Chrysti the Wordsmith > Radio Scripts

In 1892, brothers Isaac and William Fuld created a business called the Southern Novelty Company in Baltimore, MD. Their signature product was a three-ply, 12 x 18 inch pine board and an accompanying heart-shaped "planchette" or pointer. The board was printed with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers zero through nine, and the words yes, no and goodbye.

The Fuld brothers called it the Ouija Board. It was designed for two players sitting knee to knee with the board and the pointer atop their combined laps. When the participants lightly placed their fingers on the pointer, it traveled around the board, spelling out words by pointing to the letters.

Many believed the device was activated by spiritual forces. Since its introduction in the 1890's, millions have consulted the Ouija Board in making important decisions, communicating with the dead, and for advice in love.

Ouija Board sales have waxed and waned, accelerating in times of national catastrophe. During WWI, mothers and wives bought record numbers of Ouija Boards to answer anxious questions concerning sons and husbands overseas. Sales picked up in 1944, and again following the mass occult explosion of the 1960's.

Ouija is a combination of the words oui and ja, French and German for "yes," a reflection of the positive answers the board was expected to produce.

Radio Script > Ouija