The Art of Ouija

If you gaze for long into an abyss,
the abyss gazes also into you. ~ Nietzsche

Call me weird, and I'll thank you for the compliment. And maybe this will seem weird to some, but I really dig the art of the Ouija Board. There is just something so appealing to me about the graphics, the letters, the numbers and the symbols. Of course everyone knows that Ouija Boards, also known as 'spirit boards' or 'talking boards', are games that are played to connect with the spirits on the other side. They were commercially introduced by Elijah Bond in the late 1890's as a harmless parlor game, not associated with the occult. But it was an American Spiritualist who first made it popular as a divining instrument during World War I. And there have been many sensational stories about it's use ever since. Not the least of which is the board's notorious nasty lil' habit of summoning up demons! Eeegads!

Needless to say....I'm not about to give some evil entity room and board in my house or my psyche for that matter, so I don't actually mess around with these things myself. I'm not taking any chances with that kind of nonsense! But I do fondly remember playing with them when we were kids. I remember the thrill of being a bit scared of what might happen and the thought that a specter might actually be among us. And I remember everyone fighting over whether the movement of the planchette was actually a spirit, or just my obnoxious older brother being irritating. But I can attest to having never been possessed or harassed by any demons upon playing with the Ouija Board, unless of course my aforementioned demonic brother counts as one. And come to think of it, now that I ponder on that concept a little more....I'm starting to connect some dots and believe that could be EXACTLY what happened to him!

Anyway, like I said, I love the art and the various ways people have used it. First there is the diverse multitude of artistic variations on the board itself. You can find some magnificent versions just by doing a Google search on Ouija Boards. Or you can visit the Museum of Talking Boards on-line gallery pages. Then there are the many clever ways people have taken the Ouija Art and translated it to other items, thereby creating intriguing new works of art. Here are just some of the many ingenious uses of Ouija Art that I've managed to 'summon up'! From guitars and mouse pads to motorcycles, jewelry, lunchboxes and even tattoos. I never cease to be entertained by the craziness cleverness of creative people?! Have any of you ever had an other-worldly experience with a Ouija Board?Yikes!....a Ouija Board Tattoo...now if that isn't an open portal for bodily demonic possession, I don't know what is!