Terrifying Paranormal Games

 1. The Midnight Game

Supposedly, the midnight game originated as an ancient pagan ritual designed to punish those who disobeyed the Old Gods. The gist of the game involves summoning a "midnight man" into one's home and then trying to avoid him between midnight and 3:33 am. Such is achieved by staying on the move and looking out for the signs he's near. These signs are said to include a sudden fall in temperature and strange whispers. So what happens if he catches you? Well, nothing pleasant, that's for sure.

2. Three Kings

Three Kings is a game but could also be considered a form of 'shadow work,' not unlike tarot, deep meditation, or lucid dreaming. It requires a dark room with no light and setting up two mirrors facing each other with a chair placed in the middle. Then, at 3.30 am, the player is to sit on this chair with a lit candle and look straight into the darkness (and not the two mirrors). The trick is then to enter a meditative state and see what happens.

People who have played this game have spoken of feeling or talking to an unknown presence or even entering an alternate dimension. Of course, these players are experiencing a psychological effect in all likelihood. But, in either case, beware that whatever you hear or see may stick with you long after the game!

3. Bloody Mary

You've probably heard of Bloody Mary, as it's one of the most famous paranormal games in existence. You might have even tried it before with friends gathered around a mirror. But what you may not have realized is that most people play the game wrong and for the wrong reasons.

The version of the game that most people know about generally involves saying "Bloody Mary" into a mirror and waiting for a blood-soaked woman to appear and attempt to maul you (because what else are you going to do on a Friday night?).

The historical version of the game is far less violent but equally scary and also kind of depressing. It was played by young women hoping to identify their future husbands. The game would involve walking backwards up the stairs while gazing into a mirror (a terrible idea in itself). If performed correctly, the young dame would see either a glimpse of their future husband or the skull of the grim reaper. As you may have guessed, the latter indicated that the woman would die before marriage.

4. One-Man Hide-and-Go-Seek

Do you want to play hide and seek but don't have a friend to play with? Well, you could always try summoning a demonic entity into a creepy murderous doll instead.

One-man hide-and-go-seek is another game said to be based on an old ritual that involves summoning a wandering spirit into the body of a doll or puppet and then playing hide and seek with the now-animated object. (Like creepy old dolls weren't terrifying enough, right?) As if bumbling through your house in the dark looking for or hiding from a potentially killer doll isn't bad enough, the game requires you to hold saltwater in your mouth, which you must then spit onto the doll in order to 'win.'

Perhaps that sounds like your idea of a good time. But maybe you'd be better off just finding a friend to play with instead?

5. Daruma-San

Daruma-san, or "bath game," is a Japanese game based on an urban legend. It essentially involves chanting "Daruma-san fell down" (possibly in Japanese) while washing one's hair in the bath in the dark. After a while, it's said that a presence will become known to whoever is playing. Apparently, they will also experience a vision of a Japanese woman falling onto and being impaled by a rusty faucet.

Once the player finishes washing their hair, they must say aloud, "Why did you fall in the bathtub?" Then, without waiting for an answer or pulling the plug, the player is to close their eyes and quickly leave the bathroom (all while avoiding falling over) and shut the door behind them.

Not scary enough for you? Well, good news! That's just the ritual to get the game started. The next day, a presence will stalk the player, slowly creeping up behind them. When she's getting too close for comfort, shouting "Tomare!" (stop) will temporary stop her in her tracks. But she'll continue creeping up on her victim until they catch a good glimpse of her and shout "Kitta!" ("I cut you loose"). Failure to do this before midnight supposedly results in Daruma-San entering the person's dreams, Freddy Krueger–style.

2. One Man Hide & Go Seek

This is another game that has deep roots in a ritual. Necromancy, to be exact. In this game, you summon a spirit into the body of a doll, who then plays hide and seek with you. Seems innocent enough, but think about it. If you’re like me, you have a deep-set fear of dolls, mannequins, etc… this is like my worst nightmare. Anyway, enough about me… let’s get into how you summon this entity and what is said to go down after you possibly ruined your life.

To do this ritual, you need:

A doll (obviously)

Scissors or something else sharp

Red thread and a needle

Rice

Hair and/or nail clippings from yourself

Salt water in a cup

A bathroom

There’s going to be a fair amount of work for this ritual, so you’ve been warned. An important note: you must name the doll. This will not work if you have not named the doll. You cannot give the doll your name.

Once you have everything, go into the bathroom and cut the doll open. Remove all the fluff and filling, then restuff it with the rice and clippings. Sew the doll back up with the red thread; use any remaining thread to tie up the doll. Run a bath filled with water. Put the doll on the sink counter and go to your hiding spot. Place the cup of salt water and the sharp object on the floor of your hiding spot.

Once the time reaches 3am, (you don’t have to be in the same room as the doll for this) tell the doll: “*insert your name here* is it” three times. Go into the bathroom, put the doll into the water-filled tub, then turn off all the lights in your house. After you’ve done that, go to your hiding spot, turn on your TV, close your eyes, count to ten, and then pick up the sharp object and go back into the bathroom. The doll should still be there. Say to the doll: “I found you, *insert doll’s name here*” after you say this, you have to stab the doll with the sharp object, place the doll back onto the counter and run back to your hiding place. DO NOT take the sharp object back after you stabbed the doll.

Now that you’re in your hiding spot, remain silent. If anything happens to your TV (flickering, images, turning itself off), that means the spirit/doll is near. After you’ve been hidden for a bit. You have to take half (or as much as you can) of the saltwater into your mouth (don’t swallow it, just hold it in your mouth) then go and search for the doll again. Make sure you bring the rest of the cup of saltwater with you. Once you have found the doll (hopefully still in the bathroom), you have to pour the rest of the saltwater onto it, spit the water in your mouth onto it and tell it “I win” three times. This ends the game.

Once the game has ended, dry the doll, and burn it. If there are any remains of the doll left, put salt on it and discard it far away.

Some things to keep in mind during the game:

If you have your phone, keep it on Do Not Disturb and have the brightness at its lowest (DO NOT use your phone unless you need to call for help)

Try to stay as calm and as silent as possible; especially if you think it’s in the room with you.

Try to keep all the doors unlocked in case you need to run away at any time (this is only an emergency resort, try not to leave the house at any point during the game)

Keep some natural salt with you, and line the door to the room you’re in. Keep some religious tools with you, if it makes you feel safer.

Try not to hide in any places you could get stuck/cornered.

And above all, use your common sense. Try to ask some friends or even neighbors to keep an eye out for anything suspicious while you’re doing this game. Tell them a time to expect the lights to come back on, what to do if they haven’t heard from you for a while, etc.

3. Dry Bones

This game is very similar to One Man Hide & Go Seek; except you’re summoning a demon instead of a wandering spirit. This game also has a few elements of the Midnight Game, so it’s time to break out your matches and candle again.

The summoning process for this one is freakishly simple. You begin by turning off all your lights, lighting your candle, and going into your bathroom (or any room with a mirror) at 12:01am. We’re going to go a little Bloody Mary now. You’re going to stare at your reflection until you can feel a presence in the mirror. Once you know there’s something other than yourself in that mirror, you’re going to do the dumbest thing known to mankind. You’re going to tell the demon “I acknowledge your presence; I welcome you into my home for a game of Hide & Seek until 3am. Come in now”. After that last word has been spoken, you’re going to grab your shit (hopefully there’s none in your pants) and RUN. Try to be as quiet as possible while you find your hiding spot. It must be a good hiding spot, as your very life and soul is on the line here. If this demon catches you, I picture your house would look like a real-life DOOM level…You may want to have DoomGuy on speed dial. Anyway… If you miraculously don’t get caught by 3:00am, go to the biggest room in your house, and announce that the game has now ended, and whatever monstrosity you brought into your home is no longer welcome here and must leave. You’ll most likely hear the demon before it leaves, so don’t jump when you hear something right behind you.

I suppose I should mention why anyone would play this game… If you win, the demon will have to grant you a wish. Any (realistic) thing you want will be yours; material or otherwise.

4. The Closet Game

I heard about this one in a YouTube video from Most Amazing Top 10, and it honestly made me question why anyone would want to do this (why would you want to do any of these?). For this game, all you need is:

A closet

A match

Something to light the match

Basically, you step into your closet with an unlit match, and then say the words “Show me the light, or leave me in darkness”. You should hear a demon whisper to you (probably something along the lines of “surprise, motherf**ker”); when you hear the whisper, you must IMMEDIATELY light your match and step out of your closet. If you lit the match in time and didn’t get pulled into Hell by a closet demon, then congratulations! You played and “won” the game!

…

Yep, that’s it. Oh, and by the way, never open up your closet in the dark again, or you risk meeting the demon you invited into your closet. On second thought, you might as well just board the closet shut; not unless you’d rather risk leaving the door cracked open for a demon to come out and stare at you while you sleep.

5. The 11 Mile Game

This is another game to get something you deeply wish for; but just like Dry Bones, the stakes are high. To do this ritual/game, you need a car or a motorcycle (basically something you can drive, you’d be extra ballsy to do this with a motorcycle though) and a strong wish.

Let’s start with how to find 11 Mile Road. Keep in mind this is a one person game. No friends allowed.

To find the road, you need to:

Begin your drive at night; try to choose a late time where there are little to no other drivers on the road

Find a back road inside some dense woods. It has to be inside the forest, not outside or around it.

Once you’re inside the woods, begin driving down the desolate roads until your intuition tells you you’ve found 11 Mile Road. Keep your mind and eyes open, you’ll know the road when you find it.

Now that you have found the road, you can begin driving down it right away or take a moment to stop the car and collect your thoughts. This is the only time during the drive you can stop the car and/or turn back, choose wisely.

If you’ve chosen to drive the road before I go over what you can expect, here are some notes to keep in mind during the drive:

DO NOT listen to music or turn on the radio at all

DO NOT open your doors or windows

DO NOT stop the car; especially to investigate anything you might hear or see inside the car or outside. Just keep going.

DO NOT use a phone or any other device

And finally, DO NOT drive faster than 30mph. This one is mainly a safety hazard for you and your car.

Okay, now that we’ve gone over the warnings, here’s what to expect now that you’ve begun your 11-mile drive:

First mile: Nothing much will happen. It may get cold; you can turn on the heat if it gets too cold. Keep driving.

Second mile: Same as the first mile. Keep driving.

Third mile: You will begin to see movement around you… Don’t take your eyes off the road. Ignore ALL movement. Keep driving.

Fourth mile: Ignore any voices. Keep driving.

Fifth mile: If the trees around you seem to start diminishing, you see a lake, and/or you see the bright glow of the moon… don’t stop driving. No matter how pretty and random it may seem. Keep driving.

Sixth mile: The trees will return and the stars will disappear. You’re “back” in the forest. Ignore the flickering of your headlights. Ignore whatever your radio tells you; DO NOT attempt to turn off the radio. Keep driving.

Seventh mile: Keep ignoring the voices, even if they’re coming from your backseat. DO NOT turn around. Keep driving.

Eighth mile: DO NOT stop driving, no matter what. Even if your flickering headlights make it hard to see in front of you, slow down but do not stop driving. Don’t stop for anything. No exceptions. Keep driving.

Ninth mile: Your vehicle may stall. Close your eyes if your vehicle stops; don’t open them for ANY reason until your car starts. Once your car starts, slam on the gas and Keep driving.

Tenth mile: Don’t look in your mirrors; not even to look in your backseat. Keep driving.

Eleventh mile: Your vehicle will stall again in front of a red light. DO NOT look at it. Close your eyes cover your ears… whatever you have to do. Just don’t open your eyes until your vehicle starts again. Ignore the voices, ignore whatever is grabbing you, and ignore everything no matter what. Once your car restarts, keep driving a little further.

Continue driving further until you reach the dead end up ahead. Here is where you make your wish. Don’t just wish for it, envision it. Imagine it’s with you now. If you wished for something small enough to fit in your pocket, check there. If you wished for something bigger, check your backseat or your trunk. If you wish for something that isn’t material, then go back home and wait. It’ll come to you very soon, but is there a price and was it worth it?

If you can live with the major PTSD and whatever else follows you from your journey, then you can live happily with your newly gained wish, or you can gladly go down 11 Mile Road again.

Elevator around the World

This game originated from Korea and performing it supposedly takes you to a different world via an elevator. All you have to do is find a building with at least ten floors and has an elevator. Make sure there’d be no one else riding the elevator aside from you before you proceed with the ritual.

Once you step inside, you’ll have to do a 4-2-6-2-10-5 combo on the elevator’s buttons. On the fifth floor, a woman would enter, but you should never look at her nor should you speak to her. Afterwards, press the button for the first floor. At this point, the elevator would begin ascending to the tenth floor instead of going down to the first. Upon arriving at the tenth floor, you may get off the elevator to explore this different world.

The woman would ask “Where are you going?” but you should never answer. After walking around, you may return to the real world by going inside the same elevator and using the same 4-2-6-2-10-5 combo. In the event that you pass out during the game, you’d most likely find yourself waking up inside your own home. But make sure to look around, since it may not be the same home anymore.

6. The Hooded Man

The Hooded Man ritual is quite similar to the Elevator ritual, in the sense that it takes you to a world different from ours. This one requires you to perform a cleansing ritual prior to starting the game, like burning a sage and spreading salt on your front door.

When night comes, go to a room where there’s a telephone. Detailed instructions can be found online, but you’d basically be making a call for a cab. If you have succeeded, you’ll be seeing a black cab parked outside your house. Exit the building, climb into the cab’s empty back seat, lock the door behind you, and go to sleep. If you awaken and your watch reads exactly 3:30AM, then you’ll find yourself falling asleep for the second time. Once you wake up, the cab will be on an unfamiliar highway and you’ll notice the Hooded Man behind the wheels. Some accounts have stated that other passengers may get inside the cab and sit with you, but you should never pay attention to them.

If you want to end your ride, just lean closer towards the Hooded Man’s ear and whisper “I have reached my destination.” You’ll fall asleep and wake up in your house, after which you’ll have to go to the telephone, dial a number, and say “Thank you for the ride.” Do another cleansing ritual afterwards. Regarding the cab ride, it’s up to you whether you want to continue the ride for a longer period of time, but many have advised against it since the world gets more absurd as the ride goes on and the worst-case-scenario is that you might not be able to escape that world anymore.

2. Charlotte’s Web

You might be familiar with the popular children’s book, Charlotte’s Web, but have you tried playing the game named after it? In this game, you’ll be calling for the spirit of Charlotte Webster—a little girl from the 1400s whose mother has been accused as a witch and burned at the stake. If you dislike the idea of playing paranormal games by yourself, then this might be the game for you, since it requires two players.

You and your partner have to go to a dark room with a large mirror. Bring a flashlight and a toy, preferably one that a little girl would like. Set up two chairs in front of the mirror and a table behind the chairs. Place the toy on top of the table. Make sure the toy’s reflection can be seen in the mirror. You should both take your seats and make sure no other light comes through the room except the ones coming from your flashlights. Say the words “We want to play Charlotte’s Web” in unison.

Wait for Charlotte as she appears in the mirror to take the toy. You may now converse with her or ask her questions. Once you’re done, say “Goodbye, Charlotte” with your partner, and that’s it. Those who’ve tried this game claimed that Charlotte can be a sweetheart, especially if you get on her good side or if she likes the toy you offered. Don’t play this game in an attempt to try and piss her off, though, because accounts say that Charlotte throwing a tantrum would be the last thing you’d ever want to see.