Some people believe that that Ouija boards are ancient and go back as far as 500 BC. Ouija boards as we know them are very young compared to older methods of divination. Similar devices may have existed, but Ouija boards, being a flat surface with the alphabet and numerals on it, with a planchette for choosing letters and numbers, didn't come along until much later.

No one seems to know just who invented the Ouija board but it may have been Elijah Bond, since his name is on the original patent documents as the inventor. It may have been Charles Kennard, but regardless of who actually invented the board, he and Kennard Novelty Company patented the ouija board which became very popular at the turn of the twentieth century. He received the patent on February 10, 1891. He called the new creation 'Ouija' because he claims the board told him that Ouija was Egyptian for Good Luck.
He began producing the Ouija boards (also called Egyptian Luck boards) in 1890. They sold for $1.50 and they were made of solid wood. The boards were huge and so were the planchettes.

After only another year, Charles Kennard left the Ouija business and a man who worked for Kennard Novelty Company took over. His is probably the best known name in Ouija history. This man was William Fuld. His name is on every genuine Ouija board made for over 100 years until Parker Brothers took over in the 1990s. William Fuld (along with his brother and business partner Isaac) changed the Kennard Novelty Company to the Ouija Novelty Company and continued selling boards large numbers of them. When Isaac was fired and set up his own shop, the company name was changed again to the William Fuld Company.

William Fuld then owned all rights to the Ouija board. He claimed that he invented the board. He also said that the name Ouija was a mixture of the French and German words for 'yes' Oui and Ja, therefore Ouija. After his death in 1927. His children took over the business and continued selling the boards through the great depression up until 1966 when they retired. This is when the Ouija board rights went to Parker Brothers. The first wooden boards Parker Brothers produced were well made, but then the boards went from hardboard to tightly-pressed paper, to cardboard.