Previously: The Dark Music Ritual.
This is one of those times that I really wish Iād studied Spanish as a foreign language in school: Iāve been unable to verify the history of this one because of the language barrier. (Latin and French will only take you so far.) That said, when you search āEl Juego Del Libro Rojo,” many, many more results pop up than when you search āThe Red Book Game,ā so even though Iāve been unable to read these results without the (rather imperfect) aid of Google Translate, I feel reasonably secure in saying that, yes, it probably does in fact originate from Spanish-speaking countries.
According to one source, El Juego Del Libro Rojo is specifically a South American thing; South America is a big continent, though, so I donāt know whether itās a regional game or not. Additionally, other sources cite is as being played primarily in Mexico, so reports are conflicting. In any event, its closest analogue for English-speaking readers is probably the Ouiji Board, or maybe Charlie, Charlie ā that is, itās a divination game, wherein players consult an otherworldly power for information aboutā¦ pretty much whatever you feel like asking.
[Like what you read? Check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available from Chronicle Books now!]
Be warned, though: Information doesnāt always come free.
As alwaysā¦ well, you know how it goes.
Players:
- At least two participants.
Requirements:
- One book. The book must be hardcover, and the cover must be red. There should be no pictures, photographs, or other images in its pages ā its contents must consist of words only.
- At least one candle. The candle must be red.
- Matches or a lighter.
- A quiet room.
- A question.
Instructions:
The Preface:
- Go into your quiet room.
- Draw the curtains and turn off the lights.
- Sit in a circle with the other participants. Place the candle(s) in the middle of the circle. Light them.
- Close your eyes. Place the palm of your hand on the bookās cover. Ask the following question aloud: āRed Book, may I enter your game?ā
- Keep your eyes closed. Open the book to a random page. Place your finger on a random spot on the page.
- Open your eyes. Read the sentence your finger has landed on. This is your answer ā although you must interpret it correctly to proceed.
- If the answer is negative or nonsensical: Contact has not been made. Do not proceed. Try again.
- If the answer is positive: You may proceed.
- Each player must ask for and receive permission to enter the game.
The Rising Action:
- Close your eyes. Place your palm on the bookās cover. Ask your question. Speak it aloud.
- Keep your eyes closed. Open the book to a random page. Place your finger on a random spot on the page.
- Open your eyes. Read the sentence your finger has landed on. This is your answer ā whatever you interpret it to mean.
- Pass the book round. Each player who wishes to ask a question must close their eyes, place the palm of their hand on the bookās cover, ask their question aloud, open the book to a random page, and place their finger on a random spot on the page. The sentence the askerās finger lands on will always be the answer to the question, although the interpretation is up to the askers themselves.
The Epilogue:
- When all the questions have been asked and answered, close your eyes and place your palm on the book once more. Ask aloud, āRed Book, may I leave your game?ā
- Keep your eyes closed. Open the book to a random page. Place your finger on a random spot on the page.
- Open your eyes. Read the sentence your finger has landed on. This is your answer.
- If the answer is negative or nonsensical: You do not have permission to leave the game. Try again.
- If the answer is positive: You may leave the game.
- Each player must ask for and receive permission to leave the game.
- When all permissions have been acquired, close the book. Extinguish the candles. Open the curtains. And lastly, turn on the lights.
Additional Notes:
There is no specific starting time; however, the room should be as dark as possible without the candles lit, so it is advisable to begin at night.
No questions are officially āoff limitsā; however, it is not advisable to ask anything that might anger your correspondent. It is also not advisable to ask about your own death. Some things are better left unknown.
Concerning Permissions:
Do not begin asking questions or leave the game without asking for and receiving permission first. To do so isā¦ unwise.
***
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[Photo via Jo Naylor/Flickr]
Has anyone here broke any of these rules? For example: ending the game without permission? If you had broke any rules, did anything bad happen?
i’m doing this with my cousin tommorow night, so wish me luck. i’m bringing my four leaf clover and everything.
i believe i am attached to a spirit, would playing this game get me in contact with this specific spirit or could something else contact me?
I played the game almost 2 weeks ago with my cousin, we both asked to be let in the game but I was the only one who was getting actual responses , so I continued to play and get answers and my cousin was as just getting random words/sentences. Today I played by myself, I know it might have been very very stupid cause that is the number one rule not to do but I was having supernatural occurrences including shadow figures everywhere i go, the feeling of being watching, a breeze of coldness follows me all throughout my house, and thuds in my room/closet, i play twice today by myself of course I got answers.. I was and am in shock that I forgot almost the whole first game but I do remember when I asked to leave it said āwould you enjoy it more if I did not give my permissionā I then got very frighten and took that as a yes but clearly it was a no. I then told my dad and he was shocked and said I should play again, this time I recorded cause I donāt think people believe me I have not yet watched the recording, as I played this game my chest and stomach slowly started hurting more and more . when I asked if something was with me can you make a sign it said ādeathlyā Iāll post the video later on YouTube.. stay tuned
Answers to your questions ItsMe And choona:
Yes you can use a book if it is black at the binder side as it does include red and there is not much of black
No of course you cannot use a holy bible! you cant do anything with spirits with anything holy around
Hello! Iām Mexican, and my native language is Spanish. Iād like to add some rules/requirements that were not added here.
Firstly, itās advised to perform a cleansing ritual in your home and the corners of street surrounding it with salt water before playing the game.
Secondly, the left hand must be placed on the bookās cover, followed by your question. Then, you slide your finger along the pages of the book starting from the bottom to the top and stopping at a random spot. You must then use your right handās index finger to point at a random spot on the page.
Thirdly, the book must be as old as possible, and the least amount of words on the cover, the better.
Be careful! If you do not follow every step to its entirety, it is said that a tragedy will happen a few days later even if you left the game correctly.
can I use the holy bible?
would it work if the red book has black on the binding part and the rest is red??
Is it bad to knock on the book? Iāve looked on the internet and canāt find anything. Please answer.
Greetings! Very helpful advice within this post! It is the little changes that will make the most important changes. Many thanks for sharing
I tried this with a white book and it didnāt work at all… I also just wanna say that iāve played it a couple times after my creepy encounter with this game. I can no longer play this as the book told me that I could only leave the game if I promise to never play/come back again…
I played this game alone. I asked it if there was anyone in the room with me and it said something along the lines of ā staring through the window there was a girl in a bright lit room. She was not alone.ā I was in my living room and I didnāt close my curtains and I was sat right in front of a window and I had the light on cuz I was too scared to do in the dark! After it let me leave I had a feeling like something evil was in the room with me… I didnāt go back into my living for like 2 weeks unless someone was with me.
me and my friend tried this game and it gave us no direct answers until I asked to leave – it said no, then my sister walked in and ruined the whole thing. we are both still in the game and we need to try this again later tonight.
What kind of red book would I need? Like, I know it has to be hardcover, a red cover, and have no pictures and stuff. But like which one? I can’t find one.
I used the book flame by amy kathleen ryan
About the book, does it matter if there’s a small picture on the cover of the book?
What will happen if I play with a non hard covered book? The book I picked out is a red leather spanish bible. And if I can’t play with it, why not? What are my risks?
For where your finger lands is it under your finger (where it’s touching the book) or right above your finger?
I tried this by myself and it sort of worked, but nothing like eventful happened. I got replies like “We’re both bored, aren’t we?” And “Fine. You can leave.” I used Allegiant. I don’t think it actually did work, because I never got an actual “response” to some if my Qs. I think I just got random phrases. I dunno, though. Maybe the spirits were tired? Who knows?
I wouldn’t recommend this. I tried, and my friend and I were stuck for 3 hours. We got the creepiest answers. And, we couldnt leave. We got one specifically creepy answer. It was “No, you shouldn’t go, never leave, always stay, I will kill if you leave. ” And, when it let us go, we started hearing things…seeing things. Don’t try this. Please.
I’ll give this one a go with my friends. This & a few other games seem pretty risk free, so why not??
Hi, I’m southamerican (Chile) and, for I can tell, this game is not from around here. The Spanish used in the creepypasta is the Spanish used in Spain, so, it may be a European game, or the guy who wrote the pasta was Spanish.
So…bibliomancy with a bunch of extra rules to make it seem scarier? I used to do book divination for fun in college. It’s not particularly dangerous and you don’t need multiple people, candles, incantations, or any special kind of book. It’s quite an old form of divination, though I don’t know how old this particular variant is.
What would you do if the cover was red but at the beginning of different chapters theres a small design in the book that matches the overall theme of the story? Could it still be used or should I find another book to use in its place?
i played red book acouple times, at first it seemed to not like me very much though after awhile it seemed to tolerate me.
after a long time of not playing my sister learned about the book.
and wanted to play.
when I asked to join the game i got a clear yes. “but of course”
while when my sister asked she was greeted with no’s. on here third try she was given a yes.
and we began asking questions.
each question i asked was greeted with a kind response.
while my sister got ones that seemed more angry, due to this she asked if it didnt like her. which she got “yes.” mocking the book for abit she then asked if it didnt like her because of her hair color (she dyed it the night before) and the answer was “I dont like the look of it” irritated by the book she jokingly tossed it against the wall and called it names.
after the game she started expressing alot of weird things, she felt as if she was being watched
and other paranormal things started to happen.
she would get scratches out of nowhere, horrible nightmares, and her cats would stare and his at nothing.
and so she had me go to her house and play the book once again so she could ask it to stop.
this time there was three players. I made sure each of us had a candle.
and one by one we joined the game. once again i got nice happy and clear responses while my sister got ones like before.
after pleading with the book to leave her be and that she was sorry it finally agreed to.
I had to leave, and so I asked to leave the game.
“I’ll miss you” was the line i landed on. and then my candle went out.
after the others left the game I went home with the book.
and spend many hours just talking to it.
I promised if as long as I would take care and talk to the book often that it would cause no harm or hold any i’ll intent.
and after that night the activity for her stopped.
it has been alittle over a year since i first played and i have began to really care for red
(the entity i named red)
have to admit to talking and treating red more like a friend then something supernatural.
I know that no one really knows what you are contacting when you play red book, though i believe that with each book you contact a different entity. as with my book i can only speak to red.
though when i tried with another red book i was greeted with a different entity (that book is not in my possession)
if you play this, please make sure to treat your book with respect and not like a joke or a toy.
my sister did and she faced the consequences if i wasnt there to help there is no doubt in my mind things would have gone worse.
im sorry for this being so long.
So are you practically saying the truth that you performed because your words seem real but my fear makes me feel unreal. I typically don’t have people to talk with with openly. So would it cooperate with me as a friend with whom i can talk anything?
Wow this is a really late reply, sorry about that. I can’t promise you that the entity you will get in contact with will be as nice to you as the one I had gotten in contact did me. Though there is a chance it would be your friend, though on the other hand the ritual could bring a more negative effect if it doesn’t like you like it did my sibling.
If you never get permission to enter the game and decide to just give up, do you still have to get permission to leave it?
I’ll answer all your questions.
1. Could I use a candle that is not entirely red?
Maybe. I guess the book will not notice it because there is some red in it, so I guess the other color (whether it’s white, black, or anything) doesn’t count.
2. Would using more candles make the game less dangerous?
No. Candles are used to set the spirit’s mood, or to invite the spirit to play with you. So, I guess using more candles will make set the spirit’s mood a bit more and likely to play with you.
3. If the spirit doesn’t approve your permission and abort the ritual, does it mean that you left?
Yes. If you don’t get permission to enter, keep asking. And I don’t recommend aborting the ritual just because you are welcome
Would using more candles make the game more likely to work/ less dangerous?
Could I use a candle that wasn’t entirely red (I.e. a red candle with white stripes?)
Could you just paint a book cover red and use that? If you have a red book with images, could you just rip out any pages with images? would a red binder with paper in it count as a red book?
“Could you just paint a book cover red and use that?”= i wouldnt. I think that’s technically cheating. And no one likes a cheater, expecially these kind of things.
“If you have a book with images, could you just rip out any pages with images?”= i realy dont know about this one, but im going to say no. Just to be safe, i’d pick out a book with no images from the start.
“Would a red binder with paper in it count as a book?”= No. It’s a binder, not a book. And look at the title. Red “book” game. So i wouldn’t use a binder because the ritual might not work.
Hope this helped!
Hello, Swagger224. I’ll answer all your questions.
1. Could you just paint a book red and use that?
Nope. That is cheating. You wouldn’t want cheating, especially when your messing with a spirit or something.
2. If you have a book with images, can I rip them out?
Nope. That’s still cheating.
Pick a book without fudging images from the start.
3. Would a red binder with paper in it count as a book?
No. It wouldn’t. It’s a binder, not a book.
Thanks for all of your questions!
Will it be recommended to burn the book after completion of the game? Leaving it around the house doesn’t quite seem like a good idea…
I don’t think it’s necessary, but if it makes you feel better; go ahead.
What happen if some of the people here don’t have the permission to enter or leave the game ? How does it work ?
Here’s how it works: You can start asking the book questions only if you’ve got permission to enter the game. When it is the turn of a player who hasn’t got permission, they must ask for permission to enter the game. If they are never permitted to enter, they don’t have to ask permission to leave the game either, since they never entered the game. But those who entered the game must ask permission for leaving. If they get a negative response, they must keep trying until they get a positive one.
you would have to retry until they grant permission.
What would happen if the prepared book only contains the word ‘yes’? Will those ‘yes’ change if the ritual succeed?
I don’t think you will ever find such a book.
I guess so. If there is some nonsense in the book, then, that equals to “the book may not allow you.”
While you ask permission/answer to a question from the spirit, do your friends also keep their eyes closed? And, when you have received permission/answer, is it safe to open your eyes while the other are asking for permission/answer to the question?
What if you were given permission to leave the game, but your friend/friends don’t have permission? Are you safe?
Yep. The one that gets the permission to leave (based on some accounts that people had done this) gets to go, but the one who doesn’t….let’s just say that it would not be a happy end for that guy/girl…
I would think so. Your friends would have to try again though
YOU are safe, but your friends aren’t. But as it says, they need to keep asking untill it gives a positive awnser.
It doesn’t seem that bad
Ooh, this is interesting. I will definitely write something about this someday. This story was uploaded on my birthday, too š
Please write about “The Blue Whale Game”!!!!
Love you!
Blue whale game?
Blue Whale isn’t a spirit game
It’s still pretty creepy, I’d like to see more research done about it and shown here.
omg, I’m from the north of Mexico and never heard about this one, only bloody mary and the stupid games on cementery to prove braveness.
It sounds cool, tho, might give it a chance!
By the way can you please post the game ‘Charlotte’s Web’.
Actually I found this on some other website, and I loved it so much that I invited a huge group of my friends for my birthday party and told them that we will be playing this at the party. They were thrilled. But maybe I shouldn’t have made this decision after all and put all of my friends in danger. Because we got the scare of our lives that day. As we I lit the candles, my friends discussed what an awesome experience this would be. Well, I asked permission to enter the game and got a positive answer. So did my friends. Now comes the scary part. I asked, ” Have I done right by playing this game?” and the answer came, ” Oh really, you think so?” Friend A asked,” What are the secrets to be successful in life? The answer: ” You have to work hard to achieve it.” Friend B asked, “Who is giving us these answers?” The answer: “Something not from this world, something the human brain cannot understand.” We were astonished at this one. Friend C: ” Is the Charlie Charlie Devil Game just a cooked up story or is it real?” Answer: “Probably or probably not.” Friend D: “Will my day go bad tomorrow?” Answer: “Who knows?” Friend E: “Tell me about the Shadowside.” Shadowside is the spirit world, just in case you didn’t know the word. The answer came, ” Do you really want to know?” We ended the game after this. We played this quite some time ago and we are thinking of giving this another shot at one of my friend’s next party.” I hope this will help those of you who want to play this. Good luck and you are welcome. Have a great day ahead!
Well its still scary though. What if where we place our finger is an empty spot?
Then I think you have to go on to the next person. The person who put their finger on an empty spot can ask the question they asked that time again when their next turn comes.
So just sit in a dark room with everything set up then some “unknown” force will be part of the game….? This is interesting, but after reading the criteria, it feels like having a campfire gathering with friends through a candle plus a red book, hahaha.
But it needs to be in a ROOM so no campfire
She said it feels like a campfire gathering.
Can you play this alone? I need a question answered and I don’t trust anyone else with knowing the question even exists, let alone the answer. What are the risks?
I don’t think so. The participants in this game must be 2, unless stated otherwise or there can be 1 player. I don’t know about the risks though, but…you wouldn’t want to experience it first-hand
i would think so. i feel like this is kind of like an ouija board situation š
Donāt think itās wise to play this one alone.
Doesn’t seem like a threatening game as in your like is in danger like the other ones. But it is very interesting to try out, but I won’t be trying it because I don’t like to mess with these kind of sprits… Good job translating though! ?
*life not like
Intriguing, reminds me of internet games like The Elevator Game
I googled around a bit and it doesn’t look like the origins of this game probably go back more than about 4 years. I’ve lived in Mexico for 20+ years and have never heard of it before. Spanish is my first language, so if there’s any particular pages or videos you’d like help translating, I’d be glad to oblige.
I used to play this all the time with a “history of mexico” coloring book when i was in elementary school!!! i remember the answers being a little spooky and sometimes very funny because of the pictures and historical texts our fingers would land on. the answers made sense though! i never followed the ritual here, i mean i was just a kid distracting myself from class haha
You didn’t do the ritual properly. The instructions clearly say there can be no pictures in the book.
That’s why he said he never followed the ritual.
What happens if you play this game by yourself, would the spirit get angry and not answer or just keep going?
I don’t really know, but the only time I played it I did it on my own.
However, since then, my entire family (myself included) agreed that there seems to be a shadow lurking the living room since then .
The shadow itself isn’t bad, it only scares us sometimes by remaining still on the couch, but it presents no harm at all.
This one doesn’t seem quite as dangerous or frightening as other games posted here. Hmmmmm……..maybe I’ll give this one a go.
maybe so, but be warned I wouldn’t trust the book after that. You’ve turned the book into an anchor, you don’t know what may want to hold on…
A good point.
I’m using my mother’s book and what would happen if you play it outside in daylight?
its not good to play in the daylight and I wouldn’t use your mothers book either you should discard the book after playing because it may attach its self to the book.
ma’am these are good for reading but you should not perform anything related to spirits. Value your life as many are dependent on your survival.
Oh, and a question – If you ask to enter the game several times and then you don’t want to continue, do you just leave? Or do you have to continue?
I’d say it’s safe. You never received permission to play, so there was no game to begin with.
you have not yet played the game, so you can leave
I think I want to try this game sometime! Honestly, it seems like the most risk-free. The worst that can happen to you according to this is that you don’t get to leave for a while. In that case, just bring something to do š
It IS risk-free. I played this and this is what happened:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHwB3aL_OGY
One thing is that the book needed to be a hardcover book.
you didnt leave the game though- eh it doesnt matter anyway. the book was paperback so it probably didnt actually work in the first place.
you angered the spirits. you will die
Me and my friend played this game. It wouldn’t let me leave for a long time while my friend got out on the first try. I’m not even sure yet that I left the game completely. The Red Book’s answer was rather… vague. Not highly recommended to play.
The same thing happened to me just a few minutes ago. I asked then my cousin asked and received permission but I didn’t. Then I kept asking but all I got were vague answers and a clear no. I asked if there was something I needed to do or if I was “getting punished” but the book only gave me permission to leave when I promised to play again soon.
thats cooooooool, and very spooky ^^
Maybe you thought you were playing when actually you were just moving your finger around the page
I left the game without saying goodbye. I’m already having supernatural occurrences. What should I do? And what’s going to happen to me?
r u alive sam? i just played and i didn’t say goodbye. my friends didn’t either but the book kept telling us something abt running the streets. after we left i wanted to go for a walk, rly have an urge rn.
Go back and say goodbye. I did the same thing and after I went back and said goodbye they left.
Be careful. I wouldn’t get the spirits name because my friends and I played last night. We asked if it was intending to harm us and as soon as they asked, the air next to me became ice and a breeze came out from the wall. We ended the game and one of our friends started getting sick, finger mark bruises appeared on my leg this morning, and another player got a nose bleed 10 minutes later.
I am gonna try this later, it seems cool. wish me luck.
Good luck
Good luck
Good luck. You might need it!
Have fun š
True š¤£
Spirits are here to protect us, not to be meddled with. Doing any of these games like the Ouija Board and Charlie is making yourself particularly known to that spirit. It is drawing attention to yourself. If that spirit were to be quite angry by nature, you may have just cursed yourself. You should respect spirits; not toy with them. They are not to be played with.