Explore the Ouija Board's history, mystery, and spiritualist roots.
This is an online program. Registration is required. This event will not be recorded.
The Ouija Board has inspired fear, sparked creativity, and provided relief for the bereaved for over 125 years. Learn more about the history of this mysterious board game and its connection to the Spiritualism movement that swept through America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Presenter Bio:
Nate Pedersen is an award-winning writer and historian in North Mankato, Minnesota. He is the co-author of QUACKERY: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything (Workman, 2017), PATIENT ZERO: A Curious History of the World’s Worst Diseases (Workman, 2021), and PSEUDOSCIENCE: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Explain Everything (Workman, 2025). All three books were co-written with Lydia Kang, MD. Their books have been published in 13 languages around the world.
Nate is a Contributing Writer with Fine Books & Collections magazine and his narrative nonfiction has appeared in The Believer, The Guardian, and Mental Floss amongst others. His academic writing has appeared in Oregon Historical Quarterly and Emerging Civil War.
As collaborative art projects, Nate edited the Lovecraftian anthologies THE STARRY WISDOM LIBRARY: The Catalogue of the Greatest Occult Book Auction of All Time, (PS, 2014) and its companion THE DAGON COLLECTION: An Auction Catalogue of Items Recovered in the Federal Raid on Innsmouth, Mass (PS, 2024), shortlisted for the 2025 World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology. Nate also edited SISTERHOOD: Dark Tales and Secret Histories (Chaosium, 2021) and contributed a story to THE LEAVES OF A NECRONOMICON (Chaosium, 2022) edited by Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.
A native of Minnesota, Nate has a bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology and a master’s degree in library and information studies from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Nate enjoys playing the drums, biking, birding, traveling the back roads, and tracking down historic trees.
Questions? Contact beccar@dpls.lib.or.us
AGE GROUP: | Adult |
EVENT TYPE: | Adult Program |
Online Only
