The listing, Ouija Board Necklace w/20 in. silver tone chain, Symbol of Spiritualism, Bonus Vampire Fang Earrings has ended.
I have a fabulous Ouija Board Necklace. The pendant is about the size of a quarter. The cabochon dome is glass. The silver tone chain is 20 in long. Plus Bonus Vampire Fang Earrings.
The Ouija board comes from the American 19th century obsession w/spiritualism, the belief that the dead can communicate w/the living. Spiritualism hit America in 1848 w/the sudden fame of the Fox sisters. The Foxes claimed to receive messages from spirits who rapped on the walls in answer to questions. Spiritualism worked for Americans: it was compatible w/Christian dogma, meaning one could hold a séance on Saturday night & have no qualms about going to church the next day. It was an acceptable, even wholesome activity to contact spirits at séances, through automatic writing, or table turning parties, in which participants would place their hands on a small table & watch it begin shake & rattle, while they all declared that they weren’t moving it. Spiritualism also offered solace in an era when the average lifespan was less than 50: Women died in childbirth; children died of disease; & men died in war. Even Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of the president, conducted séances in the White House after their 11-year-old son died of a fever in 1862; during the Civil War, spiritualism gained popularity, people desperate to connect w/ loved ones who’d gone away to war & never come home. Communicating w/the dead was common. It’s hard to imagine that now we think we are opening the gates of hell. But opening the gates of hell wasn’t on anyone’s mind when they started the Kennard Novelty Company, the first producers of the Ouija board; in fact, they were looking to open Americans’ wallets. How was the Ouija Board named? Helen Peters, said to be a strong medium, was the sister-n-law of company co-founder, Elijah Bond. She, and others, sat at a table & asked the board what they should call it; the name “Ouija” came through and, when they asked what that meant, the board replied, “Good luck.”