We begin a series about Ouija boards, digging into the strange history of the much admired and maligned method of communicating with spirits and/or having fun at parties.

Before Ouija, there was planchette. Invented in Paris in the 1850s, planchette was a method of automatic writing. Much like the planchette we recognize from today's Ouija boards, it was a heart-shaped plank of wood. But it was much larger than today's planchettes, rested on wheels or casters, and had a slot to put a pencil through. One or several people would rest their hands on the planchette, and see what messages come through.

Highlights include: The Spiritualist movement, weird personifications of "Planchette," plenty of alarmist rhetoric about this popular parlor game/occult technique, and the story of a young woman in New Orleans who supposedly died as a result of her obsession with planchette

This is the first of ?? episodes about Ouija boards. We'll be back next week to talk about the invention of Ouija boards and spirit boards!

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