Previously: Daruma-san, or The Bath Game.
Like so many of the games and rituals we’ve looked at here in The Most Dangerous Games, the Dark Reflection Ritual relies heavily on the use of mirrors. But according to its lore, bad luck doesn’t follow the person who breaks a mirror; rather, the negative energy stays focused in the area in which the mirror was broken, gradually dissipating over time.
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Of course, the rules change if you break a mirror specifically for the purposes of performing this ritual — that’s when misfortune will start following you around. But if you manage to survive a night of the worst luck you can imagine, there’s gold to be found on the other side, a reversal of luck so dramatic that those who have completed it successfully claim it’s well worth the risk.
Me… I’m not so sure.
As always, play at your own risk.
Players:
- At least one principal. A group is suggested.
Requirements:
- A mirror. It may be of any type or shape; its only necessary quality is that it be a mirror you are willing to break.
- A candle.
- Matches or a lighter.
Instructions:
Act I:
- Begin after sunset, but no less than six hours until dawn.
- Take up your mirror and look your reflection in the eye for three to five seconds, focusing your attention on the negative energy held within the mirror. Then hold the glass up to your face and anoint it with your breath — that is, breathe onto it such that that the mirror fogs up.
- Repeat this step for as many players as there are in the group, with each player performing the step in its entirety once.
- After all players have successfully anointed the mirror with their breath, light the candle with your matches or lighter and hold it to the mirror’s surface. Once the candle has blackened a small portion of the glass, remove the candle and extinguish it.
- Break the mirror, releasing the negative energy.
- Leave the pieces of broken mirror where they are and evacuate the area immediately.
Act II:
- Bad luck will proceed to follow you throughout the night. Incidents will likely begin small, but will grow in severity as the evening wears on. Your survival is dependent on your state of alertness; there are no rules to follow or actions to perform that will guarantee your safety. The only pieces of advice which may be given are the following:
- Stay vigilant;
- And should you find yourself in a particularly threatening situation, hold your breath for as long as you can.
Act III:
- Should you survive the night unscathed, your luck will perform an abrupt about-face with the arrival of the first light of dawn: Your bad luck will end, and a streak of good fortune will begin. People will be nicer to you; success will come easily; and if you are the gambling type, it is recommended that you buy a lottery ticket.
Additional Notes:
- Although the only necessary quality for the mirror to possess is that it be one that you are willing to break, other qualities may also be worth considering. For example:
- How old is the mirror? Both the risk and the reward of this ritual depend on how old the mirror is. An older mirror which has seen many gazes will hold more negative energy; accordingly, the strength and duration of your good luck during and after Act III will be greater. However, the danger during Act II will be greater, as well. Proceed with caution.
- Do you have a personal connection to it? A mirror which has a personal connection to you — one into you which you have looked frequently prior to the commencement of the ritual, like one from your bedroom or bathroom — will tailor your good fortune to your likes, dislikes, and desires.
- There is no specific location in which this ritual is best performed; however, it is NOT recommended that it be conducted at your place of residence. It is much easier to run from negative energy if you haven’t gone and released it within the walls of your own home.
- Although this ritual may be performed by only one principal, it is best conducted by a group. The reason for this recommendation goes back to the idea of there being strength in numbers: If only one player performs the ritual, the negative energy released during Act I will have only one person to follow. The more players there are, the thinner the negative energy will have to spread itself as it tracks you down.
- Anointing the mirror with your breath in Act I connects the negative energy within the mirror to you. Holding your breath in the face of the bad luck following you during Act II will not prevent it from reaching you entirely, but it will buy you a few moments to get out of a dangerous situation if needed.
- You MUST begin the ritual during the window of time indicated in the instructions. Beginning too close to dawn will not allow the negative energy brought forth from the mirror to fully manifest before the light of the sun purifies it; and more dangerously, beginning during the day allows the negative energy released by the ritual more time to dog your steps. It is not the light of day that will purify the energy — it is specifically the light of dawn.
A Final Note:
There is no way to halt this ritual once it has begun. Do NOT begin it unless you plan on finishing it.
The Dark Reflection Ritual: FAQ.
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I wonder if I could convince my friends to play this with me… I need good luck.
looks like I’m going to try this ritual, if it works wish me luck.
What about mirrors already mounted in the wall that you can’t hold up to your face? Then you just go really near to the mirror right?
Oh, and if one player does not breathe into the mirror? Then the energy won’t follow them, but just follow the other players?
I did this ritual, and something different happened in the process. I was trying to create the black mark on the mirror, when it just immediatly broke in my hands without a black mark on it. Does this ritual still work the same? Does this mean anything went wrong with the negative energy?
The bad luck had already begun, so you’re doomed. RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!!!!!!
Is it okay to fall asleep during the ritual?
Probably not — it’s not really recommended that you fall asleep during any of these games, unless it’s explicitly in the instructions. In this case… well, let’s just say you can’t outrun bad luck if you’re asleep.
Someone on reddit who did this, said they went to sleep and just had horrific nightmares
Hi Lucia, could you do the Baby Blue, or Spirit of the Glass, or Maiden’s Gamble? Also, could you please remove the ghostly photos on your articles? They scare me.
It says don’t start this ritual unless you can finish it. . . It doesn’t say, if you happen to get tired take a nap and continue it when you wake up finishing your coffee and breakfast… lol
I need to get my friends to do this with me. Seriously, I’ve got the worst luck.
I do, too have bad luck all the time, but I just resist it. Because I believe that someday, somehow, I will have good luck.
Seriously, don’t do this ritual. It may cost you your life or soul, and it’s better to resist and have hope.
But if I cannot convince you, and you die,
I am not liable for that.
Thanks for comment!
I could totally get a group of friends together to do this tbh….
if you had a group of about… 50 people (i know, kind of unrealistic) would every player get a smaller/minimal amount of bad luck?
That is what is said in the instructions.
Low risk, low reward. That means the bad luck wouldn’t be greater, and the good luck wouldn’t be greater too.
Yes. The bad luck will divide until it’s fifty pieces, but it will be smaller. The good luck will be smaller too.
Can we break the mirror with a hammer ?
Anything that can break a mirror.
It doesn’t matter how many people you have, the bad luck wont be any better. It just makes the bad luck harder to chase you. If it caught up it would be just as bad as it would be if you were alone
What happens if you do nothing the whole night will you will or will something catch you?
It’s bad luck, you know. It can stalk you. Bad luck is an abstract creature, you cannot see or touch it. Hope you don’t die!
Can the bad luck affect people you care about/are around? For example, could a family member or friend get injured as the bad luck? Or could someone unrelated have a car crash in front of your house or such?
no it only affects the people who participated in the ritual
After i break the mirror do i just have to evacuate that room or my whole house?
can you have just have a group of people that are not playing safeguard you?
No, they have nothing to do with the ritual and may as well be invisible.
This one is tempting actually. Could I break this mirror, then stay all night in my room reading a book/ Netflix? Not much bad things can happen if I just stay on my bed… right?
You would be surprised how easily bad things occur…I don’t think doing nothing with affect it as greatly as you think.
There are a lot of things that can happen in your bed but can someone please tell me what happens if you do this outside. Or can you do this outside your home then go to your home. Also what happens if you just stay put in the place you break the mirror.
I think the point is to run from the place you break the mirror (which has most negative energy) and staying there might mean the negative energy just consumes you. If that happens you most likely won’t get ahy luck from that.
if i want to can i just do it on my balcony and then get in my house and stay inside and awake?
I like exhaling onto mirrors if only to see it take form and blur the surface, then wipe it off and do that again…
Foes that mean tge negative energy is connected to me now? I should stop doing it just in case… but it was fun…
Ik. I fog the mirror up then draw a smiley face on it for fun.
He he he he he!! Your comment made me super happy and made me laugh! Give yourself a pat on the back!!!! You are the first human ever that has made some other human laugh or at least chuckle on something both super serious and super scary!!
If it does not recommend to do this in your house, where do you recommend doing this? And do you have to stay in that building/area?
No, the point is to run from the negative energy, which will be most concentrated at the point where the the mirror is broken.
I accidentally forgot to breathe on the mirror then, went back to the broken mirror and correctly did the ritual over. Is that the same? Did I do something horribly wrong?
So i was wondering if your able to leave your house during the main event(Act II), that’s all and thank you for your time
Well I think that it is possible. I mean I know that it is possible. Because you should NOT do it in your home. EVER! That is almost exactly what it says.
So yeah….
I have a question: Can you use more than one mirror in this ritual to make the game more dangerous and the award bigger?
Nope, just older mirror. Trying to do it 2x idk but I was told not to if you did it once but as Lucia says…..
PLAY AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Welp. I know what I’m doing tomorrow.