The Mysterious Planchette | Gallery | Talking Board Planchettes

By 1886, it seems that the public grew tired of deciphering the often hard-to-read scrawls of writing planchettes. Ohio Spiritualists, in particular, returned to the earliest forms of spirit communications by devising a tabletop alphabet board, though now using a planchette-like index to point out messages. This innovation was originally called the "New Planchette," though when Charles Kennard became entranced with the idea and set off for Baltimore to commercialize it, it became today's modern ouija board, and the rest is history. Though planchettes would experience an immediate revival with the introduction of this new incranation, and endure another post-war bump in the 1920s, the crown of popular spirit communication devices everafter rested firmly on the head of talking boards, and planchettes faded into obscurity as little more than accessories for their much younger cousins. We are lucky that this final evolution produced an enormous array of new forms of pointing planchettes, however, and the following gallery presents many, but not all, known talking board planchettes. For comprehensive surveys of the boards to which these planchettes belong, please visit our friends at the Museum of Talking Boards and WilliamFuld.com and we thank them, as well as collector Andrew Vespia, for photographic contributions to this gallery.

"Small Kennard Paddle"

Kennard Novelty Company

1891

"Large Kennard "Paddle"

Kennard Novelty Company

1891

"Espirito"

W.S. Reed Toy Company

1892

"Oriole"

Isaac Fuld

1904-1920

"Fuld 'Longshank' Planchette"

Ouija Novelty Company

1898

"The Wireless Messenger"

WM. W. Wheeler

1916

"Fuld 'Two-Bar' Planchette"

William Fuld Manufacturing Company

1901

"Fuld 'Solid Bar' Planchette"

Ouija Novelty Company

1898

"Nirvana"

Swastika Novelty Company

1907

"Mystic Hand, Small Variation"

Haskelite Manufacturing Corporation

1940s

"Mystic Hand"

Haskelite Manufacturing Corporation

1940s

"The Mystic Hand"

Wilder Manufacturing Corporation

1920s

"Ouija"

J.M. Simmons & Co.

1920s

"Ouija"

Morton E. Converse

1920s

"Wee Ouija"

Baltimore Talking Board Company

1920s

"Mystifying Oracle Blonde Diamond"

William Fuld Manufacturing Company

1920s

"Mystifying Oracle Black Diamond"

William Fuld Manufacturing Company

1910s-1920s

"Witch-E"

Baltimore Novelty Company

1924

"Mystifying Oracle"

William Fuld Manufacturing Company

1930s

"Mystifying Oracle"

William Fuld Manufacturing Company

1920s

"Electric Mystifying Oracle"

William Fuld Manufacturing Company

1920s

"Ouija"

William Fuld Manufacturing Company

1930s-1950s

"Ouija"

William Fuld Manufacturing Company

1920s-1930s

"Egyptian Luck Board"

William Fuld Manufacturing Company

1930s-1950s

"The Hand of Fate"

The Carrom Company

1940s

"Mystic Prophet"

Haskelite Manufacturing Corporation

1940s

"Mystic Quiz"

Shackman Company

1950s

"Black Magic Points the Way"

Gift Craft

1940s

"Rajah Points the Way"

Gift Craft

1940s

"Swami Points the Way"

Gift Craft

1940s

"Mystola"

Crestcraft Company

1940s

"Ouija Queen"

American Novelty Company

1940s

"Mystic Table"

Lee Industries

1940s

"Mystery Talking Board"

E.S. Lowe

1940s

"Mystic Soothsayer"

WM. F. Drueke & Sons

1940s, remade in 2000s

"Swami"

Cardinal Industries

1940s

"Spirit Board"

Manufacturer Unknown

likely 1940s

"Veda the Magic Answer Man"

Wiz Novelty Company

1940s

"Ouija"

William Fuld Manufacturing Company

1950s-1960s

"Ouija"

Copp Clark Publishing

1980s

"Weja Girl or Crystal Gazer"

A Barrel of Fun

1940s

"Psyche: The Mysterious Cabinet"

Manufacturer Unknown

1900s

"Mystic Talking Board"

C. Blake Williams

2000s<

"Mystic Talking Board"

C. Blake Williams

2000s

"Cryptique Seer"

Spirited Ventures, Inc.

2000-2004