Robert Murch is the world’s foremost collector, historian, and expert on Ouija and Talking Boards and serves as the Chairman of the Board for the Talking Board Historical Society which he founded. His bizarre relationship with Ouija began after watching Kevin Tenney’s Witchboard in 1986, a century after the talking board made its debut. Murch purchased his first antique Ouija board in 1992, and became obsessed with unraveling the mystery of its origins. Since then he’s devoted his life to researching the history of the Ouija board and its founders, with Murch often traveling the world to track down descendants of all those involved with the introduction of the mystifying oracle.
Read More Murch showcases his research and knowledge on his web sites robertmurch.com and williamfuld.com, having collaborated with Hasbro, Winning Moves, USAopoly, TCG Toys, and ToyCo (producers of the Ouija board today), the National Archives, the Library of Congress, and on various films including Ouija, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Ghost Team, Inherent Vice, What Lies Beneath, Sugar & Spice, and Drive-Thru. He’s also consulted on or appeared in numerous TV programs featuring Ouija, including Fox’s The Exorcist, Investigation Discovery’s True Nightmares, UKTV W’s Celebrity Haunted Hotel Live, Destination America’s Exorcism: Live!, Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures and Mysteries at the Museum, ABC’s Castle, TNT’s Rizzoli & Isles, CW’s Supernatural, A&E’s Storage Wars and Paranormal State, Showtime’s Bullshit!, Smithsonian Channel’s My Million Dollar Invention, HGTV’s Who’s Lived in my House?, CBS Sunday Morning, and 30 Odd Minutes. Numerous periodicals including the Smithsonian Magazine, TIME Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, the Baltimore Sun, and Inventors Digest consulted Murch for popular articles on Ouija boards and featured him and his research on the topic while reddit tapped him to host an IAmA on all things Ouija. Murch is a returning guest on Coast to Coast AM and an accomplished international lecturer, speaking at museums and conferences around the world. He was named guest curator of the Baltimore Museum of Industy’s groundbreaking Ouija exhibit Let the Spirit Move You, often collaborates with the Strong – The National Museum of Play, and through the Talking Board Historical Society, organized OuijaCon 2015 which celebrated Ouija’s 125th Anniversary with the city of Baltimore. Murch is currently collaborating with the Talking Board Historical Society to create the ultimate talking board coffee table book. Ever the pioneer, Murch was one of the first same-sex couples legally married in the United States and lives with his husband, Gary Halteman, in Denver, Colorado. What’s next for Murch? You’ll just have to ask the Ouija board! For more information, please visit TBHS.org
