The Ghost In My Machine

Stories of the Strange and Unusual

The Most Dangerous Games: The Hosting Game

by

Previously: The Mirror Box.

Parties are fun — as long as you don’t have uninvited guests. “The Hosting Game” also goes by the name “Don’t Look Back” for reasons that will become apparent as you read onward.

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As always, play at your own risk.

Players:

  • 1 principal.

Requirements:

  • A small, dark, empty room in your home (your “hosting room”). Ideally this room should have no windows; if, however, you do not have such a room available to you, a room with windows may be used provided that said windows may be completely covered up. No outside light should be visible from inside the room.
  • A writing implement and paper.
  • A clock, watch, or other analog timekeeping device. Do NOT use a cell phone, digital watch, or other digital device.
  • 3 matches.

Instructions:

The Invitation:

  1. Begin at night. Keep your timekeeping device and the matches on your person at all times.
  2. Turn off all possible sources of noise in your home. This includes telephones, televisions, computers, alarms, etc. Be thorough. If your hosting room requires it, draw the curtains or otherwise block the windows so that no light can be seen from inside the room.
  3. Enter your hosting room and turn on the light. If the room contains no lamps or overhead lights, use a flashlight, lantern, lit candle, or other portable light source. Candles, although correct in terms of atmosphere, may pose a fire hazard, so proceed with caution.
  4. Place your writing implement and piece of paper in your hosting room.
  5. Leaving the light source on, exit your hosting room. Go to the furthest point in your home from the room and call, “I’ll be ready soon!” Move from room to room of your home, repeating this phrase in every room, moving closer to your hosting room with each call.
  6. When you arrive back at your hosting room, use the writing implement to write the following message on the piece of paper: “You are invited! A gathering, hosted by [Your Name]. Takes place from [the current time] to [an hour from the current time]. Bring your friends!”
  7. Place the piece of paper in the middle of the hosting room.
  8. Stand in the doorway of the hosting room facing into the room and call, “I’m ready! Come on in!”

The Gathering:

  1. Turn off the light and turn around. The open door to the hosting room should be at your back; you should be facing the darkness of your home. Take out your three matches.
  2. After a few moments of silence, begin counting out loud, starting at one and ending at 10. Do not look back.
  3. When you reach the count of 10, strike the first match.If the first match lights on the first strike:
    • Hold it as it burns and greet your guests by saying, “I’m so glad to see you! Thank you for coming!” Hold the match until it burns down as low as you can bear.

    If the match does not light on the first strike:

    • Drop it and immediately proceed to the next step.
  4. Do not look back. Strike the second match.
    • If the second match lights on the first strike:Hold it as it burns and greet more of your guests by saying, “I’m so glad to see you! Thank you for coming!” Hold the match until it burns down as low as you can bear.If the second match does not light on the first strike:Drop it and immediately proceed to the next step.
    • Do not look back. Strike the third match.
  5. Do not look back. Strike the third match.

If the third match lights on the first strike:

  • Say, “Now everyone is here!” and count from one to 10 once more. If you have done this correctly, you will be able to hear and/or feel whispering, rustling, or a quiet “thank you” behind you.
  • Do not look back.
  • When your timekeeping device indicates the gathering’s finishing time, say out loud, “Thank you for coming. Goodbye.”
  • Walk to the nearest light source and turn it on. The gathering is over and your guests have gone.

If the third match does not light on the first strike:

  • You have uninvited guests. Do NOT look back. Do NOT turn around. Do NOT pause to close the door. Run as quickly as you can to the nearest light source and turn it on.

Additional Notes:

This game is best played alone. Your guests may not feel welcome if they feel there is already a crowd present.

Once the gathering has begun, do NOT, at any point, turn around or look behind you.

Concerning Uninvited Guests:

Although turning on the nearest light source will end the gathering, do NOT assume that your guests have gone. It is recommended that you perform a purifying or cleansing ritual — as well as that you avoid dark rooms in your home from then on.

The Hosting Game: FAQ.

***

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. “perform a purifying or cleansing ritual — as well as that you avoid dark rooms in your home from then on” Are you telling me that if I end up with uninvited guests and perform the cleansing ritual, that there’s a chance that I would not be able to get these entities out of my home? And what would I do when night time comes around? Keep all the lights in my house on all night so there wouldn’t be darkness? Nope. Definitely not playing this. EVER.

    Reply

    • I would, but not in my house. I would play at someone else’s house lol. But I’m glad there are no bodily fluids involved lol and I don’t know but I don’t think that ghosts are real. ?

      Reply

    • dude I completely agree with you on that one, I thought this would be fun but the risk for reward is way too high on the risk side. I’m never playing this.

      Reply

    • I played it and omfg I can’t even sleep anymore
      I always feel like someone is behind me and I always turn around to look and nothing is there but one time when I did I had a door swing open and hit me and when I fell to the floor there was this figure on the ceiling it turned its heading to look at me. I closed my eyes and when I opened them the figure was right beside me. I passed out off fear. when I woke up the next day there were scratch marks on my wall and my neck

      Reply

  2. Should I use my full name, not using my real name for the example (e.g. Evangelina Marjorie Parker Smith) or just your first name or nickname ( e.g. Evangelina, or Eva)

    Reply

    • Why would you question yourself something like that? 😛 like… summoning isn’t required tho . you know?

      Reply

      • Because some of us are thrill seekers… I’ve played the midnight game, one man hide and seek, the three kings ritual, the dry bones ritual, and now the hosting game, these are all equally terrifying games… although in my opinion one man hide and seek is the worst cause a possessed doll is walking around your house… DON’T PLAY THESE GAMES

        Reply

    • Thrill-seekers, I suppose…

      But I advise not to play ANY of these games regardless of its difficulty, whether or not you are a thrill-seeker…

      I just treat these articles as educational for me and no I will never play them… EVER.

      Reply

  9. This would be so fun. I’m just saying that this doesn’t sound as dangerous as the other rituals, but I’m almost never home alone and my mom would kill me.

    Reply

  10. Will the presence of spirits in the house/room you are using to host the party at prior to going through The Invitation affect the success of this ritual?

    Reply

    • First thing, you have to remove everything in the room where you want to host. Bathrooms would be hard to remove stuff.
      Walk in closets? That’s a very small place for your hosting room. Your closet might be on fire.
      Garages are ok, if you are able to cover up all lights.

      Reply

    • After the point you say “Thank you for coming”.

      But if you have UNINVITED guests, do as the article say: perform a cleansing or purifying ritual.

      Reply

  17. I told my friend to play this tonight and she is nervous beyond belief but she will FaceTime me so I can sort of be there with her and to see if she is doing everything correctly

    Reply

  18. She thinks that some paranormal entity will stay on her house but she’s used to hauntings so she would just bless the house

    Reply

  21. Tnis seems pretty harmless. But what do I do after I invited them and they came? Do I talk to them? Are we interacting? Or am I just listening to their whispers?

    Reply

  22. I’M SO GLAD YOU’RE HERE!!! ? nope! I’d be mad if it gets screwed up and I can never turn my lights off??? I pay light bill!

    Reply

  23. As far as I can understand, matches that don’t light are means for an uninvited guest so, why does it matter if the third one doesn’t light? I’m only asking because it confuses me. I know it isn’t rocket science or anything, but still. If your matches light, you’re okay. If the matches don’t light, you’re pretty much a ghost’s pet, right? Either way, if the first one doesn’t match, it is an uninvited guest. If it lights you’re okay. Same with the 2nd and 3rd match, correct? So why is the third match a big deal?

    Reply

    • From what I understand, the first and second matches are for the invited guests (not uninvited). If the first and second matches doesn’t light up, it means your guests doesn’t want to come, it’s not uninvited guest.

      But the third match is for starting the party, not for the guests, hence “now everyone is here!”. If the third match doesn’t light up, it means there’s an uninvited guest.

      Reply

    • Ok so, from what I read, if the first one doesn’t light, it is an uninvited guest, same with the second, but if the 3rd match doesn’t light, then ALL of them are uninvited, and you need to end the game as soon as possible. Really, if you have 1 uninvited guest I would end the game….But ya know some people won’t.

      Reply

  27. I feel like you would first practice lighting matches with your hand so nothing bad would occur if you just don’t know how to light a match lol

    Reply

    • Yes. And No, I’ve played all lot of the horror games and from what I’ve seen they are all different entities, I think there is a very slim chance that the midnight man may attend the party but when I played it I couldn’t tell the difference considering the midnight man doesn’t usually leave you alone even after you end the game so…

      Reply

  30. Why don’t my guests want me to look at them? I mean, I invited them to a gathering, they accepted my invitation, they seem to be having a good time, why can’t I speak with them? Also, while I’m waiting for the gathering to be over, can I go on my phone or read a book until it ends, so long as I remain standing outside the hosting room door?

    Reply

  31. Yh I tried it and then the place started to feel really cold and one of my China plates got knocked off
    talking about disrespectful

    Reply

  32. Me ,my Twin, and little sister are all gonna do this tonight!! Though my mom, little brother, and older borther are in the house, so it may not work. Also we have a dog so hopefully no one gets hurt..

    Reply

  33. I ended up playing this game very recently, but I didn’t play it in my home for obvious reasons. Instead, I played it in a shed we have in the back of my house with three rooms, on of the rooms that my friends and I often use as a clubhouse. (The shed was a home at one point so it’s put together like a house would be.)

    Reply

    • We followed the directions and nothing happened the first time. I think it was because one of my friends has their phone and kept checking the time. So after we properly ended the party we tried again. Unlike the first time we played, where all the matches lit up, the second one didn’t- but the the first and third did. I wasn’t sure if we should have ended the party when only one didn’t light. So we kept waiting.

      Reply

  34. I would’ve liked to try it, but 1. I can’t read Analog watches and 2. I don’t think I can wait an hour without being bored

    Reply

  40. What if i accidentally started a fire and burned the room? Should i still continue? Or woud the spirits flee?
    And would they mind me calling the fire dept.?
    Lastly, won’t I put the entire fire dept. at risk by not completing the ritual?

    Reply

  41. Can I talk to them? I’m definitely going to try this if I could strike up a conversation with my guests 🙂

    Reply

  42. wait M.K. what happens if you look at a mirror in front of you to see what’s behind you – what would you see?

    Reply

  43. For anyone who is worried about striking the matches/having them light on the first attempt, buy either Strike Anywhere matches or Ohio Blue Tips. Those brands of matches are almost guaranteed to light on the first attempt.

    Reply

  44. So, my friends and I played the game together in my home. Just before we finished the invitation I somehow pricked my finger on something in the carpeting. Later on in the game my friend started feeling sharp pain in her hand, the same hand as mine. Shortly after that, when I was shifting, I almost looked behind me when her phone randomly made the strangest noise. All of her volume meters were muted, so we took it as a warning. Near the end we decided to break the rule and turn around/look behind us when we heard a whisper that kinda sounded like ‘do not.’ Geez, I’m probably gonna play it again though xD

    Reply

  45. Guys, so many of you are saying you played it with your friends. Your guests won’t come unless you play the game alone! Read the instructions carefully!! Seesh!

    Reply

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