OUIJAZILLA!

What’s heavier than an elephant, longer than a brontosaurus, and large enough to park five, full-size eighteen-wheelers on? The World’s Largest Ouija Board, or as we like to call him, OUIJAZILLA!, more than a year in the making, created by our very own TBHS Vice President, Rick “Ormortis” Schreck! On October 12, 2019, Rick “Ormortis” Schreck, vice president and director for the Talking Board Historical Society, unleased the beast, crushing the current Guinness world record set on October 28, 2016 by almost two-and-a-half times the size. To put this in perspective, because “size matters”, the finished board is longer than a brontosaurus, weighs more than a six-ton elephant, and is large enough to park five eighteen-wheelers on it! More

Helen Peters Nosworthy

Helen Peters Nosworthy, affectionately know as the “Mother of the Ouija Board,” is the woman responsible for giving the Ouija its mysterious name. Her identity was originally discovered by TBHS founder Robert Murch, in a series of letter printed in the Baltimore Sun when the founders of Ouija took their grievances with one another public. Letters from both Charles Kennard, the man who claimed to invent Ouija and his friend and business partner Elijah Bond, the man who patented Ouija, stated that a woman by the name of “Miss Peters, Bond’s sister-in-law” who was known as a “strong medium,” asked the then-unnamed talking board what it would like to be called. The board spelled out … More

“Planchette to Baphomet, Ouija’s Deal with the Devil” in Salem

On October 7, 2017, the Talking Board Historical Society joined with the Satanic Temple to bring the exhibition “Planchette to Baphomet, Ouija’s Deal with the Devil” to Salem, Massachusetts. The evening included lectures by TBHS directors John Kozik and Calvin Von Crush. Directors Robert Murch and Rick “Ormortis” Schreck helped with a question and answer session afterwards. Discussed were the Ouija board’s dark and mysterious history and its association with good and evil through the years. Among other things, visitors learned that the Ouija board… More

“The Mysterious Talking Board – Ouija and Beyond” SFO Museum

In 2016, the SFO Museum partnered with the TBHS to create “The Mysterious Talking Board – Ouija and Beyond.” It was the first large-scale West Coast exhibit of talking boards from TBHS directors Gene Orlando and Robert Murch and was available to anyone arriving or departing Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport. The SFO Museum has the distinction of being the only accredited museum in an airport and it was really apparent why after seeing the effort put forth in this amazing exhibition. Dozens of talking boards and pictures were beautifully featured along the wall and in cabinets. Captions explaining the talking board’s roots in Spiritualism and contribution to popular culture made the exhibit informative and fun. Sitting areas allowed weary travelers a place to rest while experiencing this rare and unusual experience. The show lasted for six months and had very positive media reviews, many reporting that it was the most unusual exhibit they had ever seen. More…

OuijaCon 2015

In 2015, the Talking Board Historical Society hosted OuijaCon, a three-day conference and celebration of the Ouija board’s 125th birthday at the Baltimore Harbor Hotel. Organized and opened by Robert Murch, this first of its kind event included lectures from the TBHS and members of the paranormal community, including Robert Murch, Brandon Hodge, Calvin Von Crush, Karen Dalhman, Jeff Belanger, Chip Coffey, Dave Schrader, John Zaffis, Darren Evans, and Rosemary Ellen Guiley. Chip Coffey led an atmospheric evening séance for the group. A collector’s panel composed of TBHS members answered questions about collecting and gave their opinions on all things supernatural and what interested them most about talking boards. Marc Andersen, a Danish researcher in experimental psychology, conducted a series of Ouija Board experiments with special goggles that tracked the pupils of users to better understand More…

“Let the Spirit Move You” Exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Industry

In 2012, the TBHS collaborated with the Baltimore Museum of Industry to host a first-ever of its kind exhibit displaying talking boards from the many eras of its long history. The exhibit, named “Let the Spirit Move You: Ouija, Baltimore’s Mystifying Oracle” highlighted the Ouija’s deep connections to Maryland and Baltimore’s past, from its “invention” by Charles Kennard and/or E.C. Reiche in Chestertown, MD in 1886, to its long history of manufacture in Baltimore from 1890-1966. The exhibit featured boards from throughout Ouija’s evolution, as well as… More

Ouija Harford Factory Public Landmark

In 2009, the TBHS worked to bring recognition to William Fuld’s iconic Harford Avenue Ouija factory, built after the Ouija told William Fuld to “prepare for big business.” Fuld reacted by purchasing a block of land across the street from his old address of 1208 Federal Street, and  the three story, thirty-six thousand square foot factory at 1508-1514 Harford, Lamont and Federal opened its doors in late 1918. It was unlike anything built in Baltimore at that time, and cost one-hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars!

This is the same factory that cost William Fuld his life… More

Elijah Bond Memorial Gravestone

In 2007, after a 15-year search, TBHS founder Robert Murch located Elijah Jefferson Bond’s unmarked grave in Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. A year later, together with generous donations from Ouija enthusiasts, the cooperation of the cemetery itself, and the blessing of Bond descendants Walter Dent Jr. (Bond’s great grand nephew!) and his daughter Winifred Pierce, a new memorial monument was erected to mark Bond’s grave and commemorate his involvement with the Ouija.

The headstone was crafted by Tegeler Monuments, and its backside contains the Bond’s iconic talking board drawing from the original Ouija patent. It has since become the cemetery’s most-requested gravesite for visitors. The TBHS would like to recognize and thank… More