Spiritualism became very popular during the 19th Century. The American Civil War was one of the bloodiest conflicts in the nation’s history that resulted in excess of 750,000 fatalities. Soldiers perished far away from home. Their bodies left on distance battlefields due to lack of means for recovery. Families were unable to grieve properly.
When loved ones perish, it is their family and friends that are left grief stricken and engage in a plethora of coping mechanisms. Many turned to religion or spirituality for comfort and connection.
Seances and trained mediums were sought for attempts to reach lost loved ones. The Ouija board was developed during this 19th Century focus on spiritualism for the comfort and need to communicate with lost loved ones. Seances were even held and practiced in the White House by First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln of President Abraham Lincoln’s White House. These means of spiritualism are said to have been used to speak with the ghosts of Willie and Eddie Lincoln who are believed to haunt the White House.
The Ouija Board was created to facilitate the communication with the spirit world. The creators of the Ouija Board filed Patent # US446054A with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The Ouija Board is a flat board with the letters of the alphabet displayed in two semi-circles above the numbers 0 through 9; the words “yes” and “no” in the uppermost corners, “goodbye” at the bottom; accompanied by a “planchette,” a teardrop-shaped device, usually with a small window in the body, used to maneuver about the board.
The founders and creators of Ouija had to prove the Ouija Board actually worked and demonstrated it to the U.S. Patent Board. The US Patent and Trademark Office awarded the patent.
