Previously: The Midnight Game.
Instructions for how to play a version of hide and seek alone — that is, with with only one player — first began appearing under the name ひとりかくれんぼ (Hitori Kakurenbo) on Japanese horror bulletin boards like the 2ch occult board circa 2006/2007. The craze spread quickly in Japan; the instructions were copied, and pasted, and copied again on site after site, and YouTubers began uploading videos documenting their experiences playing it.
It wasn’t until the fall of 2008 that instructions for One-Man Hide and Seek appeared on an English language site… but perhaps it would have better for everyone if it hadn’t been translated at all.
[Like what you read? Check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available from Chronicle Books now!]
As always, play at your own risk.
Players:
- One principal
Requirements:
- One stuffed doll with limbs
- One sack of uncooked rice
- A pair of nail clippers
- A needle
- A length of red thread
- One sharp edge, such as a knife or pair of scissors
- A bathroom with bathtub
- A cup of salt water
- A television
- A hiding place
- Incense or ofuda
Instructions:
The Prelude:
- Using your sharp edge, cut open the doll. Remove the stuffing.
- Replace the stuffing with dry, uncooked rice. Clip off a piece of your fingernail and place it inside the doll with the rice.
- Using the needle and red thread, stitch the doll closed. Without snipping the thread, take the remaining length, wrap it around the doll, and tie off the ends.
- Fill the bathtub with water.
- Purify the room in which your hiding place is located with the incense or ofuda. Once it has been purified, set up the television in the same room. Place the cup of salt water and the sharp edge inside the hiding place.
- Name the doll.
The Main Event:
- Begin at precisely 3am. Repeat the following phrase to the doll three times, filling in your own name where appropriate: “[Your Name] is the first it.”
- Go to the bathroom. Submerge the doll in the bathtub and leave it there.
- Turn out all the lights in your house.
- Go to your hiding place and switch on the television. Close your eyes and count to ten.
- When you have finished counting, open your eyes, retrieve your sharp edge, and return to the bathroom.
- Remove the doll from the bathtub and say the following phrase to it, filling in the doll’s name where appropriate: “I have found you, [Doll’s Name].” Use your sharp edge to cut the red thread binding the doll.
- Say the following phrase to the doll, filling in the doll’s name where appropriate: “You are the next it, [Doll’s Name].” Then return the doll to the bathtub.
- Quickly return to your hiding place. Remain as silent as possible.
The Ending:
- Take a large mouthful of salt water. Do not swallow it; hold it in your mouth. Keep the cup containing the rest of the salt water in your hand.
- Emerge from your hiding place and begin looking for the doll. NOTE: The doll may not necessarily be in the bathroom where you left it.
- When you find the doll, pour the remaining salt water in the cup over it. Expectorate the salt water in your mouth over the doll as well.
- Repeat the following phrase to the doll three times: “I win.”
The Postscript:
- Once the game has been completed, allow the doll to dry, then burn it and discard the remains.
Additional Notes:
The rice represents the doll’s internal organs. Additionally, it serves as bait to attract spirits.
The red thread represents a blood vessel and seals whatever spirits you might have attracted inside the doll. Snipping the thread in the Main Event: step 6 releases the spirits.
When naming your doll, do NOT give it your own name. It is also advisable to avoid giving it the name of anyone you know.
Once the game has begun, do NOT do any of the following things until it has been completed:
- Turn on the lights.
- Lock any doors, including the front or back doors
- Make unnecessary noise.
- Leave your house.
It is not generally advisable to emerge from your hiding place in the Ending: step 2 without both holding the salt water in your mouth and carrying the cup with the remaining salt water in your hand; should anything have found its way into your home during the course of the game, they will act as safeguards and protect you from any harm your visitor or visitors may attempt to inflict upon you. The purpose of the television is to alert you to the presence of these potential visitors. Should it begin to display abnormal behavior, do NOT, under ANY circumstance, leave your hiding place without the salt water.
Do not allow the game to go on for longer than two hours.
Once it has been started, the game MUST be played through to completion. Do NOT attempt to abandon it partway through. To do so would result in disaster.
***
Follow The Ghost In My Machine on Twitter @GhostMachine13 and on Facebook @TheGhostInMyMachine. And don’t forget to check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available now from Chronicle Books!
Okay so I did this game. I’M TERRIFIED. I did the steps through. I kept constantly looking at my watch. It says not to let the game last more than two hours. I was 1 hour and 45 minutes into the game. That means I had to FIND the doll instead of it finding me. I eventually found it but… I did scratch my leg with the knife I gave it. I still have a scar. I did the stuff and was waiting to burn it cuz it said to wait until the doll was dry. But when I went to the room I left it in check if it was dry… It wasn’t there. I feel like I did something wrong. I moved but… still scared.
i’m going to try this and I have a stuffed bear that i’m going to use but should I put the rice in only the torso or in the limbs too?
Only torso
I tried this game and it was amazing
To my surprise my teddy was not there in the sink where I left it I found it in my kitchen beside refrigerator before spitting over it.
It gave me goosebumps!!
I don’t get what’s supposed to be happen. You give the doll a name, leave it in the bathroom alone with the knife somewhere in the middle towards the ending. You stay in your hiding place and what? The doll moves somewhere? With the knife you left with it? What’s so bad about the game?
The idea is that the doll (or rather, the spirit possessing the doll) will try to find you and stab you back.
I don’t believe in spirits but like, I can’t really try this. But does anybody have a real experience? I wanna know if this is real or not.
wow um I’m scared of all paranormal games if i think of doing them by myself ._.
Ok so me and my cousin played this game, we poured salt and uncooked rice we then put pieces of our hair in the doll lastly we glued it back. After we we went to the sink in the restroom and filled it, we placed it and did the steps after we went back and stabbed it with knife we then hid in my room in the corner and we just waited like 30 seconds we went back and nothing happened we looked in the mirror and started laughing and we said it didn’t work so I looked up the steps and found this and now we are scared because we did everything wrong and kept the doll in my room so far the doors are just opening and the curtains are moving.. This was at 1:24 p.m so I don’t know if we are paranoid or this is really happening… Give us advice please 4•19•20
U alive ?
Just watch “Snarled” on Youtube
I watch snarled as well
映画が隠れて殺されるのを見ただけです。ルールでは、あなたがどれくらいの時間隠れるか見ていませんでした。
*Puts hands in the air*
*Sir, may i try this game with my annabelle doll,
the haunted one*
okay I played it and it wasn’t scary at all, but I saw the doll move to me and went to my sister’s room with a knife, but I saved her and threw the doll in the bbq grill and burned it.
this game is weird and scary.
am I able to make my own doll? I don’t have a doll I can burn. also, I don’t have incense or ofua. can I use anything else?
You find it asap
I tried it and abandoned it mid game. That was two years ago. I couldn’t find the doll and I got so scared of what was happening at my house that I stayed the night at a friends. That didn’t work because the spirit had followed me. I’ve gone back to my house and it’s even worse there. Every day I feel like crap and I’m living in fear. I called the priest of a local church and he has come over multiple times. He can’t fix it. Every night I have horrible nightmares and I’ve discovered I’ve been sleepwalking lately. One morning I woke up in the middle of the road. I have suicidal thoughts constantly. How do I fix this please help me!
find the doll. spit salt water, then burn it. also, talking to a priest would help. u may be possessed.
WHAT NO WAY
What happens if the doll finds you? And how do you play with 2 or 3 ppl? Me and my brothers wanna play.
I’m not sure what would happen, but I wouldn’t recommend doing that because if you don’t burn the doll, it might attract spirits and bring danger to the people inside the house.
If I start this ritual in someone else’s house, leave it unfinished and return to my own home, will the consequences be on me or them? If I don’t burn the doll but leave it in someone else’s home will the spirit come after me or them?
I think the consequences will mostly follow you because you were the one who played the game and abandoned it mid-game. But I am pretty sure a portion of the consequences will also fall on the other’s house. I am not that sure.
Ok so I’m thinking of playing it with my BFF and I’ve watched tons of videos about but I don’t know the dangers of it what should we do?
I’m about to play
What happens if you accidentally don’t correctly finish the one man hide and seek yet you burn the doll
Ending the game properly is like exorcising the spirit form the doll, meaning your sending the spirit to a hopefully peaceful afterlife. Burning the doll, the object that was possessed is to make sure that no other spirits can possess the doll afterwards, because typically once somethings been possessed once its a lot easier for it to be possessed again. If you do not finish the game properly you likely left the spirit to linger wherever you played the game and possible attached itself to you or anyone else who enters the location, if not attaching itself to the actual location.
I heard something come into my room while reading this. Scared the crap out o me. Oh thank god, its just my dog ???????????
If I play this game having previously played Daruna San, and use a Daruma doll as my hill, would that anger either the entities in this game or the entity described in Daruma San?
What if you actually left the house and locked it behind you and moved to another country on the other side of the world?
Would that be effective to stay alive?
This is actually one of the safest rituals out there. Very low, if any, risk of death in this game, as opposed to the Midnight Man and others. There is, however, another version of this game which may very likely result in death if one loses. It’s called “The Living Doll”. The games are more or less the same, except The Living Doll requires a mirror, candles, a life-sized doll and a deadly weapon. I do not recommend anyone try this. I’m way too chicken to even think of doing it, and hope you all are too.
the midnight man is one of the most dangerous paranormal spirit activity ive ever done. P.S. i hope u know the aftermath if u fail to complete this activity it starts at midnight ends at 3:30 u need a lighter candle and lots of salt. before midnight light the candle wait a bit blow it out open the door knock on it 22 times close the door relight the candle wait till midnight open the door say ur invitation to the midnight man then close the door and walk around ur house BUT KEEP AN EYE ON THE CANDLE because when the candle goes out u ONLY HAVE 10 SECONDS TO RELIGHT IT if u dont relight it IN 10 SECONDS SIROUND URSELF in a CIRCLE OF SALT and wait till 3:30 then go to the door and let the midnight man out. if u fail to relight the candle in 10 secs or siruond urself in a CIRCLE of salt in seconds the midnight man will hunt u with ur worst fears for the rest of ur life and this is a fact because my friend jack did this old japanese punishment and failed and is going crazy from the hunting to the point were hes been thrown into a mental institute for the pyscoes. a I done the challenge yeseterday and almost failed so i wouldn’t recomend doing this if u want to stay sane.
Actually you NEVER meet a demon at your door or welcome it. NEVER EVER end the Midnight Game at 3:30. Always end it at 3:33.
Oi can u do the tag one… the tag one like the apex but… uh… thats all i know XD I forgot the name of it.
Hm, I’m quite tempted to enact this game, but I won’t do it in my own home.
Does anyone have visual evidence of this game being legitimate? I’ve done some research, but I generally see too in-depth descriptions/stories and generally false youtube videos. I want something that is, maybe, 99% true. Oh! Reminds me I need to research Ouija Boards.
I have made the doll and now have to wait for 3am.
Your friend can’t play with you, unless you want her possessed.
How’d it go?
I played with my friend and all that happened afterwards was a very interesting spirit in counter where we both actually saw it so it’s safe to play with her friend mostly because you’re safer in numbers
I know this sounds idotic
But I educated and, damn, possessed people is fking true
Well, my school had those, freaking possession for some weeks
because before being a school, its a graveyard (wtf -_-)
So, I’ll recommend you guys do not play this
You maybe don’t believe me, but at least I’ll say I’m not lying
PS: Never play this but I just telling my knowledges of possession
I actually believe u. I am always seeing creepy things and I believe anything superstitious. no joke.
If I’m in my hiding spot and the doll comes to it and finds me, can I just kick it across the room so it won’t stab me? Kinda like stunning it? And if I name it something silly could the spirit get mad?..
I really hope so ? I’m meant to be playing this tonight with my sister and to be honest I am TERRIFIED!! I’m pretty sure kicking it isn’t a good idea, but hey- whatever works for you.
1) Are you serious? A possessed doll? Kicking it WILL make it angrier and make the chance of you getting stab HIGH. Don’t do it. Plus, it’s a ghost. Kicking it (even in a weak state eg. doll) doesn’t stun it.
2) Naming the spirit something silly probably won’t anger the spirit, but be honest, are we going to name a spirit “Buttface”?
For 2)
Yes. Yes we are.
Can we play this elsewhere than playing at house…like a vacant/old house
Absolutely. Any house will do. (It’s better to NOT use your own house)
Do i burn the doll with or without the rice in it?
If there’s only 1 tv in a room wouldn’t that be a give away for the doll? Would turning on multiple tvs in different rooms be recommended?
But if I play this alone, how am I supposed to hide the doll when my friend isn’t looking?
If there is someone in the house, then they are participating it. So, no use of playing it alone.
does the tv have to be on white noise?
Yes. On some version of the stories I read, the white noise will the indicator of the doll’s where about. Plus (and this is what I read) the spirit used the TV as a voice, changing channels.
*will be the
Will you be able to use candles?
Do you want to make it easier for the doll to find you?
If the doll sees you do not swallow your salt water and pray
I AM TOTALLY FREAKIN TRYING THIS TONIGHT, HELL YES!!!
you shouldn’t be inviting evil spirits into your home it’s not the best idea and I honestly don’t think they’ll just leave that easily…
That’s why you play the outside version
Are you alive?
I’ve done this game and my friend has done this game and has video proof that this game is the really deal not something you make up but she did it with a fnf doll which made the game 10x more scarier than if you did it with a stuffed monkey or something *burn the remains it will come back to life if you do not at least that’s what I have heard*
can i see the footage?
So scared rn. I really don’t like not getting enough sleep at night and the I believe the dead should truly rest in peace so I won’t try this game. Anyone else agree?
Actually, it stems from a Japanese exorcism. What you’re doing when playing this game is exorcising the spirit, ergo making sure that it is able to “go on peacefully into that happy night”, as our poets are happy to say.
1 to 10 how high are the chanches of getting
Possesed
10. This game is dangerous and the risk of death and possession are HIGH
What happens if you play this with an already possessed doll, a la Annabelle?
Don’t.
I rather do it with Annabelle
What happens if the doll finds you???
So, after opening a portal and inviting demons into your home, where you sleep, do you all seriously think they will just go away??? They will come and go as they please regardless of your pretty tricks. If you think the will of a demon is weaker than yours, please continue inviting evil things into your home.So, after opening a portal and inviting demons into your home, where you sleep, do you all seriously think they will just go away??? They will come and go as they please regardless of your pretty tricks. If you think the will of a demon is weaker than yours, please continue inviting evil things into your home.
Hm… You said I(or who’ll play it) must look for the doll, some website well told that the doll also would look for us while we looking for them. If I hide in a room which is a small storage room and only have one way to enter or out, what if when I start to walk form my hiding place and the doll see me? What should I do? Should I run? Or is it possible to the doll just appear and dissapear whenever it likes?
1)If I hide in a room which is a small storage room and only have one way to enter or out, what if when I start to walk form my hiding place and the doll see me? What should I do? Should I run?
= End the game, quickly. Never run. You’ll lose that way.
2)Is it possible to the doll just appear and disappear whenever it likes?
=Since the spirit inside the doll has taken form of it, it probably can’t. But, due to the physical difference and the fact that there is a ghost in the doll, I don’t see why not. (P.S : A cursed object ALWAYS have a supernatural abilities, unless locked by a mantra or spell or chant and etc.)
A ghost that is possessing something usually has to abide by the laws of physics, though it may be able to disregard them depending on how long they’ve been dead. Other than that, you are correct.
What will happen if I turn on the lights before ending the game and what will happen if I look for the doll with a cup of salt?
1) You will anger the spirit residing in the doll
2) You might be harassed in the attempt to find the doll, but that is it
I’m going to get my friends to play this game with me. I think it’d be cool. (Besides, I’m a wimp, so I need friendship.)
It sounds creepy lol,
What if you come out of your hiding place at the end and the doll is no longer in the bathroom…
What if you cant find it?!?!
0_0
Have you looked in the attic? If he/she is no where to be found (I know this is old but) you’re probably doomed
I got SEVERAL big ol’ bags of rice and sometimes I experience p a r a n o r m a l stuff like THE DAY BEFORE YESTERDAY WHEN I WAS GOING TO BED (about everyone else was asleep) I SWEAR I SAW SOMEONE BETWEEN ME, AND MY SIBILING’S BED I closed my eyes, and when I opened them it was G O N E and then I chose not to open my eyes until daytime
If you can’t find it before daybreak or under two hours, I would suggest calling in an exorcist.
I can’t find it.
Uh oh.
Get out of there, bring your salt water , hope for the best and bring companions if you can to hunt that thing down. Quickly
KEEP LOOKING. DON’T STOP, THOUGH. (But remember to exercise caution to a level of 550%)
What happened when you played it? Iwant to know because me and another friend want to play it but were afraid of what might happen. Im just really want to know if its safe.
as long as you follow all the rules, end the game at an appropriate time, and make sure the doll DOES NOT FIND YOU, it is theoretically safe. the doll finding you is your biggest worry, cause although it is not clear what happens if they do, it is most likely something awefully grusome
lol but like the doll HAS to find you cant you put it out with salt water anyway?
I know this game is to be played alone/with one player but is is allowed for another person or others to be in the house as well? As observers? Or is that against the rules?
If there is someone else in the house with you, they run the risk of getting possessed by the spirit and that could be dangerous for both you and the other person.
Okay so if you have some one else with you during the game, how high are the chances of getting possessed? On a scale of 1-10
there is actuly a version for more than on players and it simply contains a few extra steps such as everyone must be it before the doll is it and everyone must have their own cup of salt water and hiding place.
what are the steps? ’cause I wanna try this with my friend. they do too.
Other people are allowed to play but I don’t think they can just watch because they would have to hide with you and spit the salt water on the doll to
Having more than one human player prolongs the game, which is something you want to avoid. It can also confuse the doll, and cause harm to you or the other player. It is not against the rules, but it is preferable that there only be one player. Unless you plan on playing with multiple dolls. Observers can be hazardous, mostly for them. People can observe, but I’d recommend not doing it in person.
This game works…
I don’t get it. I mean if i stay quiet in my hiding place, can the doll find me? And what is happening then? If i don’t end game at time what is going to happen?Have anyone really played this game and knows is this true? 🙂
If you stay quiet and have followed the instructions, you should be fine. Prolonging the game risk the chance of the spirit STAYING instead of being able to get rid of it.
If you don’t end the game you can get cursed and die.
also why cant you leave your home while your laying these games? and what would happen if you abandoned the game mid-way?
I wondered that myself… Here are some possibilities for leaving the house: 1. the doll will chase after you. 2. Because you didn’t end the game, you didn’t get rid of the spirit so it’s possible the doll will be waiting for you when you return. 3. It might try to make your home its home and haunt you. If you quit the game midway, 1. The spirit will haunt you. 2. All types of possible harm (death, scares, possession, risk of disappearance, etc.) 3. I don’t know nor do I wanna know.
I think the only time you’re allowed to go outside is when you’re 350% sure the doll is outside and that’s where you find it. Also, if you play this, don’t look in any mirrors or cross over one, you may not like what you see and mirrors can trap the spirit in your home(so I’ve read). Juste BE CAREFUL!!!!!
Thanks for the tips… I don’t wanna try it though
You allow the spirit to roam about, putting you and anyone around in danger. You cause the home to become dangerous for your family.
If you did so, the doll may figure out some way to cut itself free and probably haunt your house.. Or it could just go get a cup of coffee.. You don’t want it taking your coffee.
NOT MY COFFEEEEEEEEEE!
If you leave your house, the doll may follow you and the doll may get lost when outside. Which will bring harm to others.
My friend played this game. And she forgot to spill water with salt on the doll. Thanks god she was not alone. Her friend spilled water before she started scream because she saw the doll moving. They were so scared. My friend literally got heart attack. So I dont reccomend play this game if you are too scared or you can break the rules like forgetting to spill water. But you can play if you will follow the rules.
A spirit will linger in your home and most likely try to hurt you.
Wait you tried it? What happened exactly? I believe in spirits and such myself and I think one should not make them angry by playing this game..
Im guessing the spirits that were inside the doll would eventually escape and just flood into your house, and im not sure if you’d want that lol
Because if you leave your house you can get caught and die
The doll would stay possessed
The point of the game is to trap a spirit or demon inside of a doll. These things aren’t usually happy to be trapped, abandoning the game could anger it. By completing the game, you are essentially exorcising the spirit. The game was originally a Japanese exorcism, explaining why the ofuda is an option for cleansing- and a preferable one at that. Abandoning the game halfway leaves the spirit trapped in the doll. Usually, ghosts aren’t able to harm living beings unless possessed. Assuming the game works for you, abandoning it halfway would upset the spirit and expose yourself to unnecessary harm. You shouldn’t leave your home because the spirit would then have a way and an excuse to leave your house. It also leaves you open to other spirits, and your house as well.
In another version I read, you have to stab the doll with a wooden toothpick to anger it so it tries to find you…
Looks like someone didn’t read the whole thing.
“Do NOT attempt to abandon it partway through. To do so would result in disaster.”
If you abandon the game midway through, then you didn’t properly finish the game, and the spirit will become to attached to the doll to be removed, and it will remain haunted, and the eagerness to stab you, like you stabbed it, will remain as well.
OOOH I WANNA TRY THIS BUT IM SCARED LOL
Is this really working?
I wanted to try the daruma-san one and this one but it seems i will fail
I wouldn’t do the drauma san one. To me, I think it’d be hard pronouncing the words.
Om god!!!
I did it but we failed
I don’t know, but my friend told me that it worked to him, but im not sure ( név alapján csak úgy…nem magyar vagy? )
Idk if it does but when I did play it..it didn’t work…while playing I was recording the whole thing on my phone….when I went back home and I listened carefully I heard this ‘ngahahahahahha’ laughter. It was SO LOUD. GOD IT SCARED THE SHIT OUTTA ME. so yeah…
I have a question like if you live in a small apartment and you don’t have much room to hide what would you do?
If you have a cupboard or a closet that’s big enough, you could always hide in there — but honestly, I’d recommend either not playing this one or finding a different place to play it that isn’t your home.
You hide under your freaking couch, that’s what you do =)
Don’t play this in congested places.Your hiding place must be a separate room.
What happens if you use incense to replace the salt water?
I did it with my friend and it was scary as sh** it worked and my cat ran in to my room it was scary
You’re supposed to do it alone.
I know this is a stupid question giving the name being one person hide and seek, but can u play with 2 players? Like each would put finger nails in and would both have salt water then would it work? Because me and my friend want to play this but cannot if it doesn’t allow this then I can’t play this with her.
Yes, you can use two people but only two
WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU CANT FIND THE DOLL!!
Run.
BURN THE HOUSE DOWN
did that REALLY happen!? I wanna hear the recording.
Yes.
You can actually play it more than 2, this game really is deadly! We’ve done this a few times and it really does’nt matter how many players are.
In our superstition belief, (cause I’m asian…) Having a sack of rice at a long time at your house attract spirits.
But based on my experienced, it really was creepy and deadly since we are four players, although at the end of the game my cousin ran towards me with her eyes circled, she said that one of us called her to jump out of the closet (since all of us are boys, my cousin did not know who it was). We are playing at a 2 story mansion, but when we told him that we didn’t call to jump out…. It really gives us goosebumps especially he got scratches and he didn’t notice it….
During our game we did not use television, good thing this article give a beneficial fact about something.
The rules in your article is fine…But however, we only ended the game by only pouring it with holy water
..And yes it is creepy…
And for people who are asking what if I leave my house, then well they can still sense and find you because your fingernail was on it. so there will be no difference but the scary part is that….leaving the house may let the doll easily distinguish where you are that is why they called it hide and sick and… Yes you have to be perfectly hidden…
And do not do this with at your house with your relatives inside your house… who knows ?
why can’t you have relatives inside? and does it have to be at you house? what if I like, did it at school? like, snuck in? also, can I do it before 3:00 am? is there a chance of death? why can’t I name it a known person’s name like, Taylor Swift or something?
Having relatives inside could potentially put them in big danger considering them being at easy exposure to the doll. If they’re not playing, then something could definitely happen to them that could as well put you in danger of anything big.
Playing this game at school could make it difficult to find the doll for the ending stage, even having to find the best hiding space without getting caught. You wouldn’t want to accidentally lose a possessed doll in a large building without being able to trace its whereabouts. Could be behind you the whole time, who knows.
Lastly, using a name that’s really well known could put that person in danger so you’re technically harming them even if your intentions aren’t evil. Something like sally would be preferable unless you happen to personally known a sally in your life.
what if you do not dispose of the doll? hehehehehheheheehehehhehehehehhehehehehhehehehehehehehe
😱 I legit legitimate just died reading 💀⚰🥀
what happens if you lose?
I think you will be stabbed just like how you stabbed the doll in the beginning.
yes it does, but do you know the game charlie charlie?