You're never too old to summon spirits!
**Warning** The Lunatics Project is not responsible for any demons, ghostly figures, hauntings or poltergeists that enter your space as a result of these games. Play at your own risk.
Bloody Mary
Shall we start with the most famous of paranormal games? Bloody Mary has been a staple for inquisitive youth since the dawn of time. (OK, probably not that long but a long time.) I remember being deathly afraid of it as my older sister and her cool friends would chant her name from the bathroom at a sleepover. This is a very simple, but very intense ritual. To be honest, I’ve never known someone personally (besides hysterical children) who claim to have actually seen Bloody Mary. However, the legend goes that she can manifest in several ways. You might hear a disembodied voice behind her, you might see her face in the corner of the mirror, or you might see blood dripping out of your own eyes (yikes!). Some internet experiences report a loss of time, on average 45 minutes.
Do you dare try for yourself?
Sometime between the hours of Midnight and 4:00am head to your bathroom.
Light a candle and place it on your countertop.
Turn off the lights.
Stare into your mirror and say ‘Bloody Mary’ three times.
Turn around three times (all the way around.)
Stare into your mirror. Don’t break eye contact until you see her.
Baby Blue
My friend Alex brought Baby Blue to my attention. And boy am I glad that I know about this one as a kid. After some research, I’ve found that there are a TON of versions of this. But I’ve put together what feels the most fun and spooky method for you to enjoy here.
Line your bathroom sink with candles.
Light the candles, and turn out the lights.
Make sure the bathroom door is closed. And make sure you are inside the bathroom.
Hold your arms up as if you’re holding a baby.
Chant ‘Baby Blue’ over and over and over and over again.
If you do the ritual correctly, you will feel weight in your arms. As if you were holding a baby. Some reports mention that you might feel the weight moving around you, to your shoulder or stomach.
Whatever you do, don’t drop the baby. You will wake up with bite and scratch marks on your ankles the next morning.
Three Kings
I am also very thankful that I had not heard of Three Kings as a child, because I certainly would have tried it and it seems terrifying. It’s a bit complicated but has a huge following online and a ton of recorded ‘paranormal experiences.’ I’ve written several pieces for Lunatics inspired by these true life accounts. Please take extra caution if you choose to take part in Three Kings. I would suggest doing some internet research on other experiences from this game so you really know what to expect.
You Will Need:
A big empty room without windows if possible (you can always cover the windows if needed.)
Two big mirrors.
Three chairs.
A bucket of water and a cup.
A pack of candles and something to light them with.
A fan.
Cell phone with a charged battery.
An object that’s important to you, preferably a toy from your childhood.
A friend.
Ritual:
One chair goes as close to the middle of the room as possible and faces north.
The two other chairs go to the sides of the main chair, but they should face the main chair, and be about an arms reach distance away.
The chairs symbolize the King, the Queen and the Fool.
For the mirrors, the goal is to be able to sit in the center King chair and see your reflection in both without turning your head too much. Place the mirrors accordingly.
The fan goes behind you, turn it on low.
The bucket of water and cup go in front of you, just out of reach.
Turn the lights off but leave the door open.
The candles, the lighter/matches and the charging cellphone all go next to the bed you’re staying in that night (whether it’s yours, or if you’re at a friends house.)
Set an alarm for 3:30am.
Go to sleep (lol good luck) holding the object that is near and dear to you. Some reports say that players fall asleep especially quickly, even if it is usually hard for them to drift off.
Game time! If your alarm goes off as planned at 3:30am, you need to make your way to the King chair and be seated by exactly 3:33am. Light a candle and bring it with you. Along with your personal object and your cell phone.
Don’t skip this step: Make sure everything is as it should be before proceeding. For example, if your alarm didn’t go off, your phone battery is dead, the door is closed, the fan is off, (etc) do not proceed. The internet makes it very clear that if you do choose not to proceed at this point you need to leave the house and sleep it off in a hotel.
Okay, so here we go again. Now you’re really in it. The goal is to sit down in the chair, without looking into the mirrors and without letting the candle go out. You have to use your body to protect the flame from the fan behind you.
What happens next varies but it is important that you stare into the darkness and at nothing else. The idea is that your reflections might start to shift and move from the corner of your eyes. It might appear like one of your reflections turns to face you.
Some people have reported conversations with themselves. And it will all be over by 4:34am. There are some theories behind the science of this, an illusion with reflections but I won’t get into that here.
There are a few safety nets. The candle going out, the person you’ve assigned as there to help you (they should check in on you at 4:34am). They can use the cell phone to contact you or the water if needed.
The Elevator Game
Similar to Three Kings, The Elevator Game is a bit of an internet sensation. I first became aware of it because it’s cited as a possible explanation to the weird behavior of Elisa Lam (directly before her untimely death.)
Essentially, it’s a ritual that involves taking an elevator to another world or plane of existence. It is complicated and I am scared to try it! The stakes are high.
Ritual:
Identify a building with at least 10 stories, that has an elevator (obviously.)
Get on the elevator on the first floor. It’s important to make sure that you are alone. Don’t start the ritual if someone else is on the elevator with you. It’s probably best to conduct this ritual late at night or in a building that isn’t too occupied so that you don’t have to worry about a crowded elevator.
Press the button for the 4th floor.
Stay on and once the elevator opens on the 4th floor, press the button for the 2nd floor.
Again, stay on and press the button for the 6th floor.
Again, stay on and press the button for the 2nd floor.
Again, stay on and press the button for the 10th floor.
Again, stay on and press the button for the 5th floor.
When you reach the 5th floor, some accounts say that a young woman or child may enter. Do not interact with anyone! Do not look at anyone! Ignore them! Please!
Again, stay on but press the button for the 1st floor. This is when you see if it worked. If the elevator starts to head up towards the 10th floor, then we are in business baby.
(If the elevator goes down to the 1st floor, get off and do not speak to anyone.)
If you find yourself on the 10th floor, the choice is yours. You can get off or stay on. (If you want to stay on, press the button for the 1st floor and exit without speaking to anyone.) Getting off means entering another world. Reminder: do not speak to anyone! Especially the creepy person who entered the elevator on the 5th floor! Promise me!
If you exit into another world, you should be the only person there. Sort of isolating, no?
There are tons of online accounts for the ‘other world.’ If you do reach it, it will look fairly similar to our world, but the lights will be off and a red cross is visible in the distance. You may feel disoriented and confused. Generally people report that getting back home isn’t so easy.
Okay fine, I’ll tell you how to get back.
It’s important that you use the same elevator for your return journey. Use the same confusing button pressing pattern as you did to get here (without any mistakes!) You will arrive on the 5th floor.
Now press the button for the 1st floor, you will start to rise again towards 10. It’s important that you press any button to stop this before you reach the 10th floor. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Once you safely arrive back at your own world, you may exit! So easy, right?!
Light as a Feather
You’ve definitely heard of this before, it’s likely that you’ve done this before. If you know me personally it’s guaranteed you’ve done this before. I love this game.
Ritual:
One lucky person lies flat on the ground.
The rest of the group space themselves out around this person, as evenly as possible. They each place one or two fingers under this person.
One fun step that I often skip (but will never ever again skip) is kicking things off by someone in the group saying: “He/She/They are looking ill,”-- which the group repeats several times and as time goes by they say “He/She/They are looking worse,” -- which the group repeats several times.
Even more fun, the chant progresses to “He/She/They are dying,” and “He/She/They are dead.”
Some versions of this game even involve participants telling a story of how the champion has died.
If this is all too morbid for you, you can just stick to chanting “light as a feather, stiff as a board.” Which is what happens next.
After all of this chanting, the person should feel weightless and very easy to lift.
Spoiler alert, the key here is everyone lifting at the exact same time and evenly dispersing the weight throughout the ‘lift.’ If it’s not done in perfect unison, it will not work.
Starry Guide
I feel like we should end on a positive note. Right? It feels better than suggesting you do a much of shit that might welcome demons into your home and leave you to it. If you’re in the market for something a little happier, check out the Starry Guide ritual. The main issue that most people online seem to run into is not owning enough lamps. Shrug.
Ritual:
You need a room that has at least one window (but the windows need to have curtains closed or a sheet placed over them), has a bed or couch, three lamps, some fabric to cover the lamps with, a clock and a personal item (similar to Three Kings.)
It seems important to pick a good night for this ritual. No extreme weather (rain, snow, hail) and you must be in a good/clear headspace.
The first step is to set up the clock. Make sure it’s somewhere in the room where you can’t see it from the bed.
Tie your fabric around the lamps to help dim them.
Turn off all of the lights in your room (*note the time!). And position the lamps (in this order) on the left side of your bed, at the end of your bed and on the right side of your bed.
Place your personal item under your pillow.
Set your alarm clock for exactly an hour before the time you turned the lights off.
Lay down and go to sleep. You have to fall asleep within the next hour in order to slip into the Starry Realm.
Ah, now that you're in the Starry Realm, what can you expect? The first thing that will happen (and how you know that you’ve made it successfully) is that you will see that your door is open. Your guide (a man) will be in the doorway, outlined. *It’s important that you don’t move until he beckons you. It might take a long time for this to happen.
Reports vary from instant beckoning to an hour of wait time.
Another note, you will never see the guide’s face.
Once beckoned, the guide will walk you through your house and engage with your questions. Tell you what you need to know, etc.
People who have done this ritual many times call these ‘sessions’ and they stress that you will need to have multiple sessions with the guide. Up to three a week but not more! You don’t want the guide to be annoyed with you.
VERY IMPORTANT: when the session ends the guide will start to turn towards you. Make sure you close/cover your eyes totally. He will come close to you and might even touch you.
Next, one of two things will happen. 1) He will say he looks forward to seeing you again or 2) he will ask you if you found what you’re looking for. This sorta kinda means he either doesn’t dig you or he thinks you don’t need more sessions with him.
You will wake up in your bed. The end!
Enjoy. Be safe. Report back.