Lore Episode 300: Board Stiff
Host: Aaron Mahnke
Date: February 23, 2026
Episode Overview
In this milestone 300th episode of Lore, Aaron Mahnke dives into the chilling, bizarre, and often tragic history of the Ouija board—a tool for divination, or perhaps just a parlor game, that has incited fear, fascination, and real violence for over a century. Mahnke explores the board's origins, its commercialization, notorious crimes linked to it, mass panics, and even how its legacy persists into the digital age. With stories ranging from family feuds to murder, insanity, and social hysteria, the episode asks: Is the Ouija board a harmless toy, a supernatural trap, or a reflection of our search for meaning and control in chaos?
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The Allure and Terror of the Unknown (00:54)
- Mahnke reflects on humanity’s historic obsession with peering into the future and contacting the unknown, despite the accessibility of knowledge in the modern world.
- Introduces the central question: Why has the Ouija board inspired so much fear and fascination?
2. The Business and Birth of the Ouija Board (03:42)
- William Fuld, the “father of the Ouija board,” receives a blend of fanatical, fearful, and admiring letters from customers as early as 1918.
- The Ouija board’s evolution from folk art within spiritualist circles to a mass-produced product:
- Patented in 1891 by Kennard Novelty Company.
- William Fuld's rise to leadership after ousting Charles Kennard, including a dramatic family feud with his brother Isaac over control and profits.
3. Family Feuds and Patent Wars (07:40)
- Bitter rivalry between William Fuld and his brother Isaac, including bizarre acts of spite (like moving a deceased child’s body).
- Isaac’s launch of “Oriole” boards using stolen stencils, leading to legal battles that William ultimately wins.
4. Publicity, Skepticism, and...Fate? (11:47)
- William Fuld’s public claims of being guided by spirits to expand his factory—revealed to be a PR stunt.
- Fuld’s skepticism:
- Quote: “I should say not. I’m no spiritualist. I’m a Presbyterian.” (13:11)
- Fuld’s death: falls from the roof of his own new Ouija factory in 1927, after mocking the supernatural origins of his success.
5. Madness, Murder, and Female Agency (15:38)
- Shocking crimes linked to the Ouija board, almost all committed by women:
- Sarah Griffin (1895–1900, Connecticut): Led astray into suicide by messages from the board (16:55).
- “They kept calling and calling, saying, tonight, tonight. They were relentless and said, it was decreed that I should leave at once. So I merely obeyed the summons.”
- Mae Murdaugh (1923, California): Shot her husband based on the board’s warnings but received a light sentence (18:21).
- Clotilde Marchand Case (1930, New York): Lila Jimerson manipulated Nancy Bowen via the Ouija board into murdering Clotilde, motivated by jealousy and an affair (20:01).
- Maddie Tur (1933, Arizona): Mother Dorothea manipulates her teenage daughter, with the Ouija board’s “approval,” to kill the husband/father (23:16).
- Nellie and Herbert Hurd (1935, Kansas City): Torture and murder stemming from Nellie’s Ouija-induced paranoia (25:24).
- Sarah Griffin (1895–1900, Connecticut): Led astray into suicide by messages from the board (16:55).
- Analysis: These stories reflect how women, often limited in their power, weaponized the board to attain control or agency—sometimes with tragic, violent consequences.
6. Mass Hysteria: The El Cerrito Case (28:11)
- 1920: The “House of Mystery and Insanity” in El Cerrito, California.
- Maria Morrow, grieving her daughter’s hit-and-run death, turns to the Ouija board nightly, leading family and neighbors into weeks-long seances.
- Group’s mental state deteriorates; sessions replace sleep, children are forced to take part, possessions are destroyed.
- Quote (from AP coverage): “In a state of trance and gibbering about dictates from the unseen.” (32:10)
- Event ends with police intervention and the commitment of seven adults for “insanity.”
- Fallout: Temporary public panic, an attempted legislative ban (“as bad as a drug habit”), but ultimately Ouija board sales soar.
7. Waves of Panic in the 20th and 21st Centuries (35:30)
- Continued outbreaks of Ouija-linked mass hysteria, including:
- 1979 riot at Miami Aerospace Academy: 100 students and teachers panic after a Ouija board session.
- 2023, Colombia: Dozens of Catholic school students hospitalized after using a Ouija board app.
- Observation: The Ouija board adapts to technological change, but its power to inspire fear remains.
8. Demon Face Syndrome: When the Brain Plays Tricks (36:54)
- Mahnke pivots to an eerie, medically-documented phenomenon: prosopometamorphopsia, or “Demon Face Syndrome.”
- Faces appear distorted or monstrous (e.g., skin turns reptilian, features morph or vanish, eyes bulge or multiply).
- Notably, some see monstrous visages in the mirror, underscoring how “the call is coming from inside the house”—the brain itself.
- Quote from a patient: “Like an army of demons.” (37:45)
- Takeaway: Sometimes, what we fear is a face—or fate—that was with us all along.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On predicting the future:
- “The future is impossible to predict. That’s what rational people will tell you...and yet, here we are. Today’s episode is the 300th brand new episode of Lore. Which, yeah, I’m pretty dang proud of.” (00:54)
-
On the Ouija board’s dual identity:
- “Is it a game or is it a trap? That seems to have been the question since Ouija boards first appeared.” (34:29)
-
On strange legal defenses:
- “As you might imagine, the court did not consider the ‘spirits made me do it’ as a legal defense.” (19:13)
-
On grief and the search for meaning:
- “Grief does strange things to a person, especially when that grief stems from something as senseless as a hit and run driver...if there was even the slightest chance the spirits might provide those answers, who among us wouldn’t take those odds?” (35:04)
-
On the dangers of seeking supernatural advice:
- “In either case, though, one thing I definitely don’t recommend is seeking your medical advice from a Ouija board.” (38:15)
Timestamps for Major Segments
| Time | Segment | Summary | |----------|----------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------| | 00:54 | Introduction to the episode's theme | The unknowable future and fascination with fortune-telling | | 03:42 | Ouija board history & William Fuld | Invention, commercialization, and family drama | | 11:47 | Fuld's skepticism & death | Publicity stunts & irony of his demise | | 15:38 | Female-led crimes linked to Ouija | Case histories of suicide, murder, and manipulation | | 28:11 | The 1920 El Cerrito mass hysteria | Seances, child abuse, and societal panic | | 35:30 | Later outbreaks of Ouija hysteria | Incidents in the 1970s and 2020s, including via apps | | 36:54 | Demon Face Syndrome/“The call is coming from inside the house” | Neurological basis for monstrous visions |
Episode Tone & Style
- Narrative Voice: Atmospheric, dryly humorous, sympathetic to the human need for meaning.
- Language: Clear, direct, and peppered with wry remarks, historical references, and the host’s signature macabre charm.
Summary of Lessons & Reflections
- The Ouija board’s power lies less in its physical construction than in the deep psychological and social needs it serves—for control, closure, and communication with the unknown.
- Its history is not just about superstition or fraud, but about longing, agency (especially for marginalized people), and sometimes, tragedy.
- Sometimes, the real terrors don’t come from the supernatural, but from within: standard psychological phenomena and the choices desperate people make.
- The episode closes by reminding listeners that, regardless of the planchette’s (or app’s) message, the search for meaning—if mishandled—can lead to real-world horror.
Special Thanks:
John Kozak (Salem Witchboard Museum) for source material.
Written by Jenna Rose Nethercott; research by Cassandra d'Alba; music by Chad Lawson.
For those who have never listened, Board Stiff is a perfect encapsulation of Lore’s approach: history blended with folklore, revelation mixed with empathy, and a careful, critical gaze cast at the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of the unknown.