Previously: Chertik, Chertik.
Note: Please don’t copy/paste or republish the text of this post on other websites without permission.
I’ve only ever seen the Testing Game — a ritual that checks whether you’re sensitive to spirits — on Indonesian and Malaysian sites, which suggests that it’s rooted in Southeast Asian folklore. The earliest version of it I’ve found online dates to around 2014, but I’m the first to admit that my research for this one has a lot of holes; language barriers can be difficult to work around. I’ve done my best to pull it all together into something cohesive, though, so as a rough outline, it should hopefully work.
In form, this game is much like the Doors To Your Mind: A sort of meditation ritual that asks you to close your eyes, visualize a particular place, and make careful note of what you see or experience there. The difference, however, is that the Testing Game isn’t guided. There are no partners to help you out; you’re on your own. There’s no mention in any of my sources about what might happen if there’s someone else in the room with you while you play, but I’d be careful about drawing someone else in—it could help, true, but it also might backfire pretty spectacularly.
[Like what you read? Check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available from Chronicle Books now!]
For what it’s worth, this ritual is relatively safe, especially in comparison to many other Most Dangerous Games — but there’s still some peril involved. At the end of the day, none of these games are truly “safe,” so, as always…
Play at your own risk.
Players:
- One principal.
Requirements:
- A dark, quiet room.
Instructions:
The Preparations:
- Begin at any time.
- Go to your quiet room. Draw the curtains. Dim the lights, or turn out them out completely. Sit down. Get comfortable. Take a deep breath.
- Close your eyes.
The Journey:
- In your mind’s eye, recall the home in which you grew up. If you lived in many homes as a child, choose the one to which you have the strongest connection — the one with the most memories attached to it.
- Note: A “home” does not have to be a house, apartment, or other domicile. A “home” can be anywhere you felt… well, at home.
- Visualize this home in as much detail as possible. Begin with the outside: What does it look like? How many doors does it have? How about windows? What color is it? What building material or materials has it been constructed from? Is the roof peaked? Flat? Gabled? Does it have a roof? Is it even a building at all? What sort of environment is it in?
- Now picture yourself opening the door to this home and traveling through its rooms, one by one. What does each one look like? What’s inside? What was it used for? What did you do here? What does it smell like? What does it feel like?
- Note: If your chosen home is not a building, you may adapt the concepts of “doors” and “rooms” as necessary. A “door” may not necessarily be a literal door, but some other form of egress — how you entered and exited the space. Similarly, a “room” may not necessarily be a space defined by four walls, a ceiling, and a floor, but by whatever else might be characteristic of that specific location.
- As you travel through each room, take particular note of the following: Is there anyone else there with you? What is their relationship to you? Who are they? Do you know them? If you do, how well? In the present time, are they living, or have they passed on? What do they look like? What are they wearing? How are they behaving? Are they performing any actions or activities? Can they see you? Do they want to interact with you?
- Are they human? Or are they… something else?
- Do not forget what you have seen. If you encountered others, do not forget which room you encountered them within.
- Open your eyes.
The Results:
- Remain still. Remain calm. Take another deep breath, if you need one.
- Think back on the journey you just took. Recall whether you saw anyone else in the home with you:
- If you saw no one: You have no sensitivity to spirits.
- If you saw friends or family members: You are mildly sensitive to spirits.
- If you saw someone you know to be dead: You are very sensitive to spirits.
- If you saw something… not human: You are very sensitive to spirits — and some of them are particularly drawn to you. But be warned: Not all spirits are friendly.
- Take this information — the knowledge of whether you have particular sensitivities or not — and do with it what you will.
- The ritual can only tell you your status. It cannot tell you what to do with that knowledge.
- After all, you are the one who will have to continue to move through this world afterward.
Additional Notes:
The only requirement for this game is a space in which to play it. You may, however, choose to utilize other supplies to aid in the experience: Small lanterns or candles; cushions or other soft items on which to sit; incense to purify the air; etc. Should you choose to use additional supplies, however, make sure that they will not distract you from your journey. These items should help, not hinder.
Should you experience difficulty visualizing your chosen home, cease your efforts, open your eyes, and try again another time. Visualization exercises may help you gain the skills you need to conduct this ritual properly. Do not attempt it again until you are certain you are ready.
Non-human entities encountered within the visualized rooms of your chosen home may appear in many different forms, including but not limited to: Smoke; shadows; silhouettes; essences; etc.
Concerning Any Rooms In Which Others Are Encountered:
If you still have access to the home you visualized while performing this ritual, it would be wise to tread carefully in and around these rooms from henceforth; in the physical/waking world, they contain what might be thought of as windows to… other worlds. Should you experience anything unusual in such rooms, vacate them immediately. Think carefully about whether you truly wish to enter them again in the future.
If what you encountered was not human, however, DO NOT ENTER THESE ROOMS under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
They might still be there, you see.
And they might not be willing to let you go.
***
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***
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[Photo via nmagwood/Pixabay]
Definitely not me says
So up to when I was 8 I lived in a house in Georgia
It was a small one (l still live in Georgia but a different location)and I loved the place it was like heaven to me I had a best friend named molly come to thing of it..she was the very first friend I ever made (she means the WoRld to me).so for 15 years (I mean my 20yr sis and 30 and 29yr bros and 11yr me)I my fam had lived there I am going to try this tonight to see if it works. I here a lot of noises in my home i will do this- wish me luck <3
CW says
I tried this the other day. I visualized the one of our old homes, and all I saw was my old nanny. She was smiling at me, not in a creepy way, but in the way she used to when she still lived with us. She’s (hopefully, but who knows?) not dead, so I guess I am mildly sensitive.
Lilac says
I am very much sensitive to ghosts and other creatures. I tried it because I wanted to see if I am sensitive or not because most of the time I see, hear or smell(rarely) unusual things. I tried and I cancelled the house I wanted to move into. I saw in the bedroom and in the kitchen of the house two horrible and huge creatures with wings there. If I am not wrong then I am pretty sure they were eating humans and also I only one game from this website. The others seemed too scary. Keep up a good work! Your stories and rituals are interesting!
Lucia says
Thank you! Glad you’re enjoying them!
Tamra says
What if you see another person, but it’s a person you’ve never met before? Like someone you have in your dreams but you don’t know the person/being.
Jacob says
Does it matter if bad things have happened in the home you plan to visualize? I don’t necessarily dislike the home, and I’ve had plenty of good memories there, but there were also traumatizing memories for me as a kid which still affect me today.
Kishori says
Reading this website is fun (found it by a link a couple days ago), but I wouldn’t dare do any of these games, purely because just seemingly READING them causes ghosts and other…things to come and find me. I also wouldn’t do any of these games as I can already sometimes see and hear ghosts and other spirits, so there’s no point in doing this other than drawing them to me even more! I love this website though, so I guess I can’t help myself.
In my experience, though, shadow beings tend to be the most dangerous, so if you see something like that in your meditations (no matter how it reacts to you), watch out!
I’m scared to say says
Hello. So, basically… I’m terrified. I’ve always been a terrified person. To help me with this, I have dragons. There are a lot, five, and they follow me where ever I go, though I’m not always aware of them. They protect me, and they go into a room to destroy anything bad lurking there. Right now one is rubbing up against me, I’m scared while writing this. I’m aware it’s in my head, but… so is everything else? Every bad thing? At any rate my dragons are on different planes of existence, and can jump between them.
I don’t know. The point of this is, when I walked in my house I saw her. And my mom. But…mostly my dragon, one of my dragons…maybe I brought her? I thought, I really wish my dragons were here to protect me, and she came immediately. So…what does that mean? I definitely brought her with me.
syl :D says
what if you see an animal? like your pet or something?
A worried person says
Okay, so I just did the testing game, and as I entered my house into the biggest room, I saw an entity, dark-skinned with a smoke surrounding it. … It didn’t face me straight away, but when it did, I saw other figures similar to it charge out from the hallway…
Delenda says
Well damn
Okay so I did this and I saw my dead great great grandmother in my parent’s room and I saw a few spirits in my room. I saw a little (6-year old?) boy with wavy blonde hair trying to pull me into a firey portal in the floor while he was saying like “Let’s play!” or “play with meee” while grabbing my arm and pulling
but honestly I wasn’t scared at all, he was so adorable I just wanted to hug him
There was also somethign sitting on my bed, I think it was the shadowey figure again (I saw him in one of the rooms during the Doors of Your Mind ritual) but he wasn’t doing anything this time: He was jus chillin, just watching us.
Delenda says
Does anyone know any other games/rituals that are like this? Like spirit communication basically.
I already did the Doors of Your Mind one and this one
Cs13 says
I saw only my parents, my bro, my cat and dog
Feeling lucky there are no “strangers” inside my house
icyshiverstar says
I now realise that I didn’t play this game correctly.
My room was light.
I also kept trying, even though I was having trouble visualising the house.
Is this going to negatively effect me?
icyshiverstar says
DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME IF YOU ARE ALREADY BEING HAUNTED.
I did this game yesterday. Since then, the demon tormenting me has been tormenting me more often, almost nonstop.
Raven says
First time commenter, long time reader. I tried to play this game, I didn’t get far. I got through the entrance of the home I chose and ran right into this shadowy silhouette with glowing red eyes. I was going to walk past it, but it attacked me and I had to leave the game before it got even more out of hand. I guess spirits don’t like me
Delenda says
lmao that’s a mood
Dark_Little_Raven says
I played this game. Here was my experience:
I was at my older home, it was snowing outside. I open up the front door and enter into the first walkway. Immediately, in the corner, was a tall, dark figure. I played my respects to it and continued on into the living room. Sitting in the old armchair was a man I had never met, but he leapt up at the sight of me, a smile on his face. Then came my grandma on my dad’s side. I teared up at this, while all of my pets showed up. Two more shadows came and swarmed around me. I had cried in this ‘mind-world’, and everyone was trying to calm me. One of the shadow figures knelt down and was trying to comfort me. They helped me up and once I was on my feet, I turned and saw the other shadow figure entering through the dining room into the living room. All the pets were all meowing and barking. One pet in particular made me tear up again- A black cat named Stewie. He meowed and lurched like how he used to. I then said that I had to go, and said my goodbyes. Then I ‘woke’ up and stopped my music, as I was listening to music during the experience.
I would totally do that again, just to see everyone again.
Damn I miss everyone, even the ones I didn’t know.
Dark_Little_Raven says
I do remember that whilst younger, I saw this really nice spirit. I think that he might be happy to see me…
Another One says
Now this is mentioned here, I did remember playing this game as a child. It was at my late grandparents’ house before it was demolished to make way for a road. There was no sinister connotation about it. Whether you see something or not, life goes on. In fact, the experience was pretty mild. The belief was a home may be occupied by spirits too and that they’re pretty harmless. They live their own lives while we live our own lives. I knew of other scary rituals of seeing nether beings and trust me, this one is MILD. It’s scary only if you’re easily freaked out. Or maybe that’s just my own experience ‘seeing’ my own grandparents’ house as well as my friends who had done their own ‘seeing’.
In any case, generally in Asian cultures, you can be fascinated by the supernatural. Just don’t get involved with it. Do it at your own risk.
Tori says
I tried it, recently we moved into a new house and out of our old one, the house in which my deceased pet dog Toby died in… When I was traveling to my grandma’s room I saw him sitting there like her always is wining to be let out to go to the restroom… While that made me tear up that’s not what scared me… In almost every room I went there was this shadow that lurked in the corner and it’s not like a oo the sun and in this direction thing it’s a omg soenthings there thing and then that’s when I saw it again the eyes and the mouth… So my grandparents they have this photo and it should still be on google Maps but it’s a photo of me and my family playing outside (all of us) and then something standing in the doorway like at the screen door looking directly up at the camera or satellite whatever you wanna call it. I know this sounds really cliche and stuff but I swear on my life that this all happend…
IReadTheLittleFinger says
Terrifying like always!
yyxy says
I tried this with my old school building that was knocked down a couple months ago and when I got to the upstairs girls washroom, there was one closed stall, the one people say is the one where a girl died. there was a glowing yellow thing that you see just standing at the entrance of the washroom. when I walked closer to it I felt uneasy. just found it interesting, don’t think it actually means anything tho lol
Anon says
I enjoy reading the Most Dangerous Games, but I’ve never been able to try one (mostly just a matter of materials required). I decided to do this, though, since to was pretty simple. The results were…weird. I am one of those people who grew up in a lot of different places, and I wasn’t sure if this could really work for me, since I never had a place I felt close or connected to — which I don’t mind. In the end I chose a house we lived in for a few weeks, since it was my favourite place we lived, and even though we were in it for a very short amount of time I have some good memories of it, even if I don’t miss it. Everything was fine until I reached the kitchen of the house. A tall woman in a red dress was standing at the counter with her back to me. For some reason she was blurry, and looking at her made me feel kind of dizzy. She was humming as well, really loudly, and it kind of sounded like she was wheezing or having some sort of allergic reaction. Once I got out of the kitchen the humming stopped. I saw nothing else unusual until I reached my old bedroom. The daughter of one of our family friends was standing in is, I don’t know why, since I was never close to her and we didn’t see her when we were in this house. Her mouth was kind of puckered in around the edges, like a person with no teeth, and she looked older — like, she’s around 15 now but in the house she looked 18-20. She was smiling and staring at me. Also, interestingly, later I realised that her eyes had been greyish-blue instead of brown. She was also carrying a small cardboard box in her hands. I walked out before she could do anything. So yeah, I don’t know if that was the spirit world or my mind is just weird…
CW says
Wow, I would have been so scared if I saw one of them. Did you see the red woman’s face?
Cass says
Could you do this to see if there is anyone/ anything in the current place you live in?
bambi says
what if what I saw was something in the mirror that wasn’t me?
Creepie says
So, I don’t know why I ask this, but what could happen if you visualized an other place than your home? Like your school? Or some place you really dislike? Would you call more negative energy or put yourself into danger? Or would it not work? I guess the point of visualizing your home is that you feel most comfortable there and it’s less dangerous, right?
Misheel says
I played this game in my room at night about two days ago and I’ve been feeling very uncomfortable by what i saw. I moved to America from my native country about three years ago so I pictured my house I was in before. It was a relatively small apartment which did not have a lot of rooms. While I was looking through the halls to open my room’s door, I saw a lot of black creatures swarming around. It was not one, not two, there was about 9 to 10 of them. They all approached me but didn’t attack me. What could this possibly mean, if it did have some sort of meaning?
Paul says
From what I know while some spirits are ill-intended and others just want to scare people for fun, a lot of spirits don’t wish harm to others so if those were indeed spirits they may have just been curious about you. Just keep in mind that as long as a spirit does not do anything that could be harmful then they are not really a problem.
Casper says
I feel that the reason they approached you was recognizing you! Obviously you are connecting some of your spirit to your old-home, and the creatures simply recognize you, if you’re looking for a meaning, perhaps it shows that they know who you are, and you used to be living in that area.
Richard says
I think that you are very sensitive. You should go back to the beginning, it probably will tell you.
sam says
what does it mean if what someone saw was not human, but a domestic animal, like a cat or dog?
Peace says
I’m moving out of my home today. I really feel this is the time to try this game. Fingers crossed!
Jack Neck says
If I see someone I know from my daily life but I feel something… off about them, does that fall into the “Not human” category?
icyshiverstar says
Yes. That is likely a spirit or demon in disguise.
Horror story fan says
What if we encounter someone human, but someone we’ve never seen in our lives?
Akari-chan says
I’m not Lucia, but I recommend Concentrate. It is impossible for you to die during it and a lot of people have done it during their childhood. The only thing you’re gonna need is a partner that is willing to play with you. It’s a game that tells you how you’ll die but it’s safe!
Brailyn Joseph says
What if you saw a pet? Can you still enter the room?
tilly says
that’s what I wanna know, I saw my dead dog daisy, would it be bad if I entered the room? because daisy is not human, she is a dog, would it be bad? does that mean I’m extremely sensitive to spirits?
Casper says
I think this would count as ‘someone you know’ 🙂 as long as you know the being I feel it is fine even if it is not human. It’s only when you do not know the non-human apparition when it is bad!
allen says
Animals don’t have enough powerful spirit to appear to you. what you have seen was not your dog…
Thijs Smits says
Do you have to imagine the people are there or do they just appear? I tried this literally seconds ago from writing this and i was curious since i could see some people but no real forms. They were mainly silhouettes i saw and could make out who they were but im not sure. Please help
Normal1Boi says
Hello, do you need to think of the house you grew in or you can do any house you live in? Because if I wanted to see just my spirits sensitivity in my house?
Shelby says
I don’t think I’ll ever play this game, but I have a question out of curiosity:
If you still live in your childhood home, and you use it for the ritual, what would happen if you were in the room where you see something non-human? Aka; you perform it in your bedroom and you see a silhouette there
Mark Abboud says
You’re screwed. You couldn’t stay in the room or you’d get attacked by whatever you summoned by doing this. That’s why I don’t do it. I’m not opening doors in my house.
icyshiverstar says
I played this game and used the house I moved from.
There were concentrated shadows in the bedroom I used to sleep in, in my parents’ room and in the kitchen. In the backyard was my old, dead cat, and outside just felt…weird. The outside of the house was also covered in these greyish vines.
I was already haunted by…something; it’s just gotten worse since I played that game.
I regret it.
Zie says
What about the home that we have left or moved out? Because that’s the only house that make me felt home…
FlamingAcorn says
Sure I guess you can use that one too. The thing is that I believe it would theoretically be better if you chose a home in which you are not currently living in. Because if you see something…. err.. not human…. then it would be hard to not go into that room. E.g. if you saw something like that in the bathroom then you definitely can’t avoid the bathroom for the rest of your life.
Mia says
Hello! I thought I’d let you know that I’ve been a fan of your work for a while, and am excited whenever I see a new post to read. I also had a minor question concerning the game-what if one of the entities I find is, say, a deceased pet? I was an only child who grew up with a boxer dog, and he was kind of like a big brother to my preschool self. He wouldn’t count as human, but the “non human” examples listed were intangible objects so I’m not sure how well an old pet would fit into that category. I loved this article, and I can’t wait to see more in the future!
ada says
I’m not lucia, but i feel like he’d count as a deceased relative if he has passed on.
Natália says
Lucia, I was wondering, besides for this ritual which seems simple, which ones would you recommend for beginner’s to try?
The ghost With No Name says
I once saw this at Scary For Kids except it was how to see ghosts. It was a bit different.
Topaz says
What does it mean if you encounter people who are acquaintances, strangers or celebrities? The instructions say to notice how the people/nonpeople act and what they’re doing, what would their actions mean?
Lavender says
So, I’m assuming it’s not reccomended, but if you still live in your childhood home, can you use that? I’m assuming if you see a shadow, it would be bad and you’d lose access to some rooms and there’s the issue of sleepwalking, but do you think it’d work?
Akari-chan says
Omg, you posted this on my B-Day! Why didn’t I notice this sooner? Tysm, Lucia!!
Ian says
I was wondering if you could post a game that was extremely dangerous. Something that no mortal man should EVER attempt. I’m not talking about the abbra mellon. (Probably didn’t spell that correctly) but something so wild it could never be tamed. Ever.
Please consider it. Thanks
Yeet says
Check out lightless city,I don’t think ANYONE in their right mind would play that. You’re literally stuck there forever with no vision,and it’s only to kill someone. I don’t think any mortal man should play that.
Horror story fan says
Cool, I might try this.
Mark Abboud says
This is also very similar to a ritual on Sayainunderworld. The only differences are you go around the house clockwise opening your windows in the rooms, then go around counter-clockwise closing them, and it gives you the power to see ghosts. This one is more dangerous, hence my question I posted.
Mark Abboud says
Since I still live in the house I mainly grew up in, can I think of a different house I lived in instead so I don’t bring any unwanted entities here?
David says
Hi Lucia, I’m a huge fan (have probably read every post on the website + some of your older Scare Yourself Silly posts) but this is the first time I’m commenting. I’m from Malaysia (I know you’ve done a couple other posts highlighting stuff from Malaysia before) and just thought I’d say thank you and that I really appreciate all the work that you must be putting in for these posts! Your posts are always one of the highlights of my week, can’t wait to see what’s in store!
Lucia says
Thank you so much for the kind words!
Natália says
I’m so glad this blog is still active! Great read, as always.
Lucia says
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it!
Lenora Parchman says
Nice story. I would try it but I do not want to encounter any non-human existence.
Dagoth Ur says
“Come, Nerevar. Friend or traitor, come. Come and look upon the Heart, and Akulakhan. And bring Wraithguard… I have need of it.”- Dagoth Ur (Me)
That has nothing to do with anything.
I’m going to do it. I don’t live in the location anymore, and will most likely never go there again. I can visualise the place really well even with distractions. I want to see something that isn’t human. Fun. Spooky. DEMONS!