The Most Dangerous Games: The Locked Ritual

Previously: How To Check If Your House Is Haunted.

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

If you have a question about a loved one who has passed on — a question you feel a deep and abiding need to learn the answer to — then the Locked Ritual, or 잠긴 게임, might help you get that closure. So named for the manner in which specific materials used in the game must be dealt with following the game’s conclusion, the Locked Ritual puts you in touch not with the departed loved one directly, but with a sort of… intermediary.

The ritual, which appeared on the r/ThreeKings subreddit on March 29, 2019 courtesy of Redditor u/tlstndk, is Korean in origin. It may be at least a few generations old; according to u/tlstndk, they originally heard the ritual from their grandmother. Although it appears from u/tlstndk’s other posts in other subreddits that they are based in Southern California, they note in the r/ThreeKings post that their family home is in the Gonghangdong neighborhood of Seoul, South Korea’s Gangseo-gu district. This, presumably, is where their grandmother lives or lived; u/tlstndk notes that, per their grandmother, the prized possessions used as offerings for this ritual remain locked up in the Gonghangdong house’s attic.

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u/tlstndk also notes that this ritual is apparently quite popular in Korea; indeed, another Redditor described hearing something similar from their aunt, who would “just get angry” at them whenever they “brought it up.” Interestingly, though, the ritual doesn’t seem to have appeared on the internet before this r/ThreeKings post, either in English or in Korean. As always when I’m trying to trace rituals in other languages and cultures than my own, I did some searching in Korean for this one — but I didn’t come up with anything relevant, even when I adjusted the search to use exact Korean phrases (“잠긴 게임,” “여기있는 빈 공간을 채워라,” and “누구나 여기 있으면 나와라”) that appear in the rules. Indeed, with those particular search parameters set, Google returned only a single, solitary result: u/tlstndk’s Reddit post.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that other versions written in Korean don’t exist, of course. There obviously may be Korean sources for the ritual that I’m unable to access from my own country of residence.

It’s still… noteworthy, though, I think.

As always, play at your own risk.

Players:

• Two principals.

Requirements:

• A quiet, dark room.
• A timekeeping device, preferably an analog clock with a second hand.
• One candle.
• Matches. Do not use a lighter.
• Salt.
• Two strands of hair, one from each principal.
• An offering. This offering should be a prized possession of one or both principals — something with great significance or which means a great deal to at least one player.
• A question about a loved one who has passed on. (See: Additional Notes.)
• A box, safe, or other receptacle that may be securely locked.
• A safe place in your home to store the locked box.  

Instructions:

The Preparations:

1. Prior to beginning, clear your surroundings of any people or pets not participating in the game.
2. Ready your playing space: Close the curtains or otherwise block the windows of the dark, quiet room. Ensure that no light leaks into the room from the outside. Turn off or unplug any devices in the room capable of making noise — or, better yet, remove them from the room entirely. Clear a space on the floor large enough for two people to sit comfortably in. Turn off the lights.
3. Ready (most of) your supplies: Gather together the candles, matches, salt, offering, and lockbox. Place these supplies in a safe spot in the prepared room. Ensure that the lockbox is unlocked.
4. Exit the room if possible. It is not required to do so, but it is recommended.  
5. Decide upon a question to ask. You only get one; make it count.
6. Watch the timekeeping device. Wait until 3am.
7. At 3am, go to the prepared room, if you are not already inside it. Bring the timekeeping device with you.
8. Close the door behind you.

The Ritual:

1. Retrieve your supplies from wherever you stored them.
2. Sit cross-legged on the floor, with both principals opposite each other. Keep the timekeeping device somewhere close by, where you can both see it. Keep the salt close by, as well.
3. Place the candle and the offering between you.
4. Using the matches, light the candle.
5. Pluck one hair from each principal’s head. Then, hold the strands of hair over the candle’s flame — each principal handling their own hair — and allow them to burn up entirely.
6. Reach across or around the candle and the offering and hold hands.
7. Look into each other’s eyes. Maintain eye contact; do not look away.
8. While continuing to maintain eye contact, speak the following words aloud and in unison, repeating them a total of three times: “여기있는 빈 공간을 채워라. 누구나 여기 있으면 나와라.” (Phonetically, “Yeogiissneun bin gong-gan-eul chaewola. Nuguna yeogi iss-eumyeon nawala.”)
9. Now, close your eyes — both of you.
10. Wait.
11. Do not speak.
12. Wait.
13. When the moment feels right, open your eyes
    • If only one principal opens their eyes: The ritual has not succeeded. DO NOT PROCEED. Let go of each other’s hands. Extinguish the candle’s flame. Scatter salt across the candle and offering. Place the offering inside the lockbox, close the box, and lock it securely. Leave the room and close the door behind you. Ideally, vacate the building entirely. Do not return to the building and/or open the door to the room until the sun has risen. Once you have returned, place the lockbox in a safe location in your home for storage. Do not open it.
    • If both principals open their eyes at the same time: The ritual has succeeded. You may proceed, but remain calm, continuing to maintain eye contact as you do so.
14. If you have made it this far, you will at this point sense a presence in the room with you. The presence may appear as an actual figure, or it may simply be a feeling that you are no longer alone.
15. DO NOT LOOK AT OR TOWARDS THE PRESENCE.
16. Both principals must continue to maintain eye contact with each other at all times.
17. The presence will now judge both you and your offering.
    • If the presence remains silent: You or your offering have been judged unworthy. DO NOT PROCEED. Let go of each other’s hands, extinguish the candle, and scatter salt across the candle and offering. Place the offering inside the lockbox and lock it up tightly. Leave the room and close the door behind you; ideally vacate the building; and do not return until the sun has risen. Once you have returned, place the lockbox in a safe location in your home for storage. Do not open it again — ever.
      • If the presence remains in the room with you while you perform these safeguards, DO NOT LOOK AT OR TOWARDS IT.
      • Be careful in this room onwards.
18. If the presence speaks: You and your offering have been judged worthy. You may proceed, but do not break your handhold, and continue to maintain eye contact with your fellow principal. Do NOT look at or towards the presence.
    • NOTE: The presence may not necessarily “speak” in the traditional sense; e.g. aloud or in words. Stay alert, and pay attention. It is up to you to determine the manner in which the presence has chosen to “speak,” and what its message might be.
19. You may now ask your question to the figure. One principal may give voice to the question, or both principals may ask it in unison together. Speak carefully and politely. Do not make any demands, and do not be disrespectful in any way.
20. Listen — or, “listen.” Stay alert. Pay attention.
21. Make note of the response.
22. Do not break your handhold or eye contact.
23. DO NOT LOOK AT OR TOWARDS THE PRESENCE.
24. Once you have received your response, wait. Do not speak. Do not break your handhold. Do not break eye contact.

The Farewell:

1. When the moment feels right, extinguish the candle, but maintain both your handhold and eye contact. When the candle’s flame has gone out, speak the following words aloud and in unison, repeating them a total of three times: “우리에 선물을 바다줘서 감사합니다. 조심히 떠나세요.” (Phonetically, “Yulie seonmul-eul bad-ajwoseo gamsahabnida. Josimhi tteonaseyo.”)
2. Wait for precisely one minute. Watch the second hand on the timekeeping device, or, if you are unable to watch it, listen to it ticking as each second goes by.
3. When one minute has passed, you may break both your handhold and eye contact. Rise from the floor and turn on the lights. Place your offering in the lockbox and lock it securely.
4. Go to sleep.
5. When you wake in the morning, place the lockbox in a safe location in your home for storage. Do not open it.
6. Do not speak of what you have just done with anyone besides the principal with whom you performed the ritual—ever. Do not speak of the response to your question bestowed upon you by the presence with anyone besides the principal with whom you performed the ritual—ever.
7. And do not — DO NOT — ever open the lockbox again.

Additional Notes:

Your question may be about whatever you wish, although it is suggested that it concern something that might otherwise be… difficult to acquire information regarding. Examples include whether your departed loved on is happy where they are now, or whether they passed peacefully.

Your question should NOT be asked with the intent to hurt or harm anyone else. Kindness is key.

The words in The Ritual: Step 8 may be roughly translated into English as follows: “Fill in the empty space here. If anyone is here, come out.”

The words in The Farewell: Step 1 may be roughly translated into English as follows: “Thank you for accepting our gift. Please depart safely.”

The words in The Ritual: Step 8 and in The Farewell: Step 1 must be spoken in the original Korean.

You may ask your question in whatever language you are most comfortable speaking.

It is not recommended that you perform this ritual more than once.

If you do perform it more than once, do not use the same prized possession as your offering, and do not use the same lockbox.

Concerning The Lockbox:

DO NOT OPEN IT after completing this ritual.

ESPECIALLY do not open it if you or your offering were judged unworthy in The Ritual: Step 17.

DO NOT remove the lockbox from your home. If you move house, you MUST bring the lockbox with you.

And do not, under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, remove the offering from the lockbox.

You wouldn’t want whatever may have attached itself to this object getting out, now, would you?

The Locked Ritual: FAQ.

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[Photo via ShonEjai/Pixabay]