A
Ouija board , also known as
spirit board or
talking board) is a flat board marked with letters, numbers, and other symbols, theoretically used to communicate with spirits. It uses a
planchetteA planchette is a triangular or heart-shaped board supported by castors which moves to spell out messages, or answer questions. Paranormal advocates believe that the planchette is moved by some extra-normal force. Skeptics attribute the motion to the ideomotor effect...
(small heart-shaped piece of wood) or movable indicator to indicate the spirit's message by spelling it out on the board during a
séanceA séance is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word "séance" comes from the French word for "seat," "session" or "sitting," from the Old French "seoir," "to sit." In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, speak of "une séance de cinéma"...
. The fingers of the séance participants are placed on the planchette, which then moves about the board to spell out messages. Ouija is a trademark for a talking board currently sold by
Parker BrothersParker Brothers is a toy and game manufacturer and brand. Over nearly 130 years, the company published more than 1800 games; among their best known products are Monopoly, Cluedo , Risk, Trivial Pursuit, Ouija, Aggravation and Probe. Parker Brothers is currently a subsidiary of Hasbro.-...
. It has become a trademark that is often used generically to refer to any talking board.
History
The first historical mention of something resembling a Ouija board is found in
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
around 1100 B.C., a divination method known as
fujiFuji is a method of "planchette writing; spirit writing; automatic writing" using either a sieve or a stick to write Chinese characters in sand or incense ashes....
扶乩 "planchette writing". Other sources claim that according to a Greek historical account of the philosopher
PythagorasPythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. He is often revered as a great mathematician, mystic and scientist; however some have questioned the scope of his contributions to mathematics and natural philosophy...
, in 540 B.C. his sect would conduct séances at "a mystic table, moving on wheels, moved towards signs, which the philosopher and his pupil,
PhilolausPhilolaus was a Greek Pythagorean and Presocratic philosopher. He argued that all matter is composed of limited and unlimited things, and that the universe is determined by numbers. He is credited with originating the theory that the earth was not the center of the universe...
, interpreted to the audience as being revelations supposedly from an unseen world." However, other sources call both claims into dispute, claiming that
fuji is spirit writing, not the use of a spirit board, and that there is no record of Pythagoras or his students actually having used this method of achieving oracles or divinations. In addition, the claim of Pythagorian use is called into doubt by questions of historical accuracy, as
PhilolausPhilolaus was a Greek Pythagorean and Presocratic philosopher. He argued that all matter is composed of limited and unlimited things, and that the universe is determined by numbers. He is credited with originating the theory that the earth was not the center of the universe...
was never the pupil of
PythagorasPythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. He is often revered as a great mathematician, mystic and scientist; however some have questioned the scope of his contributions to mathematics and natural philosophy...
, and indeed was born roughly twenty-five years after
PythagorasPythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. He is often revered as a great mathematician, mystic and scientist; however some have questioned the scope of his contributions to mathematics and natural philosophy...
's death.
The first undisputed use of the talking boards came with the Modern Spiritualist Movement in The United States in the mid-19th century. Methods of
divinationDivination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of a standardized process or ritual. Diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, or omens, or through alleged contact with a supernatural agency...
at that time used various ways to spell out messages, including swinging a
pendulumA pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so it can swing freely.When a pendulum is displaced from its resting equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the equilibrium position. When released, the restoring force will cause it...
over a plate that had letters around the edge or using an entire table to indicate letters drawn on the floor. Often used was a small wooden tablet supported on casters. This tablet, called a planchette, was affixed with a pencil that would write out messages in a fashion similar to
automatic writingAutomatic writing is the process or production of writing material that does not come from the conscious thoughts of the writer. Practitioners say that the writer's hand forms the message, with the person being unaware of what will be written....
. These methods may predate modern Spiritualism.
During the late 1800s, planchettes were widely sold as a novelty. The businessmen
Elijah BondElijah Jefferson Bond January 23rd 1847 - April 14th 1921 was a American lawyer and inventor.Although he invented and patented items including a steam boiler, he is best remembered for patenting what became known as the Ouija Board. He filed for a United States patent on May 28, 1890. Charles W....
and Charles Kennard had the idea to
patentA patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for a public disclosure of an invention....
a
planchetteA planchette is a triangular or heart-shaped board supported by castors which moves to spell out messages, or answer questions. Paranormal advocates believe that the planchette is moved by some extra-normal force. Skeptics attribute the motion to the ideomotor effect...
sold with a board on which the alphabet was printed. The patentees filed on May 28, 1890 for patent protection and thus had invented the first Ouija board. Issue date on the patent was February 10, 1891. They received . Bond was an attorney and was an inventor of other objects in addition to this device. An employee of Kennard,
William FuldWilliam Fuld - February 24, 1927) was an American businessman, inventor, and entrepreneur from Baltimore, Maryland who is best known for his marketing and manufacture of Ouija boards from the 1890s through the 1920s. Fuld is seen as the father of the Ouija board...
took over the talking board production and in 1901, he started production of his own boards under the name "Ouija". The Fuld name would become synonymous with the Ouija board, as Fuld reinvented its history, claiming that he himself had invented it. The strange talk about the boards from Fuld's competitors flooded the market and all these boards enjoyed a heyday from the 1920s through the 1960s. Fuld sued many companies over the "Ouija" name and concept right up until his death in 1927. In 1966, Fuld's estate sold the entire business to Parker Brothers, who continues to hold all trademarks and patents. About ten brands of talking boards are sold today under various names.
Etymology
There are several theories about the origin of the term "Ouija". The
Oxford English DictionaryThe Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press , is a comprehensive dictionary of the English language...
states that the origin is unknown, but mentions three possibilities. According to one of these, the word is derived from the
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
"oui" (for "yes") and the
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
"ja" (also for "yes"). An alternative story suggests that the name was revealed to inventor Charles Kennard during a Ouija séance and was claimed to be an Ancient Egyptian word meaning "good luck". It has also been suggested that the word was inspired by the name of the
MoroccanMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
city
OujdaOujda is a city in eastern Morocco with an estimated population of half a million. The city is located about 15 kilometers west of Algeria and about 60 kilometers south of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Despite its common usage, "Ouija" is a registered trademark of
HasbroHasbro is a U.S.-based, multinational toy and boardgame company. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States. The majority of its products, however, are manufactured overseas.-History:In 1923, two brothers—Henry...
.
Scientific explanation
Rationalists contend that users subconsciously direct the path of the triangle to produce a word that is in that person's subconscious thought process. This subconscious behavior is known as
ideomotor actionThe ideomotor effect is a psychological phenomenon wherein a subject makes motions unconsciously. As in reflexive responses to pain, the body sometimes reacts reflexively to ideas alone without the person consciously deciding to take action...
, a term coined by William Carpenter in 1882. It is also known as automatism. Some people may be convinced that the "powers" of the ouija board are real because they are unaware that they are in fact moving the piece and therefore assume that the piece must be moving due to some other "spiritual force". The subconscious thought process may produce an answer that is different from what the user expected in their conscious thought process—thus perpetuating the idea that the board has "mystical powers". The
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! episode on Ouija Boards ran an experiment using unbiased participants. Questions were being asked to the late
William FrawleyWilliam Clement Frawley was an American stage entertainer, screen and television actor. Although Frawley acted in over 100 films, he achieved his greatest fame playing landlord Fred Mertz on the sitcom I Love Lucy....
with very strong answers. The participants were then blindfolded and the board was turned 180 degrees without their knowledge. With continued questioning, the
planchetteA planchette is a triangular or heart-shaped board supported by castors which moves to spell out messages, or answer questions. Paranormal advocates believe that the planchette is moved by some extra-normal force. Skeptics attribute the motion to the ideomotor effect...
then traveled to bare areas of the board where the participants (potentially spirits or the human mediums) believed the "Yes" and "No" marks were located.
Spiritualist explanation
SpiritualistsSpiritualism is a monotheistic belief system or religion, postulating a belief in God, but the distinguishing feature is belief that spirits of the dead can be contacted, either by individuals or by gifted or trained "mediums", who can provide information about the afterlife.Spiritualism developed...
who believe Ouija boards can be used to make actual contact with the
spirit worldThe spirit world, according to Spiritualism, is the world inhabited by spirits. Though a concept of a spirit world is in the constitution of most religions, it is not "itself the religion". Whereas religion regards an inner life, the spirit world is regarded as an external environment for spirits...
feel that the act of hindering a medium’s ability to use his or her own eyes while the board is in use effectively places too great of a handicap on the whole exercise. This argument stems from the belief that contacted spirits actually utilize the eyes of the medium during a Ouija session in order to point to the letters and words needed to form a message. Most believers of this notion believe that the board has no intrinsic power in and of itself, but rather, is used simply as a tool to aid a medium while in communication with the spirit world.
Literature
Talking boards have become an iconic part of culture, demonstrated by their appearances in many books and movies. Their roles in such vary from being a benign object to an evil entity. A more peculiar role of talking boards in literature stems from authors using the board to channel complete written works from the deceased.
In the early 1900s,
St. LouisSt. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. With an estimated population of 354,361 in 2008, it is the principal municipality of Greater St. Louis, population 2,866,517, the largest urban area in Missouri and sixteenth largest in the United States...
housewife Pearl Curran used her Ouija board communications with the ubiquitous spirit
Patience WorthPatience Worth was allegedly a spirit contacted by Pearl Lenore Curran . This symbiotic relationship produced several novels, poetry and prose which Pearl Curran claimed was delivered to her through channelling the spirit, Patience Worth.- About Pearl Curran :Curran was born Pearl Lenore Pollard...
to publish a number of poems and prose. Pearl claimed that all of the writings came to her through séances, which she allowed the public to attend. In 1917 writer Emily G. Hutchings, a friend of Pearl Curran's, believed she had communicated with and written a book dictated by
Mark TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. Twain is most noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which has since been called the Great American Novel, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He is extensively quoted...
from her Ouija board. Twain's living descendants went to court to halt publication of the book that was later determined to be so poorly written that it could not have been written by Twain dead or alive.
Sylvia PlathSylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist, children's author, and short story author.Known primarily for her poetry, Plath also wrote a semi-autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar, under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas...
's poem
Ouija was influenced by the experiments she and
Ted HughesEdward James Hughes OM was an English poet and children's writer, known as Ted Hughes. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to the American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 through 1962...
made with a board. Her
Dialogue over a Ouija Board, written in 1957, incorporates the text of one of the sessions.
Author
John G. FullerJohn Grant Fuller, Jr. was a New England-based American author of several non-fiction books and newspaper articles, mainly focusing on the theme of extra-terrestrials and the supernatural. For many years he was a regular columnist for the Saturday Review magazine...
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.
More recently,
Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by Hungarian-American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City....
winning poet
James MerrillJames Ingram Merrill was a Pulitzer Prize winning American poet. His poetry falls into two distinct bodies of work: the polished and formalist lyric poetry of his early career, and the epic narrative of occult communication with spirits and angels, titled The Changing Light at Sandover, which...
used a Ouija board and recorded what he claimed were messages from a number of deceased persons. He combined these messages with his own poetry in
The Changing Light at SandoverThe Changing Light at Sandover is a 560-page epic poem by James Merrill . Sometimes described as a postmodern apocalyptic epic, the poem was published in three separate installments between 1976 and 1980, and in its entirety in 1982...
(1982).
Criticism of ouija boards
Although ouija boards are viewed by some to be a simple toy, there are people who believe they can be harmful, including
Edgar CayceEdgar Cayce was an American who was believed to be psychic. He is said to have demonstrated an ability to channel answers to questions on subjects such as health or Atlantis, while in a self-induced trance...
, who called them "dangerous." Critics warn that "evil demons" pretend to be cooperative ghosts in order to trick players into becoming
spiritually possessedSpirit possession is paranormal, supernatural, psychological and/or superstitious spirits, gods, demons/daemons , animas, ET's or other disincarnate or extraterrestrial entities taking control of a human body, resulting in noticeable changes in health and behavior...
.
Some practitioners claim to have had bad experiences related to the use of talking boards by being haunted by "demons," seeing apparitions of spirits, and hearing voices after using them. A few
paranormalParanormal is a general term that describes unusual experiences that lack a scientific explanation, or phenomena alleged to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
researchers, such as
John ZaffisJohn Zaffis is a paranormal researcher based in Connecticut. He runs the Paranormal and Demonology Research Society of New England which he founded in 1998....
, claim that the majority of the worst cases of so-called
demonIn religion, folklore, and mythology a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as a malevolent spirit. In Christian terms demons are generally understood as fallen angels, formerly of God. A demon is frequently depicted as a force that may be conjured and insecurely controlled...
harassment and possession are caused by the use of Ouija boards. The American demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren stated that "Ouija boards are just as dangerous as drugs." They further state that "séances and Ouija boards and other occult paraphernalia are dangerous because 'evil spirits' often disguise themselves as your loved ones—and take over your life."
Many Christians hold the belief that using a Ouija board allows communication with demons, which they say is
BiblicallyThe Bible contains the central religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, as it is written almost entirely in the Hebrew language, with some small portions in Aramaic...
forbidden as a form of divination. Some people who claim to have been oppressed by evil spirits after using a board say that they could only get rid of these problems after Christian deliverance. Many Christians believe that no dead person's soul can be summoned, and that the only summoned spirits are demons who are trying to harm humans.
As early as 1924,
Harry HoudiniHarry Houdini was a Hungarian American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer...
wrote that five people from Carrito,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
were driven insane by using a board. That same year,
Dr. Carl WicklandDr. Carl August Wickland was a psychiatrist, a paranormal researcher and a non-fiction author.Wickland was born in 1861 at Liden, Norland Province, Sweden. His father taught him cabinet making in his youth. Later he studied watchmaking.In 1881 he arrived in St. Paul, Minn. after having emigrated...
in his book stated that "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 1944, occultist Manly P. Hall, the founder of the Philosophical Research Society and an early authority on the occult in the 20th century, stated in Horizon magazine that, "during the last 20-25 years I have had considerable personal experience with persons who have complicated their lives through dabbling with the Ouija board. Out of every hundred such cases, at least 95 are worse off for the experience." He went on to say that, "I know of broken homes, estranged families, and even suicides that can be traced directly to this source."
The former medical director of the State Insane Asylum of
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
, Dr. Curry, stated that the Ouija board was a "dangerous factor" in unbalancing the mind and believed that if their popularity persisted insane asylums would be filled with people who used them.
Decades later, in 1965,
parapsychologistParapsychology is a controversial discipline that seeks to investigate the existence and causes of psychic abilities and life after death using the scientific method...
Martin EbonMartin Ebon was a German American author of non-fiction books from the paranormal to politics.Born in Hamburg, Germany, Ebon immigrated to the United States in 1938....
in his book
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... as having been 'chosen' for a special task." He continues, "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, the
psychicA psychic is a person who claims to have the ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception, or is said to have such abilities by others...
Susy Smith said, "Warn people away from Ouija and
automatic writingAutomatic writing is the process or production of writing material that does not come from the conscious thoughts of the writer. Practitioners say that the writer's hand forms the message, with the person being unaware of what will be written....
. 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." Only recently, well known psychic Sylvia Brown made her appearance on
The Montel Williams ShowThe Montel Williams Show was a syndicated talk show hosted by Montel Williams.On January 30, 2008 it was announced that The Montel Williams Show would stop production on new episodes at the end of the 2007-08 television season...
stating that Ouija boards were dangerous.
Additionally, the late Roman Catholic priest
Malachi MartinMalachi Brendan Martin Ph.D was a former Jesuit priest, theologian, writer on the Catholic Church and professor at the Vatican's Pontifical Biblical Institute. He was also the author of sixty books which covered religious and geo-political topics. He was a controversial commentator for the Vatican...
believed talking boards are dangerous and claimed that by using these devices a person opens themselves to demonic oppression or possession, topics upon which Martin spoke and wrote extensively for many years.
Crowley and modern occultism
Little is published regarding
Aleister CrowleyAleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, was an English occultist, writer, mountaineer, poet, yogi, and possibly a spy...
's advocacy of the ouija board. Yet, he had great admiration for the use of one and the Ouija board played a passing role in his magical workings.
Jane WolfeJane Wolfe was an American silent film character actress and Thelemite.-Background:A Pennsylvania Dutch, Wolfe was born in St. Petersburg, Pennsylvania. As a young girl she went to New York City to pursue a career in the theatre but soon became involved acting in the fledgling motion picture...
, who lived with Crowley at his infamous
Abbey of ThelemaThe Abbey of Thelema refers to a small house which was used as a temple and spiritual centre and was founded by Aleister Crowley and Leah Hirsig in Cefalù, Sicily in 1920....
, also used the Ouija board. She credits some of her greatest spiritual communications to use of this implement. Crowley also discussed the Ouija board with another of his students, and the most ardent of them, Frater Achad (
Charles Stansfeld JonesCharles Stansfeld Jones , aka Frater Achad, was an occultist and ceremonial magician. An early aspirant to A∴A∴ who "claimed" the grade of Magister Templi as a Neophyte. He also became an O.T.O. initiate, serving as the principal organizer for that order in British Columbia...
): it is frequently mentioned in their unpublished letters.
in 1917 Achad experimented with the board as a means of summoning Angels, as opposed to
ElementalAn elemental is a mythological being first appearing in the alchemical works of Paracelsus. Traditionally, there are four types:*gnomes, earth elementals*undines, water elementals*sylphs, air elementals*salamanders, fire elementals....
s. In one letter Crowley told Jones:
"Your Ouija board experiment is rather fun. You see how very satisfactory it is, but I believe things improve greatly with practice. I think you should keep to one angel, and make the magical preparations more elaborate."
Over the years, both became so fascinated by the board that they discussed marketing their own design. Their discourse culminated in a letter, dated February 21, 1919, in which Crowley tells Jones,
"Re: Ouija Board. I offer you the basis of ten percent of my net profit. You are, if you accept this, responsible for the legal protection of the ideas, and the marketing of the copyright designs. I trust that this may be satisfactory to you. I hope to let you have the material in the course of a week." In March, Crowley wrote to Achad to inform him,
"I'll think up another name for Ouija." But their business venture never came to fruition and Crowley's new design, along with his name for the board, has not survived.
Crowley has stated, of the Ouija Board that, "There is, however, a good way of using this instrument to get what you want, and that is to perform the whole operation in a consecrated circle, so that undesirable aliens cannot interfere with it. You should then employ the proper magical invocation in order to get into your circle just the one spirit you want. It is comparatively easy to do this. A few simple instructions are all that is necessary, and I shall be pleased to give these, free of charge, to any one who cares to apply."
Other notable users
- G. K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton was one of the most influential English writers of the 20th century. His prolific and diverse output included journalism, philosophy, poetry, biography, Christian apologetics, fantasy and detective fiction....
used a Ouija board. Around 1893 he had gone through a crisis of skepticism and depression, and during this period Chesterton experimented with the Ouija board and grew fascinated with the occult.
- Poet James Merrill
James Ingram Merrill was a Pulitzer Prize winning American poet. His poetry falls into two distinct bodies of work: the polished and formalist lyric poetry of his early career, and the epic narrative of occult communication with spirits and angels, titled The Changing Light at Sandover, which...
used a Ouija board for years, and even encouraged entrance of spirits into his body. He wrote the poem "The Changing Light at Sandover" with the help of a Ouija board. Before he died, he recommended that people not use Ouija boards.
- Former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi
is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as President of the Council of Ministers of Italy twice, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008. He was also President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004.Prodi ran in 1996 as Olive Tree candidate, winning...
claimed under oath that, in a séance held in 1978 with other professors at the University of BolognaThe University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating degree-granting university in Europe, the word 'university' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
, the "ghost" of Giorgio La PiraGiorgio La Pira was an Italian politician who served as mayor of Florence twice . He also served as deputy of the Christian Democratic Party and participated in the assembly that wrote the Constitution of Italy after World War II...
spelled the name of the street where Aldo MoroAldo Moro was an Italian politician and two-time Prime Minister of Italy, from 1963 to 1968, and then from 1974 to 1976...
was being held by the Red BrigadesThe Red Brigades were a Marxist-Leninist militant group based in Italy and active, mainly via political assassinations and bank robberies, during the "Years of Lead"....
in a Ouija. According to Peter Popham of The IndependentThe Independent is a British newspaper published by Tony O'Reilly's Independent News & Media. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily newspapers. The daily edition was named National...
: "Everybody here has long believed that Prodi's ouija board tale was no more than an ill-advised and bizarre way to conceal the identity of his true source, probably a person from Bologna's seething far-left underground whom he was pledged to protect."
- Bill Wilson
William Griffith Wilson , also known as Bill Wilson or Bill W., was the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous , a fellowship of 100,800 support groups world-wide dedicated to helping alcoholics achieve sobriety...
the co-founder of Alcoholics AnonymousAlcoholics Anonymous is a worldwide fellowship of men and women who share a desire to stop drinking alcohol, and subsequently maintain their sobriety...
used the Ouija Board to contact spirits. His wife said that he would get messages directly without even using the board. For a while, his participation in AA was deeply affected by his involvement with the Ouija board. Wilson claimed that he received the twelve step method directly from a spirit without the board and wrote it down.
- Art Bell
Arthur W. "Art" Bell, III is an American broadcaster and author, known primarily as one of the founders and original host of the paranormal-themed radio program Coast to Coast AM. He also created and formerly hosted its companion show, Dreamland. Semi-retired from Coast to Coast AM since 2003, he...
, the former host of the paranormal-themed radio show Coast To Coast AMCoast to Coast AM is a North American late-night syndicated radio talk show which deals with a variety of topics, but most frequently ones that relate either to the paranormal, or to alleged conspiracies. It was created by Art Bell, airs seven nights a week 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m...
(which on Halloween became Ghost To Ghost AM) had once used a Ouija board, and experienced something he's been wanting to forget ever since. He refused to tell any of the callers/listeners about the actual experience and he always advised not to use a Ouija board - ever.
- The Fiery Furnaces
The Fiery Furnaces are a U.S. indie rock band formed in Brooklyn, New York, in 2000. They played twice in Brooklyn as The Suckers before performing as The Fiery Furnaces . The band's primary members are Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger...
said that they used a Ouija board to write lyrics for their album Widow CityWidow City is the sixth full length album by The Fiery Furnaces. It was released on October 9, 2007 on Chicago-based label Thrill Jockey. It leaked to filesharing websites on July 12, 2007...
.
- On the July 25, 2007, edition of the paranormal radio show Coast to Coast AM
Coast to Coast AM is a North American late-night syndicated radio talk show which deals with a variety of topics, but most frequently ones that relate either to the paranormal, or to alleged conspiracies. It was created by Art Bell, airs seven nights a week 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m...
, host George NooryGeorge Ralph Noory is an American radio talk show host.As of 2009, he is the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show Coast to Coast AM. He is heard across the United States and Canada on many AM, FM and XM Satellite Radio. His show is one of the most listened to overnight programs...
attempted to carry out a live Ouija board experiment on national radio despite the strong objections of one of his guests, Jordan Maxwell, and with the encouragement of his other guests, Dr. Bruce Goldberg, Rosemary Ellen GuileyRosemary Ellen Guiley is an author of books on the paranormal and supernatural. She has written 41 books, 8 encyclopedias and hundreds of articles on a wide range of paranormal, spiritual and mystical topics....
and Jerry Edward Cornelius. In the days and hours leading up to the show, unfortunate events kept occurring to Noory's friends and family as well as some of his guests, but these events would likely be considered coincidences by skeptics. After recounting a near-death experience in 2000 and noting bizarre events taking place, Noory canceled the experiment.
- The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta is an American Grammy Award-winning rock band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 2001 and currently based out of Mexico. Founded by guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, the band incorporates various influences including progressive rock, experimental rock,...
wrote their album Bedlam in Goliath based on their alleged experiences with an Ouija board. According to their story (written for them by a fiction author, Jeremy Robert JohnsonJeremy Robert Johnson is a US author who lives and writes in Portland, Oregon. He was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2000, 2002, and 2006...
), Omar Rodriguez Lopez purchased a Ouija board while traveling in Jerusalem. At first the board provided a story which became the theme for the album. Strange events allegedly related to this activity occurred during the recording of the album: the studio flooded, one of the album's main engineers had a nervous breakdown, equipment began to malfunction, and Cedric Bixler-ZavalaCedric Bixler-Zavala is the Mexican-American lead singer and lyricist of The Mars Volta, and was previously the lead singer, lyricist and occasional guitarist of At the Drive-In, and also, the drummer of De Facto...
's foot was injured. Following these bad experiences the band buried the Ouija board.
- Brandon Flowers
Brandon Richard Flowers is the American frontman, keyboardist and primary lyricist of the Las Vegas-based rock band The Killers.-Early life:...
, the lead singer of The Killers superstitiously associates his death with the number 621 (which is also his birthday) from having used a Ouija board.
Other types of boards
Other iterations of the board exist in Asia. The Japanese version is known as "Kokkuri san," eponymous of the entity who is said to communicate with the user. (The horror film Kokkuri-san is based on this.) These are all home-made, with words written on paper in local languages. The
planchetteA planchette is a triangular or heart-shaped board supported by castors which moves to spell out messages, or answer questions. Paranormal advocates believe that the planchette is moved by some extra-normal force. Skeptics attribute the motion to the ideomotor effect...
is replaced by other items, most commonly a pen, a dish (Chinese condiment saucer) or a coin. It is often played by inquisitive teenagers. Sinister consequences of using such 'Angel' boards appear in episodes of the television anime series XXXholic
, Great Teacher Onizuka, officially abbreviated to GTO, is a Japanese shōnen manga written and illustrated by Tohru Fujisawa. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from May 1997 to April 2002. The story focuses on 22 year-old ex-bōsōzoku member Eikichi Onizuka, who becomes a teacher at private high...
, and Ghost Hunt, originally titled , is a light novel series written by Fuyumi Ono. It follows the adventures of the Shibuya Psychic Research Center, particularly its teenage manager Kazuya Shibuya and Mai Taniyama, a first-year high schooler who becomes his assistant after his usual assistant, Lin, is hurt while...
.
Various horror movies have been made about the consequences of playing with these incarnations of the board, most notably by the Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
and South KoreaSouth Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often simply referred to as Korea, is a country in East Asia, located on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, the second largest...
movie industry. One of the more well-known movies to date is the 2004 South Korean film BunshinsabaBunshinsaba is 2004 South Korean horror film directed by Ahn Byeong-ki.In 2004 it screened at the 8th annual Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival...
.
Books
Aleister Crowley and the Ouija BoardAleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, was an English occultist, writer, mountaineer, poet, yogi, and possibly a spy...
.
2005 ISBN 1-932595-10-4 http://feralhouse.com/press/mini_sites/ouija/
Gruss, Edmond C.Edmund Charles Gruss is Professor Emeritus at The Master's College in Santa Clarita, California and an author. He researches groups he considers to be "cults" and the occult and has written many books on those subjects especially on the Ouija Board and Jehovah's Witnesses.Gruss was a member of the...
The Ouija Board: A Doorway to the Occult
1994 ISBN 0-87552-247-5
Hunt, Stoker. Ouija: The Most Dangerous Game.
1992 ISBN 0-06-092350-4
Hill, Joe Heart Shaped Box
Information on talking boards
Skeptics
Others