The Secret Demonic History of the Ouija Board
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Show notes
Askia sits down with Brandon Hodge, an expert on the history of spirit communication devices, to trace the dark, fascinating history of the Ouija board and everything that came before it. From the Fox Sisters and table tipping to planchettes, spirit rapping, and the unexpected origins of modern spiritualism, this one goes deep.
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Brandon Hodge is the real deal. With thousands of artifacts and hundreds of Ouija boards, he has dedicated his life to understanding why humans have always tried to talk to the dead.
This episode covers the birth of American spiritualism in 1848, the Fox Sisters' infamous spirit rappings, how table tipping became a nationwide craze, the planchette's Parisian origins, and why the Ouija board, introduced in 1890, wasn't even considered special at the time. We also get into the demonization of these tools, what Hollywood got dead wrong, and why Brandon still says everyone should try a Ouija board at least once.
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Introducing Brandon Hodge
01:42 - Introduction to the paranormal
03:27 - Sleep paralysis
04:16 - Spirit communication devices
08:19 - Why do people talk to the dead?
13:01 - The Fox sisters, the start of spirit communication
20:20 - Spiritualism
21:18 - Andrew Jackson Davis and hypnotism
23:53 - Table tipping
29:37 - How to hypnotize people
33:34 - Automatic writing
36:39 - The invention of the planchette
40:16 - Is spirit communication demonic?
49:09- The secret history of the Ouija Board
59:40 - Brandon's haunted Ouija Board experience
1:09:49 - Haunted items
1:13:00 - Should you use an Ouija Board?
1:16:20 - Hollywood and the Ouija Board
1:24:32 - Brandon's ectoplasm experience
1:28:08 - The Marfa Lights
1:30:51 - Children sensitivity to spirits
