However, Helen Peters was also wearing a locket with a picture of a women’s rights activist and novelist named Ouida. The story goes that they were using a spirit board together and they asked the spirits what they should call the board it spelled out ‘Ouija’. Historians claim that Elijah Bond had a sister-in-law named Helen Peters who was a strong and renowned medium and spiritualist. But this was more of a marketing thing it helped him dispel concerns that people had about contacting the other side. First, William Fuld indicated that the term ‘Ouija’ was derived from an Egyptian word, meaning ‘good luck’. The origin of the name is a little more mysterious than that, but hotly disputed. There is a popular misconception that the word “Ouija” comes from the French and German words for ‘yes’ (Oui) and (Ja). An employee (William Fuld) named it “Ouija”. Four years later, a local businessman named Elijah Bond patented the ‘game’ and started selling it in stores.
There were spiritualist camps popping up all over America, but the boards were particularly popular in Ohio. In the United States, spirit boards were used starting as early as the 1880’s. The Origin of the Name and the Ouija Board Game We know many people who had the kind of experience with a Ouija board that was so bad, they will not even sit in the same room with one. And there are a lot of stories out there that inspire some of the most bone-chilling paranormal books and horror movies. Next to Monopoly and Cards Against Humanity? Seriously? Unless you are an occult practitioner or someone who has studied the paranormal, a Ouija board probably looks harmless, like any other board game.īut talk to people who have had a creepy or downright terrifying experience misusing a Ouija board, and they’ll tell you that it is anything but. Head to any major retail store and you’ll probably find a Ouija board in the kids game section.