
Originally Posted by
Jennifer Robins
Because I am working on a novel involving a Ouija Board, I thought this might be of interest to you.
In 1853 a French Spiritualist M. Planchette invented a device that could do much more than tap on the table to converse with spirits. It was a small heart-shaped table with pencils attached to its legs. those who used it claimed that it was operated by spirits force and ghosts that could write out messages from beyond. This was used by Mediums.
A short time later, another invention would come along that could be used by everyone No real psychic skills were needed. This new devise would revolutionize the Spiritualist movement and have an impact that still resounds today. The Ouija board was born.
Shortly when it came to America, a cabinet and coffin maker from Maryland E.C. Reiche created a new method of communicating with the dead. he devised a wooden lap tray with the letters of the the alphabet arranged in two lines across the cneter of the board. Below the letters, he placed the number 1-10 and the words YES & NO in each lower corner of the board. He used the triangular indicator with his board but removed the pencil tips and placed wooden pegs on the bottom of it. In this way, the indicator was free to move about on the board.
It was said that it was named the Ouija because the name represented the French and German words for "Yes (oui and ja) but this was not the case. He named it such because he believed the word "Ouija" was actually Egyptian for luck. Needless to say, it's not, but since he claimed to receive the word from a spirit on the board, the name stuck.
Jennifer Robins
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