The Most Dangerous Games: The Lady In The Castle Ritual

Previously: Is Anyone There?

In October of 2023, a Reddit user going by the name u/Whole_Leek_5087 posted a question to the r/ThreeKings subreddit: “Does anyone remember the Lady In The Castle game?”, they asked in the subject line. The actual body of their post was brief, but provided a few additional details: As they recalled it, the Lady In The Castle ritual game was “one of those ritual games with physical effects” — think Cat Scratch or Sandman — and they remembered playing it with friends “way back when.”

It’s not much to go on; what’s more, “way back when” as a reference to childhood can mean dramatically different things, depending on your demographic — or me, for instance, “way back when” means 25 to 30 years ago, whereas for someone who’s currently in their teens or early 20s, it could mean only five to seven or eight years ago.

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

They did also recall having seen a handful of posts on Reddit about it, as well — and following that trail brings up a comment from user u/OfAdniAndFlames’ 2019 post describing their experience with a different ritual game, Red Door, Yellow Door. u/OfAdniAndFlames made reference to the Lady In The Castle game — here called not the Lady In The Castle, but rather the Lady In The Tower — in their initial post; then, in a follow-up comment, wrote that it was “one of those stories that have a physical effect,” and involved “[imagining] walking into a castle, up [a] staircase, [seeing] a lady, and she stabs you.” In the thread, they further noted that they had “no idea where [their] friends got it.”

Following the trail yet further brings up a YouTube video from 2015 titled “The Woman In The Castle – Creepy Ritual Game.” Posted by a user going by the name The Elocutioner, this video may, in fact, be the original source of the game: The Elocutioner notes in the description of the vide that it’s a creation of their own “based on an old myth.”(The myth is not specified, but the game’s story resembles many a fairytale — mainly “The Sleeping Beauty” a la Charles Perrault, or “Briar Rose” as in the Grimms’ version. It’s certainly got a twist on it, though — one that brings to mind fairytale riffs like Neil Gaiman’s spin on Snow White, “Snow, Glass, Apples.”)

Short and not so sweet, it features all the details those Reddit posts describe; it also predates all of them, and, assuming that u/Whole_Leek_5087 is on the younger end of the age spectrum, emerged at a time that could be referred to as “way back when” despite its relatively short period of existence: 2015 would, in fact, have been about eight years prior at the time of u/Whole_Leek_5087’s post.

In any event, the Lady In The Castle ritual game as posted by The Elocutioner, aka Sarah Thornton Ball — who hasn’t really been active on any of their content creation platforms or social media channels since late 2016-early 2017 — comes across more like Tomino’s Hell, the White Kimono Game, or Lingsir Wengi, in that’s presented simply as a story with only the rough framing of a ritual game placed gently around it; it’s something you read, rather than something you “play.”

With a little adjustment, though, it can made it into a much more active experience which utilizes multiple players, as is the case in games like Cat Scratch, Sandman, Concentrate, Purple Hearts, and Red Door, Yellow Door. This one also seems like it would lend itself well to bystanders being present, if you’ve got a group of people interested in observing it in action.

The Lady In The Castle ritual game may be relatively benign in the grand scheme of things… but as always:

Play at your own risk.

Players:

• One Listener.
• One Storyteller.
• Bystanders. (Optional.)

Requirements:

• A dark, quiet room.
• A pillow. (Optional.)
• A bed, couch, or other piece of furniture large enough to lie down upon. (Optional.)
• Candles and matches or a lighter. (Optional.)
• Other small, dim, atmospheric light sources. (Optional.)

Instructions:

Making The Preparations:

1. Begin at any time.
2. Go to your chosen playing space. Draw the curtains or otherwise block the windows. Make the space as dark as you are able, free of any light bleeding in from the outside.
3. Find a place to lie down — on the floor, on a bed, on a couch or sofa, anywhere spacious and comfortable enough for the Listener to lie down fully upon.
4. If using candles or other small light sources, set them up around the room. Light them, if necessary. (If using candles, be mindful of the open flames; keep them away from anything flammable, and keep a fire extinguisher nearby.)
5. Close the door.
6. Turn off the room’s primary light source(s).
7. Listener: Lie down on your back upon the agreed-upon space. If using the pillow, place it beneath your head. Close your eyes.
8. Storyteller: Find somewhere within the space to sit, ideally close by the Listener.
9. Bystanders (if present): Find somewhere within the space to sit or stand. Keep your distance from the Listener and the Storyteller. Remain inobtrusive. Remain silent.
10. Is everyone comfortable?
11. Good.
12. It is time to begin.

Telling The Story:

1. Listener: Relax your body. Breathe in. Breathe out. Keep your eyes closed. Keep your ears open.
2. Bystanders: Sit or stand quietly. Remain inobtrusive. Remain silent.
3. Storyteller: Sit. Wait. And when the moment feels right, begin telling the story.
4. You may use whatever arrangement of words and phrases you like, but the story you tell should go something like this:
5. Tell the Listener to imagine a castle — a tall castle, old and made of stone, the type you might find in a myth, or a legend, or a fairytale.
6. Tell the Listener to imagine a path leading to the castle. Perhaps it runs through a forest — a forest of trees, or a forest of thorns, or a forest of… something else. The details are up to you. The path wends and winds through fog and darkness.
7. Tell the Listener to tread carefully — for they must follow the path, step by step, up to the castle.
8. Tell the Listener they have reached the castle gate. It is, like the castle itself, old and made of stone, with heavy iron bars blocking the way.
9. The gate opens. The Listener passes through.
10. Tell the Listener they have reached the castle door — heavy, wood, built to keep people out… and, perhaps, people in.
11. The Listener leans upon the door.
12. The Listener pushes upon the door.
13. The Listener opens the door.
14. Tell the Listener they are now inside the castle. It is dim and damp — but just ahead, there is a staircase, large and grand and, of course, made of stone. Tell the Listener to watch their — for they must climb the staircase, following it up, and up, and up, until they reach a long hallway.
15. Tell the Listener that, as they try the doors along the hallway, they will find them all locked — except for one. They must open this door, and pass through it into the room beyond.
16. Tell the Listener that inside the room, there is a large, ornate bed — and on the bed, there is a woman, beautiful, with long, dark hair.
17. The woman appears to be asleep.
18. But the woman is not asleep.
19. The woman’s eyes fly open.
20. The woman screams.
21. The woman rises and rushes forward.
22. Tell the Listener they turn to run.
23. Tell the Listener they reach the door.
24. But the Listener does not make it through the door.
25. When the Listener is at the door, they feel the sharp punch of a knife driven deeply into their back.

Experiencing The Aftermath:

1. Listener: When the Storyteller has completed the story, open your eyes and sit up.
2. Storyteller: Gently lift the back of the Listener’s shirt to reveal the skin beneath.
3. Listener, you may feel something… or not.
4. Storyteller and Bystanders, you may see something… or not.
5. If you something, it will be a mark — not large, but red, and angry-looking.
6. A mark exactly in the place where one might expect the wound to be, if one were to have a knife driven deeply into their back.
7. The mark will fade with time.
8. But the memory will not.
9. Be careful when you sleep from here on out, Listener.
10. If you see a castle in your dreams… run.

Additional Notes:

Please note that the choice to use the candles and matches or lighter render this game a fire hazard. Should you choose to play in this way, take common sense fire safety precautions, and keep a fire extinguisher nearby. We are not responsible for anything that may occur as a result of this choice — or anything that may occur as a result of simply choosing to play this game in any form in the first place.

Single-Player Variations:

This game may also be played with one Listener, and no one else — no separate Storyteller, and no Bystanders. This may be accomplished via two different methods:

• Variation 1: Simply get comfortable, close your eyes, and listen to the audio portion of this video. You may use whatever method you like to play the video — a computer, a tablet, a smartphone, or a smart television are all acceptable options. In this version of the game, the video’s audio track functions as the Storyteller.
• Variation 2: Or, you may simply commit the details of the story to memory and tell it to yourself, either spoken aloud or silently within your own mind. In this version of the game, the single player is both Listener and Storyteller.

Should you choose to play solo, however, be warned:

Those who play with a Storyteller to guide them through the story also have a Storyteller to guide them out of the story, should an escape hatch become necessary.

Those who play without a Storyteller have no such guide.

Are you confident in your ability to guide yourself out of difficult situations without additional help — or, more succinctly, to escape the dangers lurking within your own mind, all on your own?

If not, do NOT play with only one player.

You wouldn’t want to get… stuck, now, would you?

***

Follow The Ghost In My Machine on Bluesky @GhostMachine13.bsky.social, Twitter @GhostMachine13, and Facebook @TheGhostInMyMachine. And for more games, don’t forget to check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available now from Chronicle Books!

[Photo via Michael_Pointner, YanceTAY, markusspiske/Pixabay]