Spiritualism made the Ouija popular in the late 1800s, but even into the 1940's, using a Ouija board was considered a fun family pastime. There are some interesting articles on the history on the Ouija here and here. Once the 1973 book The Exorcist came out, the perception of the board changed and it was viewed as a tool for 'devil worship'. There is an article here on William Peter Blatty's experience with the board while writing the book. I prefer other types of divination