Previously: The Staircase Ritual.
The Japanese ritual game Daruma-san, also known as The Bath Game, is probably best described as a deadly version of Red Light, Green Light. After the initial summoning ritual has been performed, it follows the basic rules of a Japanese children’s game called Darumasan ga Koronda — literally, “The Daruma doll fell down.” The player is “it,” while Daruma-san attempts to catch “it.” But if Daruma-san catches you… well, let’s just say you should never, EVER let that happen.
Curiously, Daruma or Dharma dolls are traditionally symbols of good luck. The Daruma-san of this game, however, seems not to carry the same good luck as her namesake—and neither, should she catch you, will you.
[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:
- A bathroom with a bathtub.
NOTE: A standing shower may NOT be substituted. You MUST use a bathtub.
Instructions:
The Prelude:
- Begin at night, just before you got to bed.
- Shed your clothing and enter the bathroom. Fill the bathtub with water and turn out the lights.
- Climb into the tub and sit down facing the faucet and taps. Close your eyes and begin washing your hair.
- As you wash your hair, repeat the words “Daruma-san fell down. Daruma-san fell down.” Do not stop repeating them until you have finished washing your hair. Do not open your eyes.
- If you have performed this action correctly, you will gain a mental image of a Japanese woman standing in a bathtub. She will slip and fall, landing face first on a rusty tap and gouging her right eye out.
- Should you hear any noise behind you or feel movement in the tub, do NOT turn around and do NOT open your eyes. Ask aloud, ‘Why did you fall in the bathtub?”
- Allow the question to hang in the air. Then, keeping your eyes shut, carefully stand up and get out of the tub. Do not trip and fall yourself, and do not drain the tub. Exit the bathroom, shutting the door behind you.
- You may now open your eyes. Leave the bathroom as you left it — water in the tub, door shut — until morning. Do not turn on any lights.
- Go to sleep.
The Main Event:
- Awaken at your usual time. The game begins the moment you open your eyes.
- Go about your day as normal. You will feel a constant presence behind you; it is likely that, should you turn to look, you will see nothing. However, glancing over your right shoulder may occasionally reveal a glimpse of her. Her hair will be black and tangled, and she will have only one eye.
- She will attempt to get closer and closer to you as the day goes on. Should you spot her and find that she is too close for comfort, shout “Tomare!” — that is, “Stop!” — and run away. The idea is to put some distance between you and her; do NOT allow her to catch you.
The Ending:
- Capture her in your gaze by looking over your right shoulder.
- Shout “Kitta!” — that is, “I cut you loose!” — while swinging your arm down in a chopping motion. If you have performed this action correctly, a winning condition will have been achieved and the game will be over.
- If you have NOT performed this action correctly… run.
Additional Notes:
She is fond of water and dark spaces; as such, it is recommended that you avoid immersing yourself in or crossing running water, as well as traversing dark spaces, until the conclusion of the game.
Use the “Tomare!” command sparingly. Each time you use it, the amount of time for which it will stall her will diminish. Use it only when absolutely necessary.
The ending MUST be performed before midnight. Failing to do so will grant her permission to enter your dreams. Do NOT allow her to do this. Additionally, performing the ending is not as easy as it seems. If she suspects you are about to try to end the game, she may hide. You MUST have her in your sights when you perform the “Kitta!” command.
Concerning Second Attempts:
It is NOT recommended that you play this game more than once. Should you play it a second time, she will begin in the same position she was in at the conclusion of the previous game. This will not provide adequate distance to escape her.
Do NOT let her catch you.
***
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!
What happens if you fail to end the game before midnight?
How important is the pronunciation of Kitta? English speakers speak slightly differently, but does the specific pronunciation of the hiragana/katakana matter?
OMG GUYS DONT PLAY THIS!! IM BEGGING YOU!!!
I played this a week ago and man it was so creepy. when I got out of the tub, I accidently opened my eyes. but in the mirror, my right eye was black. my mum saw me and did not notice anything. when I woke up, I was so scared, I thought it did not work as my eyes were opened, but it did. just in case, I yelled tomare like a million times that day. then I was busy and completely forgot about it. I felt someone grabbing my hair and my eyes were itchy. I passed out and dreamt an ugly woman with one eye. I woke up in sick bay at school. since then, my pupils in my right eye are bigger and very black.
I once tried this game and it actualy worked!! but the next day I did not feel anyone follow me.
What if you play it and other people live/sleep with you? Wool they be affected in any way? I want to try this so bad but i don’t want to put anyone else in involuntary potential danger
come and play my game its to die for and ill scratch scratch scratch
Played it a couple weeks ago and my sister would always ask me why I was always looking behind me. Didn’t want to tell anyone I did it cause I was home alone and I’m only 14. When I played it I didn’t know what to do so as soon as I exited the bathroom I ran to my room and hid under the blanket until I fell asleep. Woke up completely terrified.
If I have a bathtub and a shower in one can I still play it?
Yes. Just use the shower to fill the bath tub and turn off the shower and do all the steps correctly and Druma-San will come to you.
I’ll tell you from experience DON’T DO IT!
I did the ritual almost two years ago but I messed it up accidentally so I though nothing was going to happen. And nothing did, until I want to sleep that night. I woke up suddenly at about 4am and when I look right in front of my bed I see a woman standing in front of me. Now I don’t have the image of how she looked, but it took me months to finally forget it. She was pale and her face and hair was all messed up. She had black hair pale skin and a white dress. after ten seconds she vanished and I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to move because I could feel that she was close waiting for me. After about two hours I was finally able to sleep, but since then, even after two years I am still scared when I go to sleep and every time I have a bath I think of her.
Thank God I have a shower and no tub whatsoever…
Still kinda freaked that I saw the words in the first place. I hope that doesn’t count!
do you shout kitta or do you just sit there????
what happens if you fall asleep or you are in school taking a test????
Karera no tamashī wa ima watashi no monodesu. Tsugi wa dareda?
(Their souls are mine now. Who’s next?)
What the heck? Daruma-San, this is no joke, those souls could of free you from the in between of life and afterlife! I would help you! Just give me time!
Heya, people. So this girl Daruma-san is a Japanese entity. I felt like it was kind of strange to summon her in English. I did some digging and found what you would say to her if speaking in her language:
”Daruma has fallen”＝”Daruma-san ga koronda.”
Still bad at kanji so I translated the next part myself (sorry):
“Why did you fall?” = “Nande anata wa koronda?”
(or in a more respectful tone):
“Doushite anata wa korobimashita ka?”
I don’t want to show off or anything, I just wonder if it would be more proper and more respectful to Daruma-san if you were to speak to her in her native language. Stay safe, everyone!
So will it work if my bathtub is a mix of a shower and bathtub?
What if you mispronounce one of the words?
Then it won’t work.
What happens if you do open your eyes? Btw, RIP to the three that died.
Warning humans please do not play this ritual as this will cause you to be possessed by demons and it will open the gates of hell , I know because I know
Okay I’m gonna be honest. Playing this game wasn’t the best idea, but I did it anyway. I had a TON of close calls but she never caught me. I ended the game as soon as I saw her before I went home and ever since then, I could tell if someone else was playing or had played the game. It’s freaky.
I played this a while ago and forgot about it without ending it. Obviously I have not been killed but I remembered the game because I had a dream of a demonic woman who followed me everywhere I went until I went to my mother and my mother banished her.
I’m NEVER trying this, it’s too scary
Y’all guess what, half the people who did this probably just didn’t want to come back to make it seem as they died, or they really did die, anyways, r.i.p if they really did die, also, if ye do this, just know that if you have anxiety, you’ll most likely have an anxiety attack, so don’t play if you do have anxiety, also, master the end command so ye don’t fail the game. Yours truly, A Person from earth
Me too!
So what happens when she catches you? Do you get tortured until you die or does she make it a living hell?
She probably just kills you.
I’m scared but this is too tempting to not try. I guess I’ll just hope for the best…
If she catches you do you die?
yes
Ok so, to everyone who might have died, I’m sorry. But, allow me to say one thing to those who want to attempt this, Spirits are always nearby, most actually protect some. But, doing this ritual could anger them, causing them to not protect you. Those spirit radars and games anger them as well, and I wouldn’t recommend this ritual, some may ask why and how I know this, well, sometimes here and there, I can see figures of animals and humans, like a lot of people, now, please, don’t do this ritual unless you’re prepared. And again, may I say. Rest in peace those who attempted this and didn’t make it.
Can’t help but think there are a ton of simmilarities with this game and the “Playable Teaser” game P.T. aka Silent Hills.
So “Lisa” was inspired by Daruma-san (Ms. Dharma). Has her eye gauged out and everything. She follows/posseses you, and if you turn around and look, you die. The game ends when there are 3 laughters triggered, but the the second is hard to trigger, as people were saying you have to say a word or name or phrase. The assumed trigger word is “Jareth”, but now I am wondering if it is actually “Tomare!” I’ll have to re-play the game I guess to find out ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
Or is my theory just coincidence
Holy shit, I got hella scared just by reading this.
If you want to play this game, do it right.
I didn’t leave the water in the tub for the night and I turned the light by mistake. Do you think it will work?
So I did this ritual, the only thing that happened, was the night before, I felt the remote falling off my lap as I was watching a show to fall asleep, and I went to grab it, and noticed my remote wasnt on my lap. Other than that and not being able to sleep, nothing happened, very disappointed.
Do you have to do it alone for can someone be inside the bathroom or the tub with you? Will it just not work or will she target both or just one? What if you do the ritual correctly and you go to school the next morning and you have to sit down in one area for over an hour each class, will she still be trying to get close? What if you cant leave the area you are in after saying “Tomare” will she just attack you or stay still for awhile?
I’m so grateful that I don’t have a bathtub cause this game is really tempting and truth to be told a part of me is also very scared.
What will happen if I accidentally think of her name in my head without saying it out loud while I’m washing my hair in a shower? You know, it was a random thought and now I’m panicking.
Okay. So I played this game last night and I haven’t ended it yet. I can constantly feel her in the room with me. I didn’t go to bed right after and I started seeing her the night of. I hear breathing and water dripping and it’s only 9:30 am the next day. This game is super freaky and I don’t know how soon I will be able to end it. I would recommend playing this game but only if you are comfortable with the actual supernatural. If you think you have seen ghost before or you are ill prepared, don’t try this.
I just searched “Daruma-san” in Google because I kept having this dream when a man cried this name and I didn’t know what it meant. I never played this but holy fuck now I’m horrified
Hey guys I’m in my bathtub as I speak. If I do not live to tell what happened don’t worry. I’m katelyn coplen so here goes nothing. And btw IM GONNA DRAIN THE TUB AFTER YOLO
How do you pronounce tomare?
Is it toe-ma-ree? Too-may-ray?
toe-mah-ray
Do you go to bed with the shampoo in your hair? I wouldn’t be able to do this game because I’d have to rinse the shampoo out then put in three minute miracle conditioner in my hair to make it soft.
Interesting, thrillin’, scary, fascinating,
brilliant, terrible,
haunting. It’s like I love it, but I hate it at the same time.
I have tried the game. And honestly, PLS DO NOT TRY IT. It is fking scary to always feel a presence following behind you. And there are times when I want to really end the game because of the horror, but she hides away from you and gets closer everytime you fail to stop her. I escaped just when she was 2 feet away from me and it is hell scary. PLS PLS PLS PEOPLE DO NOT TRY THIS GAME. I swear on my life, you will not find the thrill to be satisfying at all. Now I am still damn paranoid and it left me with a permanent scar…. DO NOT TRY IT!
I am going to try to do the game and break the rules, I will tell you guys tomorrow
If I survive
I guess it is left up to me to do this and then report back.
The other night I had a nightmare and when I woke up I had the name in my head. Do you think that means anything? I do not plan to play any of these games but I thought it was just creepy.
What happens if she catches you?
You freaking summoned her just to ignore her all day and shout every time she gets near.
She is obviously pissed at you so don’t expect anything good to happen.
My friend played this game and she died. PLEASE DON’T DO THIS.
Wait, how’d she die?
you will be killed
Do you have keep the water in the tub?
I don’t know if this stuff is real or not but I am going to do what anyone who is not sure and do it hope I don’t die wish me luck
Good luck.
dude are you dead??
please answer
three people have possibly died because of this game
Instructions unclear, accidentally got my face stuck in a blender and my hand in a lawn mower…
In all seriousness, I tried it and it didn’t work??♂️
I tried the game, I ended correctly but I can still see her when I look over my right shoulder, what if there is no end?
I didn’t directly try it but I thought the words out in my head while I was in the bath washing my hair and I saw a thin women with blood running down her face running after me. so yeah I didn’t get what I thought was gonna happen but if scared me just as bad.
Does that mean you need to be careful to not even think the words while washing your hair? Lol if so then reading this was probably the worst decision of my life.
it’s probably best not to play. O_O
Right.
Everybody, i will try the game tonight! I swear to god i`m going to be carefull on doing every step right and also coming back tomorow or in two days (depends if the ritual worked on not) to tell you if this is a true paranormal game or just a legend that is fake.
it’s been 2 weeks since frédérick wrote this… rest in peace man.
Oh great firts Tyler and now Frédérick? No way I’m never gonna play that game?
Megan too
Damn I don’t have a bath tub
Just wanna say, R.I.P. TYLER SUMNER since no one has heard from him/her in over a year due to this game.
Use these words while you wash your hair instead:
Tyler Sumner turned on the light, Tyler Sumner turned on the light, etc.
Then, when the ghost gets in the bath with you, say Tyler, why did you not follow the directions?
Report your results.
I wonder if there is anyway to summon her then release her from the ritual so she can find peace elsewhere
that’s very kind! although i’m not sure you would be able to do that. you could always research it, just don’t put your safety on the line to free Daruma-san, although that’s very considerate.
I’m just gonna say, I’d try to hug the spirit if there weren’t any consequences. Like a “Feel no more pain” kinda thing.
Jesus I just read the replies TYLER SUMNER is probably dead, forgot the name of the website, didn’t wanna talk, or just forgot
RIP TYLER SUMNER thanks to this game…
RIP TYLER SUMNER. DID YOU DIE? IF YES, WE WILL MISS U.
wait…
did they really die..?
What if your bathtub is NOT in a bathroom. My bathtub is in a basement SEPARATE from my bathroom. Does that matter?
I don’t think so, what’s important is going into the bathtub
Oh god, never do a ghost ritual in a BASEMENT. Have you not seen horror movies?
why can’t you just wake up the next morning and do the kitta command then?
What NICK says. Plus, its like telling someone to get out after you invited them
Because you need to see her from your right shoulder first before doing the command. If she sees you then she’ll know what your doing and hide. If she hides and you can’t see her then you don’t be able to capture her and she will have access to your dreams.
Will a combination bath/shower work? It has both the tub faucet and the shower faucet and it has tub walls.
yes
so many questions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What will she make you dream about if you don’t end the game by midnight! Is there a way to stop the dreams? What happens if she catches you? What happens if you go into water or in a dark space? Who makes the water move in the bathtub? If its her then why is she in the bath tub with you? What will happen if you mess up the Kitta thing, what will she do to you if you don’t run? What will happen if you chicken out halfway through washing your hair? What happens if you open your eyes to the moving water? What will you see if you open your eyes? What will happen if when you are leaving the bathroom you look back. What will happen if you forget to close the door when you are leaving the tub??????????????????????? THE QUESTIONS NEVER END!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“What happens if you fail/mess up the ritual?” As the creator of this website has said many times, at best if you mess it up the ritual simply won’t work. At worst, something dire/fatal will happen. There are no answers as to what specifically will happen. The unknown is much more frightening than knowing what sort of evils to expect.
So, if i accidently just say her name while washing my hair just taking a simple shower I will not start the game? Lol I am shaking.. I wish I did not have a bathtub to be honest..
More like what if you break all the rules ^•^
Why did daruma san fall down though?
Can you tell people you’re playing the game while you’re playing it, or will this just piss her off?
I’ve read posts where people have told others but she didn’t react. It’s probably okay to try, but it’s unknown how her reaction will be.
Will any electronic devices such as a camera to record affect the game? I kind of want to make a video on this if I try it, yet I don’t want to make it a worse experience than it has to be.
It sounds so interesting. Is there any Japanese movie about this?
https://youtu.be/dv3sFuttV2s?list=PL_I_xW06YeiTJ6FVRndvhh-edHogakANI (Somewhat accurate, but not Japanese though)
https://youtu.be/ZYxEbPzAs0U It’s in gacha life tho
Will you die if she catches you? ?
Yes…you will die an honorable death of trying ._.
If you don’t cut her loose and she does follow you into your dreams, Is there any way to stop her then?
No
What if you don’t sleep?
I played https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M1iNMBqlJA&t=0ss
Hey I watched your video and wanted to know what eventually happened after doing the game. Did u end up doing it over again ?
Be really careful… We don’t know what she’s capable of…
If she catches you she will always follow you this game is too scary for me and I’m happy i don’t have a bath tub?
I will try this, I will do exactly as it says and fill you up on what happened, I promise to respond.
Ok… don’t die
Me too!
TYLER SUMNER Failed to finish the game. probably she died.
really?
Probably. Or, she / he just don’t want to type it.
Sometimes people do things they are not soposed to and live, but they would be in such a shock that they wont type it.
I will try and find out if she is alive. I will type it in if Tyler summer is alive.
could you find anything?
What happens when she catches you?
verrai ucciso.
What happens if you talk bad about the ghost during the game? Will this anger her?
Yes
Probably.
does this game work in japan only?
i was looking for the “daruma-san has fallen from” ”神さま の 言うとおり” but this is cool too. I’m not gonna play it, but it’s cool. I wanna know how you back out of something like this though. What happens if I DO turn on the lights? will she kill me? or will the game not start the next morning?
Wondering the same thing, if things go well, I’ll try a second time and turn them on, if I live I’ll tell ya what happens
Are you still there?
It’s been over a year so I’ll hazard a guess it doesn’t work out too well…
Did he not live to tell the tale?
tyler??
are you okay??
it has been two years man…
It’s been about 3 years.. I think that something went wrong. I mean there is probably a reason why the writer said “do NOT turn on the lights.” This is making me feel sick >~<
it’s been three and a half year, it probably didn’t turn out so well damn
il gioco non inizierà se accendi le luci, ma c’è probabilità che ti uccida. non ti consiglio di accenderle
The game will not start the next morning as you did not follow the rules.
What I wanna know is what happens if you open your eyes at any point of time that it says NOT to open your eyes????
Wow who have played this game??. So interesting. Not that i believe it.it sound fun though. Sadly can’t play it dont have a bathtub T^T
Hey guys you should check out the youtuber
ImJayStation
Because he played it you really should check
I watched it before, that is how I found this page.
Or Brittyy44
sorry right but jaystation is a big hoax and so is most of his content XD
Oof
I’ve played it’s terrifying. Like, she’s scary, man.
can you tell us what happened?
So how do you dry/dress yourself after the bath? It states that you should go to bed and implies that you go to sleep directly. I can’t sleep dripping wet and without clothes! I’ll freeze!
close the windows, turn off your fan before start the game, have another bed sheet to change at the next day
I am too scared to tell anybody to play this!!!
In the morning , do you drain the water or leave it like that for the day?
you can drain it in the morning.
I would not do it since she is fond of water, and may catch you as you drain the water.
As soon as you wake up in the morning at your normal time drain the water. 😑
you drain it in the morning
Yea this game isn’t no joke ಠ_ಠ. Absolutely terrifying….. totally doing it again!!
Oh hell nah! Are you crazy!?
What happens if she catches you!?!?!??!
You die 😐
you will see her in your nightmares for as long as you live :D….
Don’t play it then
When it says that the game starts when you open your eyes, I be like: “Why not keep your eyes closed forever and have somebody guide you around for the rest of your life and never open your eyes again????”
Same I did that last night, I’ll never do it again!!!!!
yep me too. I tried two times with my friends then my friends are gone D:
Did your friends die or what???
I’m curious~~~
Wait did you do daruma San?!
Get yourself a towel and dry off before exiting the bathroom
I am too scared to do this.
I’m scared just reading it
Me too.
Me too, but it sounds cool.
I’m shaking like CRAZY
I’m alone at home while reading it
And I am glad I don’t have a bathtub bc I’d want to try it but I’m also super scared
Same here.
Exactly.
Boi, every time I wash my hair now, I make sure that I never close my eyes or think of saying this
Same
Sleep in a towel with your blankets on top.
DUDE I JUST READED THIS AND I’M SO SCARED THAT EVEN JUST READING IT WILL START THE GAME!!!!!!!!!
It won’t. You have to follow the instructions exactly in order for the game to initiate; that’s how most of the dangerous games work. The only game I know of that initiates by reading it is the Little Finger Game.
So if I accidently think about the meaning of her and such while washing my hair or sum, nothing will happen?Literally shaking because I accidently thought of her one time or ttwo idk..
True facts bro 😬
Yea
I lost my friends when playing this game.
dude… can you tell us what happened if you can? I mean, it’s not necessary but I’d like to hear some paranormal stuff from other people.
sorry for your loss.
Just put on a blanket
I agree
Do you turn the water in the tub off?
No, it tells you to leave the bathroom with the door closed and the water in the tub.
but wouldn’t the tub overflow?
No you don’t turn the water off.
So how would you dry yourself? Are you supposed to open your eyes to dress yourself? Or just go to bed naked?
It says that you can open your eyes AFTER you exit the bathroom. . .
You can wear the towel to bed under an extra blanket
True, in state of clothes, how do we change in to it, or should we just go to bed and get our beds all wet? or do we just lay there and NOT even go to bed?
I need some answers!!
can you dress yourself? what happens if you break the rules?
I played it already and it was pretty fun but I’ll do it again and not follow the rules.
SAVAGE,but dont die~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay so leave a towel at the entrance of your bathroom so when you get out of the bathroom you can dry yourself before going to bed. If you don’t want to go to bed naked you can always have another towel at your bedroom so you can sleep in it. A good tip for surviving is to turn on all lights in your house once you wake up. Stay away from bathrooms or anywhere there is running water. Stay outside for the most of the day so if she is close it is easy to run away from her. Also keep a flashlight close by, she does not like the light very much and tends to be in dark places. When you are ending the game remember to not look her straight in the face, look at her from your right shoulder and do the action that ends the game. Trust me I have played this game four times and have always escaped her without making many mistakes