OCTOBER FRIGHTS BLOG HOP - DAY 1

Welcome to the annual 
October Frights Blog Hop
where paranormal and horror authors 
gather to celebrate the spooky season and
everything that goes bump in the night.

A big terrifying thank you to AF Stewart for organizing it and putting it all together for us each October.

You'll find a list of all the awesome authors participating in the hop at the bottom. Please make sure to visit all of them to see what
ominous offerings they have in store for you.

The Ouija Board has always been one of my favorite things. Since the short story I was going to post for hop, "Where The Dead Don't Rest," ended up being submitted to an anthology, (yay!) I thought I'd share the interesting and somewhat dark history of the Ouija Board. 

It all began as Spiritualism, popular in Europe, swept across the United States. In 1848, the Fox sisters, from upstate New York, made news when they when they claimed they received messages from the dead who knocked on their wall to answer questions. The sisters became celebrities and other spiritualist made the headlines as well. It became commonplace and acceptable to hold a seance, speak to deceased relatives and friends through automatic writing or table turning, where those in attendance would place their hands on the table as it rattled and shook. It was time consuming and sometimes borderline boring, as the spiritualist would call out a letter and wait to hear a knock to acknowledge it was the correct letter. 

​Enter American ingenuity. In 1886, word of spiritualists in Ohio using a 'talking board' with letters, numbers and a device to point them out, was reported by the Associated Press. Enter Charles Kennard. With a few investors including Elijah Bond, a patent lawyer, form the Kennard Novelty Company in 1890, to make and market the newest craze in spiritualism, the talking board. 

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One of the original Ojuia Boards made by the Kennard Novelty Company. 

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An early picture of a planchette patented in Boston. 

Planchette, meaning 'little plank' in France was invented by Allan Kardec, an educator and founder of Spiritism in 1853. After sitting at a seance and sitting through the tiresome calling out of a letter and waiting for a response, he turned over a small basket, stuck a sharpened pencil through it and let the participants write out the message. It was a success and and years later when the talking board became popular, morphed into a wooden, sturdy board and finally into the modern planchette we use now.

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Stop by tomorrow to learn how the Talking Board got its now famous name, it's patent, and why it went from a widely accepted way of speaking to the dead, to the evil, demonic tool of the devil that many think it is today. 

Before you leave check out the other fun things happening at the hop:

Head over to the October Frights Book Giveaway HERE

Hop over the October Frights Book Fair HERE

TODAY ONLY - JOIN OUR LAUNCH PANEL DISCUSSION WITH:
A.F. Stewart, founder of the October Frights Blog Hop and host,  Carmilla Voiez, Heidi Angell and Angela Yuriko discuss the Hop and take a peek at upcoming events. 10:00 am CST
WATCH HERE

Last but certainly not least, 
check out the other participating Paranormal and Horror authors:

Nickronomicon
GirlZombieAuthors
An Angell's Life
Always Another Chapter
Angela Yuriko Smith
carmillavoiez.com
Frighten Me
Hawk's Happenings
James P. McDonald
Blood Red Shadows
The Unicorn Herd
Creative Quill
Curiosities
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