FREE: Ouija Board Necklace w/20 in silver tone chain, Symbol of Spiritualism, Bonus Vampire Fang Earrings

The listing, Ouija Board Necklace w/20 in silver tone chain, Symbol of Spiritualism, Bonus Vampire Fang Earrings has ended.

Fabulous Ouija Board Necklace. It looks as though the glass eye of the planchette is placed over the letters. Great effect !!! About the size of a quarter, Glass cabochon dome, Silver tone 20in chain. Plus Vampire Fang Earrings. NEW.

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, then go to church on Sunday. 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 shake & rattle, while claiming that they weren’t moving it. Spiritualism 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 were desperate to connect w/ loved ones who’d gone away to war & never returned. Communicating w/the dead was common. It’s hard to imagine that now we think we are opening the gates of hell. 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.”