I had to share an article from one of my favorite newsletter email subscriptions called Recollections. I so adore their turn of the century clothing. But what really surprised me was I didn't know that they also had a blog. And of course being Halloween around the corner I wanted to share this little article about the victorian era and a little ouija divination.
Halloween Pastimes
Just to help get us in the proper frame of mind, we have posted a brief article about the Ouija board on Recollections Blog. Victorians were fascinated with the idea of communicating with those who had already passed on. Even though “divination” was declared a sin by the church, this board game was extremely popular along with séances and other attempts to reach deceased loved ones.
Did you Know?
At Halloween time Victorians would have parlour games that were supposed to foretell the future. Two that could be played using apples were the “Apple Grab” and “Tossing the Apple Peel.
For the first game, the names of all the boys and girls at the party were etched onto apples. Apples with the boys’ names went into one barrel, and all the girls’ names into another. The children take turns “grabbing” an apple from the barrel of the opposite sex using anything BUT their hands. The apple they grabbed will name their future love.
For Tossing the Apple Peel, Girls would peel an apple, making sure the peel is kept intact in one long winding strip. She would then toss the peel over her shoulder, and let it fall to the ground. The peel will fall into a shape that represents the initial of the first name of her true love.
Those Victorians, who from today’s point of view seemed to have a decidedly morbid bent, were fascinated by the idea of being able to communicate with departed loved ones. Though it was first brought to the market in 1890, the parlour game known as the Ouija board had been around for many years before that time. Victorians were exposed to death far more often than we are today, and the Ouija board gained immense popularity.
Between the 1840’s and 1920’s, there was a great interest in spiritualism and divination. At the same time the mainstream church declared divination a sin, which only served to drive the practice into private homes and small gatherings. Before 1890 people made their own devises similar to Ouija boards whereby a spirit might answer simple questions. Taking advantage of this “new craze” in May of 1890, three men filed a patent for the then well-known “planchette” and “talking board”.
The enduring fascination with this game is still evident today. What group of giggling little girls have not asked questions of this mysterious board during a sleepover? As ever, there are those who claim that this type of experimentation is a sin, while others see it as a harmless pastime for a long Halloween evening.
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