OUIJA THE TALKING BOARD

It was February of 1891 when first advertisements for 'Ouija, the Wonderful Talking Board' first began to appear in printed publications. The board was promoted as a magical device that would answer questions about the 'past, present and future.' and would provide “never-failing amusement and recreation for all the classes,” it also purported to offer a link “between the known and unknown, the material and immaterial.” In 1848, Spirtualism (the ability to communicate with the dead) hit America, largely due to the Fox Sisters who claimed to receive messages from spirits in the form of knocking on walls in answer to questions. And with these stories, and that of other spiritualist mediums, hitting the national press in the late 19th Century, the US became firmly clasped in the grips of a spiritualist movement that would sweep the nation. With average life expectancy of 50 years, and women frequently dying during childbirth, children through disease and men in war (particularly the American Civil War) people wished to communicate with their lost loved ones. 

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Thanks so much for listening and we'll catch up with you again next week for some more true, scary stories.

Sarah and Tobie xx

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