Diviners and spiritualists believe that paranormal or supernatural forces are at work in spelling out ouija board answers. Sceptics believe that those using the board either consciously or unconsciously select what is read. To prove this, simply try it blindfolded, having a bystander take notes on what is spelled out. Usually, the result will be unintelligible nonsense.
The sceptics say that the movement of the planchette is not due to paranormal forces but to unnoticeable movements by those controlling the pointer, known as the ideomotor effect.
While automatic writing was being and still is embraced by mediums, those who were curious about the spirit world held "home circles" and were searching for a more efficient way to reach the spirit plain than by sitting in the dark and joining hands just waiting to hear the rapping on tables .
In 1853, a French Spiritualist named M. Planchette (legend has it) invented a device that could do a lot more than tap on the table. The ‘planchette’ was a small, heart-shaped table with pencils attached to its legs. Those who used it claimed that the spirit plain operated it and spirits were able to write out messages from beyond. The invention was used by the mediums as a more elaborate form of automatic writing, but it really didn’t take off with the general public.
It has been said that Reiche named his board the ‘ouija’ because the name represented the French and German words for “yes” (oui and ja) but this was not the case. He named it that because he believed that the word ‘ouija’ was actually Egyptian for luck. Unfortunately, it's not, but since he claimed to receive the word from a spirit on the board, the name stuck.
Reiche however was more interested in spirits than making money and he sold the invention to his friend, Charles Kennard, who founded the Kennard Novelty Co. and began producing the first commercial ouija boards around 1886. The first patent for a ‘talking board’ was filed on May 28, 1890 and listed Charles Kennard and William H. A. Maupin, as the assignees.
Shortly after the company started, the shop manager, William Fuld, decided to go into business for himself. He forced Kennard out and changed the name to the Ouija Novelty Co. He began producing the ‘Fuld's Talking Board’ in extremely large numbers and became a successful businessman. For the next 35 years he ran the company. Finally, in 1927, during a brief slump in sales, Fuld strangely took his own life. He climbed to the top of a Baltimore building and jumped to his death. Other versions of the story have it that Fuld died accidentally while supervising the replacement of a flagpole. This is likely the more accurate version of events, although Fuld committing suicide gave the Ouija an eerie taint over the years.
The Ouija Board was anything but a curse to Fuld's company though. It became the most successful talking board manufacturer of all time, selling millions of boards as well as other toys and games. Fuld had created a new industry with the ouija board, which he claimed to have invented himself. He started the apocryphal tales of the naming of the board (using oui and ja) and claimed many of his successful sales plans came from the board itself.
His heirs maintained the company until 1966, when they sold out to Parker Brothers. Who produced reproductions of the Fuld board and also made a deluxe wooden edition of the board for a time. They hold all of the patents and trademarks to the board today and they still produce it in large numbers. In spite of the fact that it is now sold in toy stores, it is remarkably similar to that of the Spiritualist board that was sold many years ago.
http://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/7042/the-ouija-myth
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I don't think anyone can really say that the Ouija Board does or does not channel spirits. Those who believe in spirits obviously will believe that channeling spirits is possible-the Ouija Board was created for that reason entirely. For those sceptics who don't believe in spirits or don't believe in channeling spirits, they can easily say it's an impossibilty. I've always wanted to use a Ouija Board for scientific purposes (experiment to see if it's real), but because to me it is a way to channel spirits, I would never try it. I would never want to channel a "bad" spirit that could attatch itself to me (I do believe spirits can attatch themselves to people and can be summoned by normal people with or without their knowledge). I believe in the possibility that evil spirits can bind themselves to people and that it can become dangerous for that peson so... I personally wouldn't want to take that chance despite how much curiosity wants me to try.
I remember those things.
