Jap Herron: A Novel Written from the Ouija Board

A curious invitation leads a reluctant outsider into a small, long‑standing psychical research circle. When the scheduled lecturer cancels, the society’s hostess asks Mrs. Lola V. Hays to demonstrate her Ouija‑board abilities, and the planchette suddenly begins channeling a voice that claims to be Samuel L. Clemens himself. The unexpected contact draws the narrator, a native of Hannibal, into a conversation that feels like a long‑lost dialogue with the great humorist.

Guided by the spirit’s cryptic instructions, the group attempts to transcribe a fresh story that Clemens says he never finished. The board produces tangled fragments in three distinct styles, hinting at a simple pre‑Civil War romance featuring two young men and a promise of “fortune.” As the narrator wrestles with the shifting diction and erratic movements, the experiment feels both exhilarating and unsettling, setting the stage for a literary séance that could reshape how a legendary writer’s unfinished work might finally see the light.