Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Single-Player Hide-and-Seek

Ever heard of Single-Player Hide-and Seek? It's not something you'd ever catch me trying, I'll tell you that. It's a variant of hide-and-seek that came out of Japan, in which you summon up a likely-malevolent spirit that will murder and/or possess you if you lose the game. Sounds fun, right? I thought not. However, if you really feel like taunting some otherworldly entity, here's what you do.

For this game, you'll need a doll. NOT a human doll. I can't stress that enough; every account I've read says to never use a human doll. The thing you're calling upon won't want to leave a human-shaped doll, and you do want it to leave. A teddy bear or similar stuffed animal is a good choice.

Aside from the doll, you'll need the following:
-Uncooked rice
-A needle and a long piece of red thread
-A glass of salt water or sake
-Something to stab the doll with. A pencil or needle would be safest; anything more dangerous will only make it easier for the doll to kill you.
-Something from your body (ex: fingernail clippings, hair, blood...)
-A bathtub full of water
-A hiding place. I hear closets are good.

Pick your hiding place first, and leave your glass of salt water or sake there so you don't forget it later. It's extremely important that you have it; without it the game won't end. Well, not in your favor anyway.

Name your doll. Naming the doll gives it an identity, and allows a spirit to inhabit it. For the purposes of this post, let's call your hypothetical doll Spooky. Nothing I've ever seen says anything about avoiding giving it a normal human name, but you never know. I'm calling it Spooky.

Cut Spooky open and remove all the stuffing. Replace the removed stuffing with rice and whatever material from your body you're using. After that, sew Spooky back up with the red thread. Make sure it's a long piece of red thread so you can wrap the excess around its body. The red thread symbolizes blood and acts as a restraint for the spirit. You need every advantage you can get, after all.

Start at 3 AM, as this is the time when spirits are at their most active. Take Spooky into the bathroom and fill up the tub. Hold Spooky in both hands and say "For the first game, (Your name here) will be it". Say this loudly and firmly three times, then drop Spooky into the water.

Run around your house, shutting all the lights and electronics off. After that, close your eyes and count to ten. Open your eyes, grab your weapon, and go back to the bathroom. Say "I found Spooky!" and stab the doll three times. You win the first round. Now it's Spooky's turn.

Now say "Now Spooky is it," and leave the still-impaled doll in the bathroom. Run to your hiding place, where your glass of salt water (or sake) should already be. Take a mouthful of the glass' contents. The salt water's all that's protecting you from the spirit that's now inhabiting the doll. Don't swallow it. Just hold it in your mouth. Do not make a sound, because Spooky's coming for you.

People who have taken part in the game have reported various phenomena during play: the sound of laughter, the T.V. switching on, off, or changing channels, flickering lights, sharp drops in temperature, nasty smells, and other noises. If they had any pets, they could hear them cowering or crying.

To end the game, you need to find the doll. Don't be surprised if it's not where you left it. It might be on the floor in the bathroom, or in the hall, or maybe even close to where you've been hiding. When you find the doll, you need to spit the salt water on it. Dump whatever was left in your glass on it too.

After you've doused the doll in salt water, close your eyes and say once again in a loud and firm voice, "I win!" three times. The spirit will give up.

Never play longer than two hours. The spirit gets stronger the longer it remains in this world, and if you drag the game out for more than two hours, you won't be able to drive it out.

Lastly, burn the doll. While you may be safe from possession, spirits can be sore losers, and you did just screw with one for your own amusement. Don't be surprised if you feel like you're being followed for a while afterward. People who have played the game have said they've become ill afterward, gotten into accidents, or like I just said, felt like someone or something was still there.

After the game, it's a good idea to spread salt around all the corners of your home and in the areas where the doll was, just as an extra measure.

Most importantly, this game is meant to be played alone. If anyone else is in the house, they will be a participant whether they know it or not. If the doll finds them instead of you, they'll be possessed. And that will be on your head.

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