In 1890 a Baltimore lawyer named Elijah Bond filed a patent for a talking board. It went on sale as the Ouija, a name chosen in a downtown Baltimore building that still stands. Bond lies in Green Mount Cemetery, under a headstone shaped like his board.
The rules of the house: ask kindly, keep your finger on the planchette, and always say good bye.
Ask your question, then rest a fingertip on the planchette.