Hypnotic Trances: The Concentrate Game
One child sits, closes their eyes, and becomes completely relaxed. A second child, the hypnotists, sits behind them and recites morbid verses as they gently thump or poke at their back to add an element of realism to the words.
“Concentrate. Concentrate. People are dying. Children are crying. Stab a knife in your back. Let the blood drip down. Let the Blood drip down”
The hypnotist pounds on the victim as if stabbing, then trickles their fingers down their back as if it were the blood dripping. Each line is more morbid than the last and aligned with a physical sensation, lulling the child deeper into the trance. It leads up to an imaginary noose tied to the player’s neck and they are pushed forward, this ends the trance and they are asked what color they saw when pushed. The color corresponds to a method of death.
Light As A Feather, Stiff As A Board
The game “light as a feather, stiff as a board” can be traced back as far as 17th century London, it was very popular. The method is to have someone lay on the ground while the others surround them, and slide two fingers from each hand beneath them. Once everyone is in place, they should chant altogether:
“She’s Looking Ill, She’s Looking Worse,
She’s Dying, She’s Dead.
Light as a Feather. Stiff as a Board.”
The last two lines are repeated until the subject has gently lifted into the air.
Tsuji-ura Or Crossroads Fortune Telling
In Japan, this is an extremely popular game for children, a similar game is played in Europe called “Crossroads Divination.” You take a comb and a veil, or something to hide your face, and you go to a crossroad after dark to summon a spirit. The summoning involves striking your finger across the teeth of the comb and chanting “Tsuji-ura, Tsuji-ura, grant me true response” three times. Then you wait for a stranger to come along. You cover your face with a veil (because the all-knowing spirits won’t recognize you in this clever disguise) and you ask for fortunes.
The Midnight Game
Just before midnight, you write your full name on a piece of paper and add a drop of your own blood, letting it soak in. Then you place it in front of a wooden door, light a candle and set it on top of the paper. Make sure you have a large container of salt to carry around with you for protection. Knock on the door 22 times, it must be the stroke of midnight on your last knock. Open the door to let the Midnight Man into your home, blow out the candle, close the door, and immediately relight it.
Now you must roam the dark house until 3:33 a.m. with your candle lit. If your candle goes out, it means he is close by and you have 10 seconds to re-light it before he sets your worst fears loose on you, driving you mad with the most terrible hallucinations he can conjure up, some even claim he’ll gut you. If you fail to relight the candle, the salt can be used to create a protective circle around you. You must stay in the salt circle or successfully avoid him, keeping your candle lit until 3:33 a.m. when he finally leaves your home.
One Man Hide And Seek
The game involves cutting a doll open and filling it with dry rice, then take one of your finger nail clippings and add it inside the doll as well. Using red thread, stitch the doll shut, wrap the remaining thread around the doll, tie off the ends. Fill the bathtub with water and get a cup of salt water and a sharp object ready for yourself, put them in your hiding place. Give the doll a name and wait until 3 a.m. to begin the game.
At 3 a.m. you say: “(your name) is the first it.” Submerge the doll in the bathtub and leave it there. Turn off all the lights, switch on the television, and count to 10. Take your sharp object, go to the bathroom, get the doll and say: “I have found you (doll’s name)” cut the red thread and say: “You are next it (doll’s name).” Now go hide and fill your mouth with the salt water, don’t swallow it. Come out of hiding and look for the doll, you may find it isn’t where you left it because it’s looking for you too. To end the game, find the doll and pour the salt water from your mouth and the cup on the doll, while repeating “I win” to the doll three times.
Bloody Mary
A group of giggling girls entering a candle-lit bathroom, only to stare into the mirror and recite the name “Bloody Mary” three times. Consequences for disturbing her slumber range from having your eyes gouged out, to horrible scratches, getting sucked into the mirror with her, being driven mad, and in some cases, instant death.
The true identity of Bloody Mary varies in different regions. The most common belief is that it is Mary I, Queen of England because she was actually nicknamed Bloody Mary during her lifetime after ordering so many Protestant executions during her five-year reign.
