The Most Dangerous Games: The Cemetery Dirt Game, Or, How To See Ghosts Using A Blindfold

Previously: The Wall-Knock Ghost Game.

Looking for something a little eerie to do with your evening in, oh, let’s say maybe a day or two? There’s no better (or, conversely, worse) time to sneak into a cemetery at night than Halloween, after all — so for the curious, here’s another way to see ghosts, spirits, and other beings, creatures, or entities of the supernatural variety. A game, if you will. A ritual. If, of course, you’re feeling very brave… or very foolish. And also if you don’t mind a little cemetery dirt.

This particular ritual game designed to allow you to see spirits is Indonesian in origin. Posted to the r/ThreeKings subreddit by u/fric_lair in March of 2023, it sees players venturing into a cemetery or burial ground at night, anointing a blindfold with earth taken directly from a grave, and then… seeing how things go.

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

Although some of the specifics of this game — the blindfold, namely — seem to have come directly from u/fric_lair, the idea that applying cemetery dirt or earth to your eyelids can allow you to see ghosts and spirits is, in fact, prevalent in Indonesian folklore and ghostlore; indeed, it’s seemingly quite a popular ritual game across the Indonesian-speaking internet, popping up in list after list of ways to see or encounter the supernatural, in TikToks, and the like. The belief is that, by anointing your eyes with earth that has touched the dead, you may open your “inner” eye — the eye by which you may view things that are… not of our world. Or at least, not of the world of the living.

There’s an easy way to play this game, and a hard way. The hard way is… not recommended.

But either way:

Play at your own risk.

Participants:

• One principal.

Requirements:

• One cloth blindfold.
• A small bag, such as a zip-top plastic bag. (Optional.)
• A flower or other offering. (Optional, but recommended.)
• Access to a cemetery. (See: Additional Notes.)
• A cleansing ritual, and the means to perform it.

Instructions:

Making The Preparations:

1. Begin at any time.
2. Travel to your chosen cemetery or burial ground. Bring with you the small bag (if you have chosen to use it) and/or the blindfold (if not).
3. Locate a grave. A freshly-occupied one is ideal.
4. Collect a handful of soil, dirt, or earth from the top of the grave. If using the small bag, you may store the earth inside of it. If not, tie the earth up within the cloth of the blindfold. If tying up the earth within the blindfold, be sure to tie securely enough to ensure that no earth will spill out of it, but not so tightly that you are unable to loosen it again.
5. Exit the cemetery, taking the bag or bundle of earth with you.

Seeing The Spirits:

1. Once you are out of the cemetery — it doesn’t matter where, as long as you are no longer on its grounds — carefully apply the earth you collected to the inside of the blindfold. The earth should be spread on the side that will rest directly upon your eyelids when you wear the blindfold.
   • NOTE: Do NOT place the blindfold on the floor or spread it across any kind of surface while you apply the earth to it.
2. Now: Lift the blindfold to your face. Try not to lose too much of the earth as you do so. Close your eyes. Wrap the cloth around the back of your head. And tie it securely.
3. Sit.
4. Wait.
5. Breathe.
6. What do you see, behind the folds of the cloth tied about your eyes, their own lids closed tight?

Closing The Ritual:

1. When you have seen enough, reach behind your head and carefully untie the blindfold.
2. Remove the blindfold from your face. Again, try not to lose too much of the earth as you do so.
3. Tie the blindfold up, bundling the earth within it, similarly to the method recommended in Making The Preparations: Step 4.
4. Wash your face. (Optional, but recommended.)
5. Perform the cleansing ritual of your choice. (Optional, but recommended.)
6. Return to the cemetery or burial ground from which you gathered the handful of earth in Making The Preparations. Bring the flower or offering, if using, and the bundle of earth.
7. Return to the specific grave from which you gathered the handful of earth.
8. Untie the blindfold and return the earth to the surface of this grave.
9. Place the flower or other offering, if using, atop the grave, and offer your apologies for disturbing the grave’s occupant. You may use whatever words or script you like, so long as you are contrite, polite, and, above all, sincere. If you are the praying type, also offer a prayer for their happiness and safety in whatever waits for us beyond death. If you are not the praying type, offer your best wishes for their happiness and safety in whatever waits for us beyond death.
10. Exit the cemetery, leaving the flower or offering behind, but taking the blindfold with you.
11. Dispose of the blindfold in one of the following two ways: Burn it to ash, and then remove the ashes to a location to which you will never again return; or, bury the blindfold, whole cloth, at a location to which you will never again return.
12. Perform the cleansing ritual of your choice.
    • NOTE: If you have previously performed a cleansing ritual in Closing The Ritual: Steps 4 through 5, completing this step will mean you have performed a total of two cleansing rituals during this portion of the game. They may be the same ritual performed twice, or two different rituals; the choice is yours.
13. Do NOT return to either the cemetery or the location at which you disposed of the blindfold again.
14. Ever.

Additional Notes:

Regarding the blindfold: It is recommended that you use a large square or rectangle of cloth folded into the correct size and shape for your blindfold. A bandana or a large handkerchief is ideal.

Regarding the cemetery:

• It is HIGHLY recommended that you choose a cemetery you do not anticipate ever visiting again following the conclusion of the ritual.
• It is also recommended that you gain entry to the cemetery only by legal means. Do not trespass or otherwise access the cemetery through means or methods outside of those permitted by law.

It is not essential that this ritual be performed at night. However, you may achieve more effective results if you wait until dark to play. Similarly, you need not play on any specific date, although you may see stronger results should you choose to play at a time at which the veil between our own world and the… other world (or worlds) is known to be a bit… thinner.

It is NOT recommended that you wear the blindfold for an extended period of time. For your own safety, wear it only for a short time — a handful of minutes, perhaps.

For Those Who Would Dare:

To make the game more of a… challenge, you may make any or all of the following adjustments as you play:

• When choosing the specific grave from which to gather the cemetery earth, choose a grave belonging to someone known to have committed great wrongs against others in life. Irredeemable wrongs. In a word: Evil.
• When wearing the blindfold: Wear it for as long as possible.
• After removing the blindfold: Do not return to the cemetery. Do not place the flower or offering on the grave. Do not offer your apologies, or your well-wishes. Do not return the earth to the grave.
• Dispose of the earth as far away from the grave you collected it from as you possibly can.

NOTE: It is NOT recommended that any of these adjustments be made while playing this game.

You have been warned.

The Cemetery Dirt Game: FAQ.

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[Photo via EdWhiteImages/Pixabay]