4.27.2008
The Weird History of the Ouija Board
The Baltimore Sun profiles Robert Murch, a man obsessed with the history of the Ouija board, and the two brothers who helped manufacture and popularize the parlor game/spiritual tool around the turn of the 20th century.
The Ouija Board
"On the phone, through e-mail and in repeated visits to Baltimore, he pestered newspaper librarians for access to yellowing clip files and century-old articles on microfilm, pushed caretakers for access to their cemeteries and directions to gravesites, and prodded curators of historical societies and museums for any pieces they might have to the puzzle. Much of Murch's time, though, has been spent researching family trees, seeking descendants of the men who first manufactured the Ouija Board - chief among them, William and Isaac Fuld, the two brothers whose falling out would lead to a 100-year silence between the two sides of the family."
In addition to Murch's in-depth research into William Fuld and his estranged brother Isaac (who, for a time, manufactured competing "Oriole Boards"), he has also raised money for a Ouija-themed gravestone for Elijah Bond, the Baltimore attorney who first patented the board, and is planning a "coffee-table-type book" compiling his research. In short, his own life and history have become intertwined with the history of this "oracle".
"...he's still immersed in his quest to document the history of "The Mystifying Oracle" - that diviner of the future, that gateway to the spirit world, that simple lettered board, born in Baltimore, that went on to become an icon of both pop culture and occult subculture."
Today, while not as popular as it once was, the Ouija board retains its place in pop-culture. The original Ouija board rights were bought by Parker Bros./Hasbro and they (quietly) manufacture a glow-in-the-dark version. Meanwhile, smaller "spirit board" manufacturers have emerged to cater to those with more "occult" tastes. Even Murch got into the business for a short time with "Cryptique", a Salem-themed board that promised to be an update on the Ouija concept (Cryptique stopped being manufactured in 2005).
As for the future? Spirit boards and similar tools have been around since ancient times, and will likely be around for some time to come. Whether Ouija itself persists is a different matter, and no doubt only the spirits have the answer.
Labels: occult, Ouija Boards, Robert Murch, Spiritualism
Comments:
Have you seen the Museum of Talking Boards site?
I've got an OUIJA board from 1918. My ex husband traded a canoe for it. :) It's fabulous!
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Have you seen the Museum of Talking Boards site?
I've got an OUIJA board from 1918. My ex husband traded a canoe for it. :) It's fabulous!
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