to have several meetings with older members
before attending an actual Ouija board session. Eventually the group envisioned
purchasing land and building a community based upon the Michael Teachings.
"There were other differences between the books and the original transcripts, as
well. Foremost among them: Michael was not the only entity channeled by the
group. There are also extensive notes made channeling an entity named "Tomas",
"Crystal" and another named "Soleal".
"...Neither the original books by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro nor the Michael Teachings
group that emerged later has (to my knowledge) acknowledged Tomas, Crystal or
Soleal."
From http://tinyurl.com/lickteig-michael-transcripts (accessed 02/03/10).
1980
Virtue, Doreen. Angel Guidance Board. New York: NY. Instruction booklet printed
by Hay House in U.S.; ISBN:1401905412; Board dimensions: 10.5 x 10.5 inch
folding, crystal dice, four angel markers; ASIN:B000N6QOTW. 1980.
1981
Plath, Sylvia. Dialogue Over a Ouija Board: A Verse Dialogue. Boise: Rainbow
Press. 30 pgs. ASIN:B0000EES6L; LCCN:84210079. 1981.
Sara Todd explains that this book:
"...incorporates the text of one of the sessions she held with her husband [Ted
Hughes] using a ouija board."
From http://www.psychicpen.com/z_ouija2.html (accessed 2/20/10).
1982
Laurance, Andrew. Ouija. Barcelona: Star. 160 pgs. ISBN:0352310480. 1982.
Mystery thriller fiction. "The game was for fun, but the killing was for real!"
Book advertizement.
From http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/andrew-laurance/ouija.htm (accessed
2/23/10).
1985
Hunt, Stoker. Ouija: The Most Dangerous Game. New York: Harper and Row
Publishers, Inc. 176 pgs. 1985.
Perhaps no book beyond that of Covina 1979 addresses the breadth which Hunt
attempts to cover here. The author consults with psychologists, with religious,
and psychics in a well-rounded, yet skeptical, attempt to describe what Ouija is
and what the most reliable means of using it may be. A number of sources make
reference to this text.
1988
Klintberg, Bengt af. "Black Madame, Come Out!": On Schoolchildren and Spirits.
ARV: Scandanavian Yearbook of Folklore, 44, 155-167. 1988.
Cited by Ellis 2004.
1990
Anft, Michael, and Ellsberry, John. Chairmen of the Ouija Board. Warfield's The
Baltimore Business Monthly, n.v., 46-52. August, 1990.
Referenced by Orlando 2000.
Magus, Jim. Tales From the Talking Board: A Treatise on the Ouija Board for
Mystery Entertainers. Acworth: James L. Saltarella. 1990.
A compendium of mystery theater seance and bizarre magic performances using the
Ouija board. It is written for the use of professional magicians, and its value
lies in its practical description of the employment of the board, as compared to
the background on the Ouija or talking boards which the author seeks to provide.
Contains a bibliography of Ouija effects that helpfully identifies sources for
the treatise.
1991
Goss, Michael. Old Hat New Hat. Magonia, 40, 9-11. August, 1991.
This article was cited by Ellis 2004. See also
http://magonia.haaan.com/2009/oldhat/ (accessed 01/31/10).
Laymon, Richard. Darkness, Tell Us. London: Headline Book Publishing. 1991.
A horror novel about a group of students using a Ouija board to discover
treasure in the wilderness.
1992
Fuld, William. Ouija - Talking Board Set. Salem: Parker Brothers. Model#:600.
ASIN:B001AV3ERO. 1992.
This was the Ouija board available in 1990s.
1993
Farber, Monte, and Zerner, Amy. Psychic Circle. New York: Fireside. Board
dimensions: 9.4 x 9.4 inches; booklet: 32 pgs. ISBN-10: 0671866451. 1993.
Morgan, Keith. How to Use a Ouija Board. Toronto: Pentacle Enterprises. 30 pgs.
ISBN:1872189717. 1993.
1994
Bennett, Geraldine M. Paulette. Katrina and Elishia Learn About Ouija Boards.
(The Katrina Tells Series, Book 6). Nevada City: New Dawn Publishing Co. 44 pgs.
ISBN:1882786041. 1994.
1995
Christopher, Michael St. How to Use a Ouija Board: Communication with the Spirit
World. Los Angeles: International Imports. 1995.
Davis, Vance A. Unbroken Promises: A True Story of Courage and Belief. White
Mesa: White Mesa Publishers. 280 pgs. ISBN:1887266003. 1995.
The author gives his account of the use of a Ouija board by he and five other
military personnel who are stationed in Germany during the summer of 1990, and
as a result of the entities whom they contact through it, go absent without
leave, trek back to the United States, and enter Florida before being
apprehended by military police amidst scandal and disbeilef. The alternate
subtitle: the Intriguing Story behind the Gulf Breeze Six Incident, in Which Six
Army Intelligence Specialists Went AWOL for Reasons That Could Affect the Future
of Mankind.
Lu, Shen-yen. 30. The Efficacious Ouija Board. Encounters with the World of
Spirits (pp. 139-142). San Bruno: Purple Lotus Society. 1995.
1996
Melton, J. Gordon. Ouija Board. In "Encyclopedia of Occultism and
Parapsychology: A Compendium of Information on the Occult Sciences, Magic,
Demonology, Superstitions, Spiritism, Mysticism, Metaphysics, Psychical Science,
and Parapsychology, with Biographical and Bibliographical Notes and
Comprehensive Indexes" (Volume 2, pp. 965-966). Detroit: Gale Research. 1996.
1998
Bjorling, Joel. Consulting Spirits: A Bibliography (Bibliographies and Indexes
in Religious Studies). New York: Greenwood Press. 800-225-5800. 1998.
Orlando 2000 writes: "possibly the most comprehensive bibliography on the
subject to date. Joel lists almost every important book ever written on the
subject -- both pro and con -- in an easy to read and informative format. There
is more than enough information in this book to keep you busy in this lifetime,
and possibly the next."
1999
Farber, Monte, and Zerner, Amy. The Pathfinder Psychic Talking Board Kit. North
Clarendon: Journey Editions. Booklet is 32 pgs. ISBN:1885203896. Board
dimensions are 9.4 x 9.4 inches. 1999.
2000
Ellis, Bill. Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions, and the Media.
Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. 2000.
Ellis is a substantive source for reference on folklore and participative
transformation. Within this text one may find the chapter 'Speak to the Devil:
Ouija Boards and Deliverance', covering an introduction of the subject, 'The
Ouija Ritual', 'Exorcism and Ouija as Parallel Experiences', and 'Ouija and
Exorcism as Mythmaking'. His approach is analytical, clarifying, and important
as an attempt to see what people (primarily teens) were doing in the late 20th
century with popularized spiritualist tools: primarily as a testing mechanism
for their extant faith. His later work (2004) goes into greater detail as
regards Ouija and spirit boards and cites many more resources valuable to the
student or researcher.
Hasbro. Ouija Board: Glow-in-the-Dark. Pawtucket: Hasbro. Model#:600,
ASIN:B0000524NG. Board dimensions: 10.6 x 15.8 inches. 2000.
"Ouija Board has always been mysterious. It has always been mystifying. And now
the OUIJA Board is glow in the dark! With 72 fun questions included, you'll
never run out of things to ask. Who will call/text me next? Gather your friends
around, draw a card, place your fingers on the planchette and ask your question.
Concentrate very hard and watch as the answer is revealed in the message window.
Make up your own questions, and let the OUIJA Board satisfy your curiosity in
virtually endless ways. OUIJA Board will answer. It's just a game - or is it?
Includes OUIJA Board, message indicator (planchette), card deck with 72
questions, carrying case with storage pockets and instructions." product
description
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2266493 (accessed 2/22/10)
Orlando, Eugene. Main. Museum of Talking Boards: An Online Museum of Ouija
Boards. http://www.museumoftalkingboards.com First online April 7, 2000.
Orlando provides a pictographic array of historical boards, which one may
compare with the Ouija.
"The 54-year-old private investor ... has not only placed his collection of
talking boards online, but he has also exhaustively researched their history and
cultural influences. From his oddity-festooned home office in San Francisco...,
Orlando has created a sterling resource on what is usually considered to be a
mysterious subject."
PopCult Magazine continues, quoting him as saying:
"'All the boards, planchettes, and other apparatus are from my collection with
the exception of a very few and they are duly noted. I've written all the text,
taken all the pictures, and done all the graphic design.'"
From http://www.popcultmag.com/passingfancies/websiteoftheweek/talkingboards/talkingboards1.html
(copyright 2002, accessed 2/12/10).
Contact data for Eugene Orlando: P. O. Box 723, Corte Madera, CA 94976;
ouijamuseum@usa.net; ouija@ix.netcom.com.
2001
Lurie, Alison. Familiar Spirits: A Memoir of James Merrill and David Jackson.
New York City: Viking. 2001.
Biographical account of the lives of writers who used the Ouija board to contact
ghosts, gods, and spirits, which assisted in their writing, at least resulting
in Merrill's poetic work "The Changing Light at Sandover".
2002
Murphy, Caroline. Conflicting Spirits: Penetrating the Darkness. British
Columbia, Canada: Trafford Publishing. 280 pgs. ISBN:1553696670. 2002.
Christian horror about the dangerous contact with demons via the Ouija board by
the son of a God-fearing family.
Sword, Helen. Ghostwriting Postmodernism: Plath, Merrill, and the Poetics of
Ouija; The Haunting of Ted Hughes. In Ghostwriting Modernism (pp. 132-158).
Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 2002.
"'. . . . Sword offers a convincing demonstration of the ubiquitous influence of
spiritualist practice. Of particular interest is the chapter on 'spirit writing'
- that is, books written by mediums who claim to be channeling the words of the
deceased. . . . [I]ts extensive bibliography, copious notes, and fine insights
make it a recommended volume for academic readers at all levels.' Choice,
September 2002."
From http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/cup_detail.taf?ti_id=3746 (accessed
2/20/10).
2003
Meide, Christina M. Ouija Boards. In There's No Place Like Home: Nine Forms of
After Death Communication (pp. 195-226). Boston: 1st Books Library. 304 pgs.
ISBN:1410762556. 2003.
A collection of reflections and stories about communications from the dead via a
variety of means.
Murch, Robert. WilliamFuld.com - Ouija Boards. WilliamFuld.com - The Official
Website of William Fuld and Home of the Ouija Board!.
http://www.williamfuld.com/ouija.html First online April 14, 2003.
This website is the production of Robert Murch, Jr., and is a fount of
information which will likely be raw materials for the book that Mr. Murch and
Mr. Orlando are working on.
"...in the summer of 2008, Robert Murch began working with Michael Albert,
President of Papa's Toys, who currently manufactures the Canadian Ouija board.
With the help of Albert, The Toronto Public Library, and the McMaster Library,
Murch has successfully traced the Ouija through it's many Canadian locations and
document it's development throughout Canada. Without this information much of
the Ouija's Canadian past would be lost.
"Robert L Murch Jr., resides in Boston, Massachusetts. He is presently working
with Baltimore city officials, the Maryland Historical Society, The Baltimore
Museum of Industry, and the Maryland State Archives to preserve their Ouija
legacy and document their favorite son, William Fuld. While he continues his
research he is currently working with Eugene Orlando from the Museum of Talking
Boards to co-write a book about the history of the Ouija board."
From http://www.robertmurch.com/references.html (accessed 01/31/10).
Contact data for Robert Murch: 617-291-7451,
http://www.robertmurch.com/contact.html
Orbanes, Philip E. The Game Makers: The Story of Parker Brothers, from Tiddledy
Winks to Trivial Pursuit. New York: Harvard Business School Press. 2003.
A very good reference on the general subject of Parker Brothers games, their
patents and history. The author consults correspondence and tapes from the
company's executives of the time. A relevant example follows:
"With $975,000 in cash and Channing Bacall's blessing, [Robert Barton, president
of Parker Brothers at the time, in the late 1960s] made the most expensive
product acquisition in the firm's history. He purchased the rights for the
venerable *Ouija* board from the sons of William Fuld, who had popularized this
'Mystic Oracle' four decades earlier. [AUTHOR's NOTE: "Robert B. M. Barton,
interview by Professor John Fox, audiocassette, 27 December 1986."]
"...*Ouija* would outsell *Monopoly* in 1967 -- 2.3 million copies to 2 million.
[AUTHOR'S NOTE: Preston Gise, Parker Brothers -- Acquisition Review memorandum
for General Mills, 16 January 1968.]
"...In 1891, Elijah Bond received a U.S. patent on the forerunner of the *Ouija*
board. But the following year, 1892, Fuld purchased Bond's rights in the patent
and applied for an improvement. (Evidence of the origins of *Ouija* devices can
be found in ancient Greece and China. The Romans were also known to have
*Ouija*-like devices.) Notwithstanding where it may have originated, Fuld was
bent on exploiting his new acquisition. He founded a firm known as the Southern
Novelty Company in Baltimore, Maryland. Years later, he changed its name to the
Baltimore Talking Board Company and began to make 'Oriole' Talking Boards and
*planchettes* ...."
pp. 145-146; 229n32, 229n33.
Roberts, Virginia Kent. My Friend, the Ouija Board. San Francisco: Brite Lite
Books. 2003.
A brief account of the author's approach to and use of the Ouija board, as well
as some helpful advice on best methods of its employment.
2004
Belanger, Jeff. Talking Boards. In Communicating With the Dead (pp. 13-36).
Franklin Lakes: New Page Books. 288 pgs. ISBN:1564147932. 2004.
Ellis, Bill. The @#$%&! Ouija Board. In Lucifer Ascending: The Occult in
Folklore and Popular Culture (pp. 174-196). Lexington: University Press of
Kentucky. 288 pgs. ISBN:0813122899. 2004.
Ellis devotes an entire chapter to the tool itself and includes a decent history
of it that would be useful to a student. The author classes the Ouija board with
other testing or initiatory events such as what he calls 'legend-tripping',
explaining how this interweaves with rumor-panic materials that flow through
Christian culture, particularly of certain communities. Ellis is especially
valuable for those who have an extended interest in Christian reactions to, and
use of, occult folklore, and for details in the history of spiritualism and
divination.
2005
Bohm, R. K. Testing the Spirits. British Columbia: Trafford Publishing.
ISBN:141205141X. 2005.
"Crises develop when a pastor in the Pocono mountains of Pennsylvania assists
the owner of a New Age shop hit with graffiti by vandals and lets the youth
group experiment with a Ouija board: a graffiti attack on the church, a divisive
rift in the congregation, the discovery of a New York drug connection using the
woods between the shop and the church, and a murderous attack on the police
chief's son in a locked room situation in the woods."
back cover.
Cornelius, J. Edward. Chapter Two. In Aleister Crowley and the Ouija Board (pp.
11-26). Los Angeles: Feral House. 2005.
Most of this book explores the imagined intersection amongst the summoning
methods of the occultist Aleister Crowley, the mechanism or ideal of the Ouija
board, and the 'Enochian' system attributed to Dr. John Dee from centuries
prior. Chapter 2 contains data of historical relevance to Ouija, recounting an
'E.C. Reichie' story (legend?):
"The earliest possible facts upon which historians can agree about the origins
of the 'Ouija' as we know it today center around E.C. Reiche, a coffin maker in
Chesterson, Maryland. It is generally believed that he had a strong interest in
spiritism and table-tapping due to his unique trade. He wanted to create a
simple means to communicate with the deceased more for personal reasons rather
than something for the public. Initially he 'noticed sympathetically that a
large table was a heavy thing for a frail spirit to juggle about {so} he devised
a little table.' [AUTHOR'S NOTE citing Gruss/Hotchkiss and mentioning that
"Original quote from *The Literary Digest*, July 3, 1920, p. 66; see Digest
1920]
"When he teamed up with his two friends, Elijah J. Bond and Charles Kennard,
they put their heads together and the three of them created the final design for
the talking board. However, no written records survive which allow these facts
to be easily verified. At this point we can only speculate as to what might have
inspired these three gentlemen or from where their original design might have
come."
p. 19.
2006
Peebles, Karen. The Ouija Handbook. Raleigh: LuLu Enterprises, Inc. 16 pgs.
Self-published. 2006.
Shuman, TerryAnn. Guiding Light Angel Board, Not a Ouija But... Angel Board,
Talk with Angels and Spirit Guides. Bombay: Guiding Light Products. TAS Designs.
Board dimensions: 11.75 x 17 inches. ASIN:B000GDAQQE. 2006.
2007
Farber, Monte, and Zerner, Amy. The Enchanted Spellboard: Magical Messages from
the Spirit World. East Hampton: Enchanted World. Booklet 32 pgs.
ISBN:0978696832. Board dimensions: 9.6 x 9.6 inches. 2007.
2008
Farber, Monte, and Zerner, Amy. The Truth Fairy: The Enchanted Pendulum and
Message Board Kit. East Hampton: Enchanted World. Booklet:48 pgs.
ISBN:0979943302. Board dimensions:9.5 x 8.9 x 1.4 inches. 2008.
"...contains an inscribed Truth Fairy pendulum on woven cord; 12 Magical Message
Boards; an illuminating 48 page full-color guidebook; 12 Fairy Enchantments; and
the CD Music from the Nature Spirits. Just swing the inscribed pendulum over one
of the fairy boards to contact your Fairy Guides for inspiration and advice,
receive answers to virtually any question; develop intuitive powers and
awareness; and find your life's path.
"Each marvelous message board is the special province of one of the 12
multi-cultural fairies of Love, Success, Communications, Creativity, Timing,
Location, Wellness, Banishing, Courage, Enlightenment, Abundance, or Joy. Plus,
when you're not using the pendulum as a divination tool, you can wear it just
like a pendant -- except that it also contains a secret chamber to hold special
messages, fairy dust, or herbs to enhance the magic and help uncover the truth
that's so often hidden from the conscious mind."
product description (accessed 2/20/10).
Garcia, Patricia. Patty's Adventures: The Tales of the Ouija Board. Frederick:
Publishamerica. 138 pgs. ISBN:1604740469. 2008.
"This is an interesting story of the many sides of using a Ouija board, the
adventure will linger on in one's mind long after you are finished with the
book. This story is written in the first person with Patty Robinson telling the
story of her and her friends adventures with the Ouija board when she was 14
years old. It's a good story, but could use a bit more dialog."
(Tabitha Robin @ Amazon.com, review accessed 2/20/10).
Hasbro. Ouija Board - Pink. Pawtucket: Hasbro. ASIN:B001HEKJ2M. Board
dimensions:?? 2008.
Kuriakos. How to Use the Ouija Board. Raleigh: Lulu.com. 50 pgs.
ISBN:1435735854. 2008.
Price, Aleister. Synful. Raleigh: Aleister Price Creations (Lulu.com). 42 pgs.
Self-published. 2008.
Horror fiction about unspeakable evil unleashed via a Ouija board.
2009
Cain, D. Lynn. Ouija: For the Record. Raleigh: Lulu.com. 342 pgs.
ISBN:0557158729. 2009.
"The history of the used Ouija board Mary Cain bought in 1968 is not known, but
Mary's family will never be the same. Their two-year odyssey is filled with
unexplained and frightening twists and turns as they cede control to the spirits
who inhabit the board. Will they survive being chosen for a destiny in
Afghanistan? "'This novel had several starts and stops since I first put pen to
paper (literally) in 1980. Reliving our family's saga has been a painful
journey, but one I was willing to to take to get our story on the record - for
this and future generations.' - D. Lynn Cain"
- back cover
Hasbro. Ouija Answer Book: Look into the Future. Have Fun!. New York: Sterling
Innovation. 784 pgs. ISBN:1402767471. 2009.
Book to be used for bibliomancy with a Ouija theme. "Literally a page each for
0-9, A-Z, and "Yes", "No", and other phrases on a traditional Quija board,
repeated several times; not much more than that. Fun to add to your bibliomancy
collection, if just for the cover; but not very useful for divination."
From amazon.com product reviews, accessed 2/20/10.
Horowitz, Mitch. 3. Don't Try This at Home: Ouija and the Selling of
Spiritualism. In Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our
Nation (pp. 66-79). United States and Canada: Bantam. 291 pgs. ISBN:0553806755.
2009.
For those interested in the history of Ouija in particular, especially its
origin and patenting, Horowitz passes ona great deal of very helpful
information, which he obtains from Murch 2003 and Orlando 2000, such as:
"The conventional history [that Fuld 'invented' Ouija around 1890] is wrong.
"The patent for a 'Ouija or Egyptian luck-board' was filed on May 28, 1890, by
Baltimore resident and patent attorney Elijah H. Bond, who assigned the rights
to two city businessmen, Charles W. Kennard and William H. A. Maupin. The patent
was granted on February 10, 1891, and so was born the Ouija-brand talking board.
"...The Kennard Novelty Company of Baltimore employed a teenage varnisher who
helped run shop operations, and this was William Fuld. ... a separate patent --
this time for an improved planchette -- was filed by a nineteen-year-old Flud.
In years to come, it was Fuld who would take over the novelty firm and affix his
name to every board."
p. 69. and
"Though patented and sold as entertainment, Ouija was no ordinary fad. It was,
in fact, a homemade device concocted by nineteenth century American
Spiritualists who, from the earliest days of their movement, yearned to make
talking with the dead as natural as dinnertime conversation. Whether the object
of fear or fascination, Ouija proved the most enduring symbol of their success."
p. 67.
Psyche, Old School. How to Make Your Own Ouija Board and Conduct a Seance.
London: Createspace. 36 pgs. ISBN:1448662125. 2009.
Rose, Karen. How to Use the Ouija Board. London: Createspace. 32 pgs.
ISBN:1442163305. 2009.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Conversations with Dead People Board. Milwaukee, OR:
Dark Horse Comics. Instruction sheet with comic panels, pressed board
planchette. ASIN:159617594X. Board dimensions: 17.62 x 12 inches. 2009.
"The board itself is beautifully designed but there is a problem with the
package. A design flaw is with the planchette. With the feet being made of
rubber, the planchette does not glide easily along the board. There are two
quick fixes for the problem. If you don't mind spending extra, you can buy
another board with a workable planchette and throw away the other board or get a
shot glass with a clear bottom and use that as a planchette."
From product review, accessed 2/20/10.
Tree of Life Pentacle Glass Top Ouija Board Witch Pagan. Casselberry: Black Art
Products. ASIN:B000RY83L2. Board dimensions: 13 x 13 inch octagon. 2009.
2010
yronwode, nagasiva bryan w. Bibliography on Ouija, Spirit Boards, and Talking
Boards, Their History and Use. Yronwode Institute for the Preservation and
Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology (YIPPIE).
http://www.yronwode.org/spirit-board-bibliography/ First online 4/1/10.
This bibliography.
==========================================================================
APPENDICES
A: KEY TERMS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
What follows is a key term list for the benefit of those who may wish to use
search engines to conduct additional research via search engines or
institutional databases. This type of study and search kernel is the future of
library reference, supplemented by excerpted quotes from meritorious sources.
Object:
spirit board; talking board; talking-board; game; oracle; small table; letters;
numbers; mystic symbols; transmission board; planchette; Mystic Oracle;
Mystifying Oracle; Ouija; Ouija board; We-Ja; Wee-Gee; ouiji; Ouija Oil;
Egyptian luck-board; Hindu Luck Board; Oracle Board; Oriole Talking Toard;
Nirvana Talking Board; Volo board; Igili Marvellous Talking Board; Yogee Board.
Activity:
mediumship; spiritualism; spiritism; divination; trance mediumship; typtology;
channelling; communication with the dead; evocation; necromancy; psychism;
psychicism; seance; automatic writing; fortune telling; unintentional writing;
magic game; prophecies; forewarns; predict the future; magnetic vibrations;
metaphysical; automatism; answers questions.
Patent/Business Owners:
Elijah H. Bond; Charles W. Kennard; William H.A. Maupin; Harry Welles Rusk; Col.
Washington Bowie; John T. Green; William Fuld; J. M. Raffel; Albert C. Strobel;
Isaac Fuld; patents; trademarks.
Games Businesses:
Southern Novelty Company; Baltimore Talking Board Company; Kennard Novelty
Company; Northwestern Toy and Manufacturing Company; International Novelty
Company; American Toy Company; Ouija Novelty Company; Swastika Novelty Company;
Copp Clark; Parker Brothers; Hasbro; board games history.
Famous Users/Contacts:
Pearl Curran; Patience Worth; Emily G. Hutchings; Samuel L. Clemens; Hester
Travers Smith; Oscar Wilde; Jane Roberts; Seth; Carl A. Wickland; Robert
Wauchope; Virginia Wauchope; James H. Hyslop; Stewart Edward White; John G.
Fuller; Sylvia Plath; Ted Hughes; Chelsea Quinn Yarbro; Michael; James Merrill;
David Jackson.
Fables and Legends:
Pythagoras; Philolaus; Ernest C. Reiche; E.C. Reiche; E.C. Reichie.
Curators:
Robert Murch; Eugene Orlando.
=============================================================================
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND CREDITS
Thanks to Eugene Orlando, whose website was an inspiration, to amazon.com and
alibris.com (without whose catalogue data and book delivery services this
bibliography would not exist), google.com, which allowed me to find a number of
difficult resources via computer, and bibme.com, which was very helpful for
formatting. Also thanks to my wonderful wife catherine, who so enthusiastically
joined me in an appreciation of talking boards and automatism, and for her
incomparable editing assistance.
This project began as a response to a call for references on the history and use
of the Ouija board from within the JISC forum for the Academic Study of Magic
(@jiscmail.ac.uk). The content of the response primarily derived from online
search and the acquisition of a few key texts available at the time (Horowitz
2009, Cornelius 2005, Orbanes 2003), with the rest following, obtained for the
purpose of polishing the whole. A few clues came from posts made to that initial
forum.