Deviatus - A Personal Look Into The Paranormal

When the spiritualist movement began in the late 1800's, psychic mediums commonly held seances in attempts to communicate with the dead.  This practice became popular in the United States after the end of the Civil War, when families would long to hear just one more time from their deceased loved ones.  The introduction of the talking board gave the everyday person an opportunity to attempt spirit communication without the need for a spiritual guide or medium.   The first talking boards were nothing more than flat wooden boards with numbers and letters painted on it, and it wasn't until 1890 when Elija Bond decided to patent the board as a parlor game, giving it the name Ouija.  Some say the word "Ouija" was derived from an ancient Egyptian word meaning "good luck" or a combination of French and German words meaning "yes".  But other accounts claim that the creator of the board simply placed his fingers on the planchette and posed the question "what shall I call you?"  The planch