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Trick Tracts Facts: Ouija Boards

In the Chick Tracts Bewitched [tract][review] and The Thing [tract], Chick claims the Ouija Board is a pawn of the devil and that its usage can lead to demonic possession. So what is the Ouija Board, where does it come from and is there any truth of the claims of pure evil that have been put on it?

The infamous Ouija Board first made its appearance 1890 and was sold in novelty shops as a parlor game. One of the creators of the board, Charles Kennard, named his game for what he claimed the board had told him was the Egyptian word for "luck". In reality, "ouija" is not Egyptian for luck yet the name was kept. When William Fuld took over Kennard's company in 1892, he reinvented the history of the board. He claimed he had come up with the name "ouija", which was a combination of the French and German words for "yes" - "oui" and "ja" respectively.

Though the game was thought by the superstitious and morbidly-curious people of the Victorian-era to be able to contact spirits, such claims have never been proven. The game is mostly played by young children at slumber parties and is rarely used by authentic fortune-tellers or mediums.

Whether the board can actually contact the spirit world is up for speculation, and self-exploration. Most people still view the Ouija Board as no more than an interesting parlor game. Others are positive of its being a doorway to the other side, while others firmly believe the board is evil and the work of Satan.

Though most of us have a hard time grasping that what eventually became a Parker Brothers game could be a tool of the devil, the mystery around the infamous board makes it a target for Christians fearful that the devil has his hands in just about everything from music to Tele-tubbies.

That said, I would like to add that, as with any divination tool, real or implied, caution should always be used when attempting to contact the spirit world. Other than that, I don't think anyone needs to worry about burning their Ouija Boards to save their souls.

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More Info on Ouija Boards

How To Use a Ouija Board on about.com:
A Ouija board can be an interesting experience. Some believe it is a doorway to another world and warn against its use, but most people see it as a harmless diversion, especially if it's not taken too seriously. Here are some guidelines...read more

History of the Ouija Board and similar games on History of the Talking Board:

Excerpt:
Almost from the beginning, William Fuld's Ouija board suffered fierce competition from other toy makers. Everyone wanted to make a variation of the Wonderful Talking Board. Ouija imitations with names like "The Wireless Messenger" and I Do Psycho Ideograph, flooded the market. Some companies, like J.M. Simmons and Morton E. Converse & Son even used the Ouija name and the identical board layout. Fuld responded with legal threats and by marketing a second, less expensive talking board, the Mystifying Oracle...read more

Ouija Board - Fact or Fiction? from AskMen.com:

Excerpt:
The idea of a Ouija board first came about in 1848, when two sisters from the United States believed they could talk to a spirit. They tried communicating with the entity by tapping on a table; each tap or knock representing a letter of the alphabet...read more.

How far back does talking board usage go? The question looked at in Ancient Ouija Boards: Fact of Fiction?:

Excerpt:
Writers of occult literature love to talk about the Ouija board's ancient roots. Ouija boards, they tell us, were in use in ancient Greece, Rome, China, or whatever other cultures the authors deem important. They steadfastly maintain that modern Ouija boards are the direct descendants of its more primitive ancestors. If the ancestor wasn't a Ouija board exactly, it was "Ouija-like." This can mean that almost any early divination device qualifies. Few question this and new writers repeat the words of the old without thinking very critically about it. Ancient Ouija boards: fact or fiction?...read more.

Overview of Ouija Board by D.J. McAdam:

Excerpt:
We recently received an e-mail asking whether or not the ouija board was invented by the Devil. Perhaps the most accurate way to answer this is to say that, if the Devil did invent the ouija board, he neglected to file a patent for it...read more.

More information on the Ouija Board from skepdic.com:

Excerpt:
Some users believe that paranormal or supernatural forces are at work in spelling out Ouija board answers. Skeptics believe that those using the board either consciously or unconsciously select what is read. To prove this, simply try it blindfolded for some time, having an innocent bystander take notes on what letters are selected. Usually, the result will be unintelligible non-sense...read more.

Teacher Larry Barrieau looks at using Ouija in the classroom to learn the scientific method in Ouija In the Classroom:

Excerpt:
Every year parents complain about my "teaching the paranormal." Often, all they need is a face-to-face explanation of what is going on to calm their fears. But some parents complain to the administration and try to get me to cease and desist. I have been called "Satan's tool," "occultist," "demonic," and so on. The administration has given me support, and then withdrawn it under pressure.

It would be much easier to drop this section and introduce the scientific method in the standard textbook manner. But I've done it that way, and the students seem to understand and absorb at a much higher level with this approach.

If we give in to irrationality, the students and, I believe, the country will suffer..read more.

Try the Ouija Board out yourself with Web Ouija:

Excerpt:
The Web Ouija was originally created by Mike Hall as an experiment in DHTML and JavaScript...read more.

How Does a Ouija Board work from The Straight Dope:

Excerpt:
Even back in the 1880s, the planchette was being sold as a novelty item and parlor game. The Ouija board was in the same vein--an important point. The board didn't originate with swamis, emanate from the mysterious East, or anything like that. It was invented and marketed by American businessmen hoping to make a buck...read more.

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