The Most Dangerous Games: The Letter Ritual

Previously: How To See Your Guardian Spirit.

Note: Please don’t copy/paste or republish the text of this post on other websites without permission.

Are you looking for someone? Someone you once knew, but haven’t seen in years? Someone you wish fervently to find, no matter how much time has passed since you last spoke? The Letter Ritual might help you achieve your wish. Or at least, it might if you’re willing to pay a high price for failure — and if it were real.

It’s not, as far as I know; it originated in a multi-part story on r/NoSleep written by u/Chasethehorror in 2017. The story isn’t limited to just the ritual itself, though — there’s more to it than that. It details what happened to one particular person who attempted to play it. And, uh… let’s just say that if you fail the ritual, the price is quite costly, indeed.

[Like what you read? Check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available from Chronicle Books now!]

Note, though, that “failure” isn’t necessarily the same as “not succeeding.” There’s a difference, you see — and it matters quite a bit.

In the reality of the story, the narrator was given the rules to the ritual by a friend, who had found them somewhere on the internet. The friend didn’t say where, but he posted them to an online forum he and the narrator frequented after, it seemed, using it himself to locate his missing son. “I found my son, Brad — here is how,” his only commentary read. “Good luck.” The narrator notes that he hadn’t been able to find the rules anywhere else on the internet, so he’s not totally sure how the friend originally got his hands on them; it’s implied that the ritual almost functions as a sort of chain letter or verbal virus. Everything spins out from there, so if you want to read the full tale, check it out here, here, and here.

In any event, the Letter Ritual doesn’t seem to be based on any existing forms of divination. I did attempt to see what I could dig up that might have served as inspiration for it, but alas, I came up short; the closest I came was literomancy, but that’s actually closer to handwriting analysis than anything else. (It doesn’t involve actually writing and mailing a letter, but instead focuses on studying written letters, typically the characters used in written Chinese languages.)

The game does, however, bear something in common with a ritual-based urban legend you’re probably familiar with: The middle section — what’s really the main event — is basically a souped-up version of Bloody Mary. The whole bit about looking into a mirror for an extended period of time with no form of light or illumination present except a single candle? That’s pretty much exactly what you do when you’re playing Bloody Mary — and, as with Bloody Mary, what results is the strange-face illusion.

Fiction or not, though, this game… well, I can’t recommend you actually attempt to play it. In fact, I’d strongly recommend that you expressly DO NOT play it. Besides the fact that it’s a major fire hazard (exercise common sense precautions, please! Keep a fire extinguisher nearby! Don’t leave any burning flames unattended! Make sure any and all flames you lit at any point are fully put out before you leave the room!)… the price for failure almost certainly isn’t worth the risk.

And even if everything does go to plan, there’s still the high probability that you’ll hurt someone else doing it.

So… don’t do it.

You’re not just playing at your own risk here. You’re playing at the risk of everyone involved—whether they’ve consented to it or not.

Players:

• One principal.

Requirements:

•  Two pieces of paper.
• A writing implement.
• A sterilized sharp object.
• Two drops of your own blood.
• Two standard, white, #10-size business envelopes.
• Access to a mailbox serviced by your local postal system that is NOT within viewing distance of your home.
• Access to a mailbox at which you receive mail addressed to you.
• A time-keeping device.
• A dark, windowless room. (Only if the player proceeds past The First Letter.)
• A mirror, if the dark, windowless room is not already equipped with one. (Only if the player proceeds past The First Letter.)
• A candle. (Only if the player proceeds past The First Letter.)
• Matches or a lighter. (Only if the player proceeds past The First Letter.)
• Scotch, masking, or sellotape. (Only if the player proceeds past The First Letter.)
• The full name of someone you wish to find.
• The address of the place at which you last saw the person you wish to find. (See: Additional Notes.)

Instructions:

The First Letter:

1. Begin at any time.
2. Using the writing implement, write the following phrase on one piece of paper: “I wish to find…” In the place of the ellipsis, write the full name — first and last — of the person you wish to locate.
3. Using the sharp object, draw one drop of your own blood and allow it to drip onto the letter.
4. Wait for the blood to dry.
5. Once the blood has dried, fold the letter and place it inside one of the envelopes. Seal the envelope.
6. On the front of the envelope, again write the full name of the person you wish to find, along with the address of place at which you last saw them. Do NOT stamp the envelope. Do NOT write your own name or return address on the envelope.
7. Wait until at least midnight, but no later than 3am. Keep an eye on your time-keeping device.
8. Between midnight and 3am, take the letter to the mailbox you have chosen that is NOT within viewing distance of your home and place it inside. Note carefully the precise time at which you mail the letter.
9. Go home. Live your life.
10. Wait one week.
11. During this week, watch the mailbox at which you receive your own mail (NOT the mailbox in which you mailed your letter).
    • If you receive no response: The ritual has not succeeded. You are not meant to locate the person you wish to find. Do NOT proceed. You may try again another time. (See: Additional Notes.)
    • If your own letter is returned to you: The ritual has not succeeded. Do NOT proceed. Do not open the letter. Burn it to ashes immediately, envelope and all, and leave your home before sunset arrives. Do not return until a full night has passed and the sun has risen. Do NOT attempt this ritual again. Ever.
    • If you receive a new letter addressed to you: This portion of the ritual has succeeded. You will know that this letter is the correct letter by two indications: One, it will have no return address; and two, it will have no stamp. You may proceed.
12. Now, make a choice: Will you open the letter you have just received — the new one, the one addressed to you — or not?
    • If you choose not to open the letter: Make this choice if you no longer wish to proceed.
      • Leave the letter sealed and burn it to ashes.
      • Carry on living your life as you were before.
      • Do NOT attempt this ritual again, for any reason.
    • If you choose to open the letter: Make this choice if you are positive — positive — you wish to proceed.
      1. This is your last chance to back out; if you choose to open the letter, you MUST see the ritual through to the end.
      2. Are you certain you wish to proceed?
      3. Yes?
      4. Then continue on to The Response.

The Response:

1. Keep the letter safe until precisely seven days have passed from the moment you mailed your original letter. Be mindful of the time; you must wait seven days down to the minute. (See: Additional Notes.)
2. After the required amount of time has passed, gather together the mirror if necessary, candle, matches or lighter, and tape. Bring these supplies, along with the letter, to your dark, windowless room.
3. Set the mirror up in the room if necessary.  
4. Place the candle in front of the mirror and light it with the matches or lighter.
5. Turn out the rest of the lights in the room. The only source of illumination should be the candle’s flame.
6. Place yourself before the mirror.
7. Pick up the letter.
8. Open it.
   • If the envelope is empty: The ritual has not succeeded. Do NOT proceed. Close the envelope, reseal it with the tape, extinguish the candle, and exit the windowless room, taking the resealed envelope with you. Leave your home. Take the envelope to the mailbox and which you mailed your original letter and place the envelope inside it. Do not return home until the sun has risen.
   • If there is a letter in the envelope: Read the letter. You are looking for a specific message: “We hope you find what you are looking for.” What does your letter say?
     • If the letter reads anything else, or if the letter is blank: The ritual has not succeeded. Do NOT proceed. Enact the procedure described in “If the envelope is empty.”
     • If the letter holds the desired message: You may proceed. Continue to Step 9.
9. Refold the letter and return it to the envelope.
10. Touch the corner of the envelope to the candle’s flame and hold it there until the paper catches. Be careful. Be safe.
11. While holding the burning envelope, face your reflection in the mirror and repeat aloud the phrase you wrote in your original letter: “I wish to find…”, and the full name of the person you seek. Speak this phrase aloud a total of seven times.
12. Do NOT drop the envelope until you have spoken the phrase seven times.
13. Do NOT extinguish the envelope until you have spoken the phrase seven times.
14. Once you have spoken the phrase seven times, carefully and safely extinguish the envelope.
15. Do NOT look away from your reflection in the mirror. Hold your own gaze — even if you begin to see someone or something… not yourself.
16. Without breaking eye contact with yourself, open your ears. Listen carefully.
17. You may at this point hear a voice.
18. Listen carefully.
19. If the voice asks any questions of you, answer them. Do NOT lie. Answer as truthfully, honestly, and completely as you can.
20. Listen carefully.
    • If, at any point, you hear the voice say, “Stop searching”: You are not meant to locate the person you wish to find. Extinguish the candle, ensure that both it and the envelope are fully out, and leave your home. Do not return until after the sun has risen. For you, the ritual ends here. Do not attempt it again.
    • If, at any point, you hear the voice say, “We hope you find what you are looking for”: For you, the ritual continues. Proceed to Step TK. NOTE: Achieving this outcome does NOT necessarily mean the ritual has succeeded.
21. Extinguish the candle, ensure that both it and the envelope are full out, and exit the windowless room, closing the door behind you. You may remain in your home, but do not re-enter the windowless room until after the sun has risen.

The Second Letter:

1. Within 24 hours of opening the letter you received in response to your original letter, write a second letter on your remaining piece of paper. There are no prescribed words to use this time; you may write in any form or using any phrasing you wish, as long as your letter accomplishes two goals: First, thank your correspondent for helping you; and second, note again the full name of the person you wish to find.
2. Using the sharp object, draw one drop of your own blood and allow it to drip onto the letter.
3. Wait for the blood to dry.
4. Once the blood has dried, fold the letter and place it inside your remaining envelope. Seal the envelope.
5. Address this envelope the same way you did your original letter, using the full name of the person you wish to find and the address of the place at which you last saw them. Do NOT stamp the envelope. Do NOT write your own name or return address on the envelope.
6. Before 24 hours have passed, return to the mailbox at which you mailed your original letter. When precisely 24 hours have passed since you opened your response — and when precisely eight have passed since you mailed your original letter — place your second letter inside the mailbox. Watch your time-keeping device carefully. The timing must be exact.
7. Go home. Live your life. Again.
8. Wait one week. Again.
9. During this week, again, watch the mailbox at which you receive your own mail.
   • If you receive a new letter addressed to you: Congratulations! The ritual has succeeded. You will know that this letter is the correct letter by one indication: It will have no stamp. Make note of the return address, for this is where you will find the person you have wished to see for so long. Now it is up to you whether or not you seek them out.
   • If you receive no response: I’m sorry. The ritual has failed. You will not get that which you desire. And the consequences for failure will be steep.

Additional Notes:

Note that the address to which you will direct the two letters you send is NOT necessarily the last known address of the person you wish to find. Rather, this address should be the address of the last place you spent time with them, face to face. It’s possible that this address is their last known address; if the last time you saw them was at their own home, then the two addresses are one in the same. However, you may very well have seen them somewhere else — at their school, at their place of work, at your own home, on the side of the road somewhere halfway across the world, etc. This is the address you should use.

Concerning the dark, windowless room: An interior bathroom is ideal, as it solves many of the requirements posed by the Response portion of the ritual. An interior bathroom is likely to be already equipped with a mirror, for example, thereby negating the need to locate a separate mirror and set it up in the room. Furthermore, a bathroom space provides a simple and relatively safe way to extinguish the burning envelope in Step 14 of The Response — e.g. you may drop the envelope in the bathroom’s sink and turn on the faucet, letting the water run until the flame has been completely drowned.

If you receive no letter in Step 11 of The First Letter and wish to try again, ensure that at least seven full days from the moment you placed your first letter in the mailbox have passed. Do NOT attempt the ritual again BEFORE this amount of time has passed.

If you successfully complete the ritual, you may open the envelope received as your final response at any time. There will not necessarily be anything inside; however, if you are fortunate, you might find one last letter — one containing further details that may help you locate the person whom you seek. If you receive such a letter, you would be wise to heed its advice.

You do not necessarily have to burn this final envelope or letter upon the successful completion of the ritual, but it is recommended that you do so. Once you have committed the information contained on the envelope and/or within the letter to memory, set them alight and dispose of the ashes.

A Final Word:

Do NOT attempt to use this ritual to find the same person more than once.

Some people simply aren’t meant to be found.

The Letter Ritual: FAQ.

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[Photo via MatthiasSchild/Pixabay]