Ouija Come From? : Haunted Origins of Talking Boards

Welcome To The Oddity Shop, Where The Bizarre is Always on Sale.  This week, your Curator Zach has the Tale of Ouija's Origins.

A century ago, a simple board promised something enormous: a chance to keep talking after goodbye. We follow that promise from candlelit parlors to factory floors, then through a single film that rewired an entire culture’s imagination. Along the way we meet the Fox sisters, watch automatic writing become a planchette, and see how Charles Kennard and Elijah Bond turned a parlor method into a mass‑market icon—only to have William Fuld claim the credit and build an empire that outlived him. The history is twisty, but it’s also deeply human: people searching for answers when life doesn’t give them one.

Whether you see the board as a tool, a trap, or a beautiful piece of folk art, the core is connection—how we reach for each other when words run out. If you enjoyed this deep dive into spiritualism, talking boards, cultural myths, and the science of belief, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review to help other curious minds find us. What are your rules for using one?

Reference Shout Outs: 

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouija

• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-ouija-board-cant-connect-us-to-paranormal-forces-but-it-can-tell-us-a-lot-about-psychology-grief-and-uncertainty-5860627/

• https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/artsentertainment/the-dark-and-fascinating-history-of-the-ouija-board-baltimore-origins/

• https://nerdist.com/article/history-origin-story-behind-the-ouija-board-spiritualism-beliefs-of-evil-pop-culture-impact-modern-uses/

• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/its-catching/201508/can-ouija-boards-trigger-demonic-possession

• https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-science-behind-ouija-boards-42944

• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-spiritualist-who-warned-lincoln-was-also-booths-drinking-buddy-180954317/

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritualism_(movement)

• https://www.buriedsecretspodcast.com/the-history-of-automatic-writing-planchettes/

Each Week at the Oddity Shop, Your Curators Kara and Zach will bring you stories from Cryptids to Conspiracies, Cults to Curiosities, Myths to Mysteries, and so much more!

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