Ouija Boards

Ouija boards have their roots in spiritualism, which began in the united states in the late 1840s. The new movement was led by mediums, who claimed to be intermediaries between living and death.

There were a number of ways mediums made followers  believe that they were communicating messages from those who had passed. One, table turning, involved the table moving or knocking on the floor in response to letters called out from the alphabet. Another method used planchettes, heart shaped with two wheels at one end and pencil at the point; users would place their fingers on the device, which would then guided by the spirits who would write messages. Both methods where problematic.

According to the museum of talking boards, some mediums got rid of these methods altogether preferring to channel while in a trance,while others built complicated tables and tables painted with letters that required people to use a planchette as a pointer. This method became the most popular  and paved the way for the ouija board. Moving a heart shaped planchette.

The ouija board printed with a alphabet, the numbers 0-9, and yes and no options allowed players to spell out and compile apparently unsourced answers. The ouija board’s continued success depends on two things, neither of them a secret or arising from malign spirits.

The first factor is the participants suspension of disbelief coupled with clever deception manipulating the planchette. Sometimes, of course, the answers that players hope for are an open secret, and fellow game players cooperate to help fulfill a wish.

Ouija players know this kind of insider conspiracy well. People feel interesting in playing ouija.

– Amirtha Abirami S, 1st Year Psychology