Previously: Mother Midnight.
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The ritual game referred to by some sources as Dream Of The Dead must be performed on Halloween night — which means you’ve got a few days left to prepare for it, should you wish to undertake it during this year’s Halloween season. The good news is that it’s relatively simple, all things considered; you probably already have most, if not all, of the things required to perform it. The bad news, though? Well, I’m not sure I’d really call it “bad news” — but it’s worth noting all the same: Even though it’s simple to perform, and even though it’s also relatively low-risk, comparatively speaking, it’s still not completely safe. None of these games ever are, after all — especially not on Halloween, when the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest.
I initially encountered this one on Whispering Dark, who wrote in 2013 that they had found the rules for it detailed in “a book on rituals” they found while “browsing the Occult section of [their] University library.” I have no way to verify that, of course; Whispering Dark failed to identify the exact source they used, on top of which the only other versions of this game I’ve been able to find online are simply translations of this post into other languages — namely, Indonesian and Malaysian (with a few small differences, which I’ve either incorporated or reconciled in the version seen here). Ah well; it is what it is.
[Like what you read? Check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available from Chronicle Books now!]
In any event, this ritual is geared towards communing with the dead — not unlike, say, the Dumb Supper Ritual or the Halloween Summoning Ritual. You don’t necessarily have to have a goal beyond that in mind before you decide to play; indeed, I’d argue that in this case, “the simpler, the better” is a good rule to follow.
Happy Halloween, folks.
And, as always:
Play at your own risk.
Players:
- One principal.
Requirements:
- Four candles.
- Matches or a lighter.
- Salt.
- A timekeeping device. That this device be equipped with an alarm is optional, but recommended.
- A photograph of a deceased loved one. (Optional, but recommended.)
- Your preferred supplies for purifying a space — incense, palo santo, a tuning fork and/or crystal, etc.
- A safe space to sleep.
Instructions:
Preparing For Bed:
- Begin at night on October 31. Any time prior to 10pm is acceptable, but it is recommended you begin no later than 9pm. (See: Additional Notes.)
- Gather your supplies and take them with you to the place you intend to sleep.
- Draw the curtains or otherwise block the windows.
- Turn off, unplug, and/or remove the batteries from any and all electronic devices or other items present in this room which are capable of emitting extraneous noise or light. You may also choose to remove them from the room entirely, if you wish.
- Clear the floor of the room as much as possible — move any furniture to the walls, clear up any clutter, etc. Again, you may also choose to remove any extraneous items from the room entirely, if you wish.
- Create a circle of salt around the exact spot in which you will sleep: If you will be sleeping in a bed, surround the bed with salt (if it is flush with the wall, pull it out slightly so you can draw a complete circle around it); if you will be sleeping on the floor, surround the area you plan to sleep on with salt; etc. Leave an opening or a gap in the line of salt large enough for you to step through it to the inside of the circle without disturbing the rest of its edge.
- Keep the unused portion of your salt supply nearby. Set your timekeeping next to it.
- Position your purification supplies nearby, as well.
- Place the photograph, if using, beneath your pillow.
- In a separate spot on the floor of the room — that is, a spot that is NOT the spot in which you intend to sleep — set up the four candles in a rough circle large enough for you to sit within.
- Light the candles.
- Turn off any other lights.
Dreaming The Dream:
- Enter the circle of candles and sit down.
- Get comfortable, and close your eyes.
- Now: Imagine. Imagine yourself surrounded by people — by specters. By the figures of those who have died.
- Imagine them approaching you, slowly but surely, together as a group. They are not menacing; they simply… are. Imagine them forming a quiet circle around you, just outside the ring of light provided by the candles’ glow.
- Keep that image in your mind.
- Do you still have it?
- Good.
- Now, keeping your eyes closed and this image firmly fixed in your mind, speak aloud the following words: “On this night of nights, I call the Gate Keeper, divider of the realm of the living and the dead. I demand communion with the peaceful dead.”
- Open your eyes.
- If any of the candles have gone out: The ritual has failed; your demand has not been met. Do not proceed. Exit the room, close the door behind you, and do not return until the sun has risen. You may try again next year.
- If the candles are still lit: Observe the room for a moment. Listen carefully. Tune into your feelings.
- If you hear or feel anything unusual: The ritual has failed. DO NOT PROCEED. Extinguish the candles immediately, exit the room, and close the door behind you. Do not return until after the sun has risen. Do not attempt to perform this ritual in that location again. You may try again next year in a different location — but it is not recommended that you do so.
- Occurrences that may be considered “unusual” include, but are not limited to, screaming or shrieking noises, shadows where there should be none, and a general sense of menace or unease.
- If all is calm: The ritual has succeeded; you may proceed. Speak aloud the following words: “Peaceful dead, I call upon you to enter the place between places. I wish to learn of you and from you in my dreams tonight.”
- If you hear or feel anything unusual: The ritual has failed. DO NOT PROCEED. Extinguish the candles immediately, exit the room, and close the door behind you. Do not return until after the sun has risen. Do not attempt to perform this ritual in that location again. You may try again next year in a different location — but it is not recommended that you do so.
- Extinguish the candles.
- Rise from and exit the circle of candles; then, enter the circle of salt through the opening you previously left. Retrieve the remainder of your unused salt and close the circle behind you.
- Check the time. It should be approximately 10pm. If using an alarm, set it now for just after midnight.
- Lie down in your sleeping space, within the circle of salt.
- Close your eyes.
- Go to sleep.
- If you have performed every action up until this point correctly, you will now find yourself within a dream. There is no telling what your surroundings may be when you begin dreaming; they are different for each individual, just as the dream itself is different for each individual.
- If you have chosen to use the photograph, you will meet in your dream the person this photograph depicts. If you have not, you will meet others who have passed—perhaps known to you, perhaps not.
- In both cases, treat them with respect. Listen to what they wish to say. They may speak of you and your life — your past, present, or future — or they may speak of themselves. Or, they may speak of other things — things whose meanings are not immediately apparent, but which should be considered and reconsidered in due time. They may be warm and inviting. They may be cold and calculating. They may be outright hostile, although they will not harm you physically. But no matter how they behave, and no matter what they say, listen to them, and be respectful.
- But do not — do NOT — say anything in return. Do not speak; only listen.
Waking From Sleep:
- When you awaken — which you will do either naturally, or because your alarm sounds — check the time. It should be shortly after midnight on November 1. (If it is NOT this time, see Additional Notes.)
- Turn off the alarm, if necessary.
- Speak aloud the following words: “Peaceful dead, I thank you for your attention, but I ask you now to return from whence you came. I banish you from this space.”
- Retrieve your purification supplies and purify the room according to your own preference. No matter what method you use or which tools you employ, make sure you are thorough in your work.
- Wait until the sun has risen. Then, clean up the salt and, if necessary, retrieve the photograph. Do not clean up the salt before daylight has arrived.
- Put the photograph in a safe place. Do not lose it.
- Purify the playing space at least once a day for the next three days.
- Carry on with your life — but know, too, that although you have closed the gate for now, the dead will not forget that you opened it once before.
- They wonder whether you might open it again sometime.
- And if you do, they wonder, too: What might they be able to do with it, if given another chance?
Additional Notes:
The four candles may be of any color, but for best results, use white candles.
It is not recommended that you fall asleep before 10pm; sleep for too long before midnight and you risk your body and your mind becoming increasingly vulnerable the longer and deeper you sleep. However, you must have fallen asleep prior to midnight in order for the ritual to succeed.
During Dreaming The Dream, the person or people you meet in your dream may ask you for a favor. If they do, they may promise to grant you something in return for doing their bidden. You do not necessarily need to agree to perform this favor; indeed, it is recommended that you do NOT. But it is up to you whether you decide to do as they ask or not — for better, or for worse.
Know this, though: As with the living, the dead do not always tell the truth; they are not above manipulation or other tactics to achieve their own goals.
You may not be able to trust what they tell you.
If you do not fall asleep by the time midnight arrives, stop trying and instead proceed directly to Waking From Sleep. Perform the procedures laid out in Waking From Sleep in their entirety, regardless as to whether or not you actually slept.
If you wake up and it is before midnight — that is, it is still October 31 — stay within the salt circle until midnight strikes. Then proceed to Waking From Sleep and perform the procedures as written.
If you wake up and it is long after midnight — 2am or later on November 1— perform the procedures laid out in Waking From Sleep immediately. Do not delay — and keep an eye on yourself in the days following. You may wish to purify yourself, as well as the playing space, at least once during this time — just to be safe.
Concerning Red Flags:
If, at any point during the ritual, you feel a strange physical sensation on your body — a form of pressure, or an unseen weight pressing down upon you — HALT THE RITUAL IMMEDIATELY. Proceed directly to Waking From Sleep and perform the procedures laid out therein, in their entirety, regardless as to how far you did or did not make it through the rest of the ritual’s instructions.
Do not play this game again.
In fact, do not play any sort of ritual game again.
Ever.
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[Photo via Nishta Sharma/Unsplash]