The instructions on the back of a William Fuld Ouija board, 1902.
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Whenever I'm looking to get tied up and slapped around like Elmer Fudd, the first thing I reach for is the Ouija board. You might not think of the Ouija board, or any supernatural trinkets for that matter, to be of particular use when you're trying to get your rocks off, but rest assured that this occultist doodad won't just put you in touch with the dead, but your sensual side as well. Just ask any sexually repressed middle class white person from the late 19th century, they'll tell you all about it.
The Ouija board, or the 'talking board', was first patented in the late 19th century by an American businessman named Elijah Wood and it with the rise of and experimentation among American spiritualists, would quickly go from a cheap parlor toy to its current use as satellite receiver for the deceased. However, there are a few very important differences in how we use the Ouija board today and how it was used during the turn of the century. We often play the Ouija board in a group company and usually at a table, but as the instructions read above; these early Ouija boards advised its users to keep it between two people, 'preferably' a lady and a gentleman, and that the board itself was to be placed on joined knees of the two participants.
Occult author Mitch Horowitz suggests that these early instructions on Ouija boards were used as an excuse by Victorians to touch each other and to engage in something as bizarre, and perhaps highly personal, as communicating with the dead. Without too much allusion to sexy time by Horowitz, one can easily picture the sexually repressed Victorian couple sitting in front of each other, Ouija board resting on their knees, holding hands and pretending to be really into the idea of contacting Uncle Fredrick. I dare say that the Ouija board was a very early version of Disney movie DVDs, in that respect.
It's hard to tell whether or not these boards were manufactured with the intent of bringing people together so they could knock boots, but that very telling line of "lady and gentleman preferred" is enough to say that it was definitely aimed at straight couples, and probably for something more than having a chit chat with a corpse. Remember that joining knees and holding hands were the Victorian era equivalent of rubbing up on each other in a sweaty night club, all K'd up to the eyeballs.
So next time you're both looking for an excuse to get nasty, don't make reservations at that fancy restaurant, call the dead instead.
The Ouija board, or the 'talking board', was first patented in the late 19th century by an American businessman named Elijah Wood and it with the rise of and experimentation among American spiritualists, would quickly go from a cheap parlor toy to its current use as satellite receiver for the deceased. However, there are a few very important differences in how we use the Ouija board today and how it was used during the turn of the century. We often play the Ouija board in a group company and usually at a table, but as the instructions read above; these early Ouija boards advised its users to keep it between two people, 'preferably' a lady and a gentleman, and that the board itself was to be placed on joined knees of the two participants.
Occult author Mitch Horowitz suggests that these early instructions on Ouija boards were used as an excuse by Victorians to touch each other and to engage in something as bizarre, and perhaps highly personal, as communicating with the dead. Without too much allusion to sexy time by Horowitz, one can easily picture the sexually repressed Victorian couple sitting in front of each other, Ouija board resting on their knees, holding hands and pretending to be really into the idea of contacting Uncle Fredrick. I dare say that the Ouija board was a very early version of Disney movie DVDs, in that respect.
It's hard to tell whether or not these boards were manufactured with the intent of bringing people together so they could knock boots, but that very telling line of "lady and gentleman preferred" is enough to say that it was definitely aimed at straight couples, and probably for something more than having a chit chat with a corpse. Remember that joining knees and holding hands were the Victorian era equivalent of rubbing up on each other in a sweaty night club, all K'd up to the eyeballs.
So next time you're both looking for an excuse to get nasty, don't make reservations at that fancy restaurant, call the dead instead.
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