Previously: Satoru-kun.
The origins of the game Blue Baby, Baby Blue — or Blue Baby; Blue Baby Blue; Baby Blue; or Baby Blue, Blue Baby, as it’s variously known — are difficult to untangle; I’ve been hearing about it for years, but honestly, I couldn’t tell you when the first time I recall it being mentioned was. I’ve got a theory, though — and that’s that this particular game evolved out of another one: Bloody Mary.
My reasoning is this: One variation of Bloody Mary involves summoning the titular spirit by chanting, “Bloody Mary! I killed your baby!” One version of Baby Blue, meanwhile, has a losing condition in which a woman bursts through a mirror while screaming at the player to give her back her baby. It’s such a short jump from Point A to Point B here that I can’t help but wonder if the first led directly to the second — a thought which, I think, is strengthened by the fact that both Bloody Mary and Baby Blue serve one purpose and one purpose only: To tempt fate. They’re challenges, not rituals meant to provide luck or good fortune or a glimpse into the future or what have you. The winning condition is simply surviving.
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If my theory is right, by the way, that also gives us an idea of when the Baby Blue story might first have appeared: Around or shortly prior to the 1970s. Folklorist Janet Langlois’ essay “Mary Whales, I Believe In You,” which was originally published in 1978 and republished in Indiana Folklore: A Reader in 1980, details some of the earliest research we have on the myth; as such, it’s thought that Bloody Mary in its current form may have originated sometime around then.
It’s also interesting to me that, as is the case with The Raven Man, there’s more than one version of Baby Blue floating around out there. I’ve included the instructions for two variations below; there might be more, though. Who knows how many ways to summon Baby Blue there might be?
As always… well, you know how it goes.
Variation 1:
Players:
- One principal.
Requirements:
- A bathroom.
- The bathroom must have the following:
- A toilet.
- A mirror.
- A door that locks.
Instructions:
- Begin at night.
- Enter the bathroom.
- Turn off the lights.
- Lock the door.
- Face the mirror.
- Position your arms as though you are cradling a baby.
- Gentle rock your arms back and forth.
- While rocking your arms, chant the phrase, “Blue baby, baby blue” a total of 13 times.
- During Step 8, you may begin to feel a weight in your arms. Do not be alarmed, but stay alert.
- This weight may begin to grow heavier. Stay alert.
- You may begin to feel a scratching on your arms. Stay alert. It is time.
- When you feel the scratching, move quickly: Drop the weight into the toilet, flush the toilet, unlock the door, and exit the bathroom.
- If you make it out of the bathroom unscathed, congratulations — you’ve won.
Additional Notes:
The following chants may be used as alternatives to the “Blue baby, baby blue” chant presented here:
- “Blue baby”;
- Or, “Baby blue.”
Regardless as to which option is used, the chant should be repeated a total of 13 times.
Do NOT hold the weight for too long. Do NOT fail to flush the toilet. Do NOT fail to exit the bathroom as quickly as possible. Failure to complete these actions in time may result in one of two situations: A woman may appear in the mirror and demand the return of her baby; or, the scratching on your arms may become unbearable. If either of these situations occur, a losing condition has been achieved.
*
Variation 2:
Players:
- At least two principals.
Requirements:
- A bathroom.
- The bathroom must have the following:
- A mirror.
- A door that locks.
Instructions:
- Begin at night.
- Enter the bathroom.
- Turn off the lights.
- Lock the door.
- Fog up the mirror.
- In the fog on the mirror, use your fingertip to write the following words: “Baby Blue.”
- Position your arms as though you are cradling a baby.
- During Step 7, you may begin to feel a weight in your arms. Do not be alarmed, but stay alert.
- After a short time, pass the weight to the next principal.
- If you do not drop the weight:
- You may proceed.
- If you drop the weight:
- You will receive a small scratch. You have two chances left. You may proceed.
- If you do not drop the weight:
- After a short time, pass the weight to the next principal.
- If you do not drop the weight:
- You may proceed.
- If you drop the weight:
- You will receive a small scratch. You have one chance left. You may proceed.
- If you do not drop the weight:
- After a short time, pass the weight to the next principal.
- If you do not drop the weight:
- You may proceed, continuing to pass the weight back and forth between all principals for as long as you wish.
- To end the game: While holding the weight, erase the words from the mirror.
- You will feel the weight begin to lift.
- When the weight is gone, unlock the door and exit the bathroom.
- Congratulations — you’ve won.
- If you drop the weight:
- You are out of chances. Run.
- If you do not drop the weight:
Additional Notes:
In Step 5, you may use any method you wish to fog up the mirror. Recommended options including breathing on it or turning the shower on. Should you choose to do so by turning the shower on, turn the shower off once the mirror is completely fogged over.
Do NOT drop the weight more than twice. Should it be dropped three times, the mirror before you will shatter. If this situation occurs, a losing condition has been achieved.
***
General Notes:
“Blue baby syndrome” is a colloquial term for cyanosis in infants. Cyanosis — a blueish tint to the skin — occurs due to poorly oxygenated blood. Blue baby syndrome can be fatal in some cases.
It is unknown whether blue baby syndrome has any connection to the game presented here.
Concerning Losing Conditions:
Achieving a losing condition has only one possible outcome.
Do not achieve a losing condition.
***
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***
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[Photo via pgbsimon/Pixabay]
I played this game when I was in elementary school. However, we didn’t need a bathroom and the GOAL was to drop the baby immediately if you saw the dark shadow of an infant in your hands (you couldn’t necessarily feel the weight of the baby). And the goal was to come out unscathed. If you do, you’ve succeeded. But it was warned that the baby would get angry about being dropped and bite your ankles. If this happened, you should get marks on your legs. I don’t think my friends and I really paid attention to the finer details though.
OMG OML I DID IT. IT HAPPENE.D I DID IT AT 9:52 AND DID IT TWO TIMES IT SCRATCHED AFTER 5 SECONDS THE SECOND TIME!!!!!!!
Oh damn… feeling scared while reading the essay and comments specially .. would never try such a type of game..
My door doesn’t have a lock. So wat can I do to my door instead of locking it?
You can just close the door with an item Or something heavy that you can carry.
I just did this ritual… Everyone else is asleep, so I had to whisper it instead of chant it so I’m pretty worried about what I did.
I felt a weight in my arms, but I never had the scratching. I feel like I could’ve just felt the weight because my nerves were convincing me that it was working. After I said it the 13th time, I just decided I’d drop the weight and do the rest of the steps. I guess I win?
I did it and I held the baby for too long – she scratched me and I quickly flushed it and ran. I live in a one bathroom apartment….I’ma die.
nice read!thanks for the information. More power to your blogging career.
After I read this I thought I should give the challenge a go, so I did as instructed and I have not felt any strange feelings. But I do sometimes get quite scared. Thank you.
Yo, can someone tell me the backstory? This was a very helpful informational essay, but I would like to know how baby blue died, his mother killed him or he got ill, and also what happen to his mother, a name or maybe a death? THX =)
I’ve been wanting to try this game out for a bit now, but I don’t think i should when I have a broken foot and am on crutches. so it will have to wait, sadly.
I’m going to see what happens if I do Bloody Mary and baby blue back to back.
Throw the baby to Bloody Mary, she then drops it because she wants to kill you… Baby Blue’s mother comes out the other mirror and attacks Bloody Mary for losing the game.
Sit down and enjoy the cat fight.
What if… Bloody Mary IS Baby Blue’s mother? 🙂
Maybe you’ll give Bloody Mary the baby she never had and the baby will finally have a mother, and they’ll never be summonable again by anyone.
The baby already has a mother.
Me playing this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXRPJzdml1Q
Tell me what you thought of it 🙂
You are very pretty 🙂 And brave too!
For some reason, I believe that this ritual is connected to Bloody Mary. People claim that she has come through the mirror screaming “GIVE ME BACK MY BABY!!!” at the top of her lungs (enough to shatter it). If you watch the videos ImJayStation (YouTube) does for this challenge, his camera goes crazy and you can hear screaming if you listen closely (like, really really closely) and when the camera is done being weird & goes back to normal, the mirror is broken. Who knows?? Maybe Bloody Mary had a child?? It’s a total mystery to me…
Queen Mary I of Englad had no children, so it’s not connected to the Bloody Mary legend (as Queen Mary is the one who appears in the mirror)
Queen Mary I, had children but she killed so many people that her husband (the king) took them away and had her beheaded.
That’s actually a different Mary — Mary, Queen of Scots (also known as Mary I of Scotland and Mary Stuart). She was beheaded after being found guilty of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth I, but she’s not Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary is Mary I of England, aka Mary Tudor; she earned the name from the huge numbers of Protestants she executed. Mary, Queen of Scots had kids; Mary Tudor did not.
Worth noting is that in the urban legend game Bloody Mary, exactly who Bloody Mary is often depends on who’s telling the story. Some versions of the tale do peg her as Mary Tudor — but in others, she’s someone who died in a car crash, or someone who was executed (possibly wrongly) for witchcraft, or someone who lost their child, or any number of other possible identities. If there’s a connection between Bloody Mary and Baby Blue, the connection would probably be centered around one of the versions of the Bloody Mary urban legend in which she’s NOT Mary Tudor — likely the one where she’s a grieving mother.
Just, y’know, for whatever that’s worth!
Bloody Mary killed all her children so some people believe that bloody Mary is the mother of baby blue and killed him with a shard of shattered mirror?
OMG! i tried to watch it before i played and it wouldn’t let me.
i remember hearing about a variation called baby blue,baby pink.it had something to do with putting candles around a toilet and chanting “baby blue,baby pink”.i can’t seem to find the original article,though.
here it is! i actually don’t know if it’s the one i saw first,because this one doesn’t have baby blue and baby pink chanted together.
I did it.it was really scary but i won so im ok.
Glad you survived! I personally have sworn off almost all rituals involving mirrors. I know. My life surrounded by a paranormal obsession can be sad at points. Might get locked down in an abandoned asylum with friends in the near future. Gonna be AWESOME!
Are there any safe rituals out there that you recommend, so I can try some for myself?
I believe there’s one called Taikalatava or something like that.
1.My spelling is not accurate.
2.You need 6 people.
3.There’s a very low risk of death if any.
Yep! This one: https://theghostinmymachine.com/2018/12/12/the-most-dangerous-games-taikatalvi-finland-winter-magic-spirit/
The Testing Game is relatively safer than many of the games posted. I’ve tried it.
The ghost paper challenge, nothing comes for you, the thing is on the other side of a door, so you are safe and cant get hurt unless you break all of the rules.
“How To See Your Guardian Spirit” is pretty safe, you just need to have practice with lucid dreaming basically.
How do you know if the mirror is foggy enough if the lights are off?
You’ll know.
My friends and I tried this a while back. It didn’t work for any of us.
Phew! I thought it was some sort of horrible thingy that happened again.
I can only imagine the outcome of running out the bathroom door with the weight still in hand (arms?) Instead of flushing it down the toilet
Now you’re the proud parent of a ghost baby. Congratulations on acquiring a baby that will never grow up lol