Jap Herron: A Novel Written from the Ouija Board

A modest gathering of psychical researchers in 1916 becomes the stage for an unexpected literary séance. When the scheduled lecturer is delayed, the host invites Mrs. Lola V. Hays to demonstrate her Ouija‑board abilities, and the planchette suddenly summons the voice of Samuel Clemens himself. The protagonist, a curious outsider from Hannibal, is drawn into a conversation with the famed humorist’s spirit, who insists on sharing a story he never finished in life.

Guided by the restless pointer, the séance produces a fragmentary outline of a pre‑Civil War romance titled “Up the Furrow to Fortune.” As the planchette darts across the board, three distinct styles of diction emerge, hinting at the complexity of the unseen author’s mind. The narrator is asked to act as the conduit, setting the stage for a peculiar collaboration that blurs the line between the living and the dead, and promises a tale as witty and adventurous as Twain’s own.