You never know who’s lurking in a cemetery. Read this expert from Jennifer Mulson's Denver Gazette article: Denver’s Fairmount Cemetery serves as the final resting ground for at least one colorful character — the woman who named the Ouija board. Helen Peters Nosworthy died in Denver in 1940, she was buried with her husband in an unmarked plot for more than seven decades. It wasn’t until 2013 that her fraught history with what were first known as talking boards was discovered, thanks to Robert Murch, a lifelong Ouija board afficionado. “She was a socialite, a member of flower clubs and big into the arts,” said Murch, a Denver resident and chairman of the board for the Talking Board Historical Society. “You can find her at events with Molly Brown. She became a staple of women’s life.” In 2018, the Talking Board Historical Society, with the permission of Nosworthy’s family, presented a memorial engraved with her name, her husband’s name and the names of her friends during a ceremony attended by Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, Nosworthy’s descendants and others. Under her name on the large gray stone reads: “The woman who named the Ouija board.” And fittingly engraved on the memorial’s base: an image of a Ouija board with two hands touching a planchette, the tool people place their fingers on that moves around the board spelling out words. It was around 1850 when talking boards, also known as witch boards, surged in popularity, thanks to the Civil War. “Every generation takes it and makes it their own and adds to its history,” Murch said. “Back then it was like I’m surrounded by death, so why not talk to the dead? People were coming off the Civil War where more people died than anytime since. The board is something that can answer a question when nothing else can. Even if it gives an answer you can’t prove it’s better than not knowing.” People have complicated feelings about Ouija boards. Some believe them to be a portal for demonic forces. Others use them as a tool to connect with loved ones.
- Denver Gazette Article: https://gazette.com/2025/09/05/how-the-woman-who-named-the-ouija-board-is-connected-to-colorado-d03228ff-31a5-407d-9aed-c6a64d72cf11/