The Ouija board might be one of the most feared objects in paranormal history, but it didn’t begin as something sinister.

In this episode of The Haunted Line, we uncover the strange history of the Ouija board, from its roots in the Victorian Spiritualist movement to the businessmen who patented the first commercial talking board in 1891.

We explore the mysterious story behind the name “Ouija,” Helen Peters and the unusual patent office demonstration, William Fuld’s connection to the board and his tragic death, and the bizarre case of Patience Worth, a supposed spirit who communicated through a Ouija board and went on to dictate entire novels.

We’ll also look at the science behind why the planchette moves, including the ideomotor effect, and how The Exorcist helped transform the Ouija board from a popular parlor game into something associated with demons, possession and the occult.

And then there are the rules.

Why are you supposed to always say goodbye? What does it mean if the planchette moves in a figure eight? Why do people warn against using a Ouija board alone, using one in a cemetery, or burning one when you’re finished with it?

Some of these warnings have roots in Spiritualist traditions. Others appear to be folklore that developed over generations.

So what is a Ouija board really?

A toy? A psychological phenomenon? A tool for spirit communication?

Or something we still don’t completely understand?

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Where History, Hauntings, and Folklore Meet.