The Most Dangerous Games: Summoning The Whimsical Wish Granter

Previously: The Shoulder Tap Game.

Here’s another one for anyone who’s into wish-granting rituals — or at least, rituals that give you the opportunity to ask for a wish to be granted. In the Whimsical Wish Granter ritual game, as in many wish-granting ritual games, there exists the possibility that your wish may not be granted. But hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

As far as I can tell, the Whimsical Wish Granter ritual is a recently made-up game, as opposed to one with longstanding folkloric or historical roots; Redditor u/oddmisfit first posted it to a handful of subreddits, including r/threekings, r/creepypasta, and r/mrcreeps, right at the beginning of May 2019, and seems to have subsequently seeded it across in the internet in a few other places like YouTube and Creepypasta.xyz  shortly thereafter — but it doesn’t appear anywhere else, in any other formats, or posted by any other people beyond this handful of posts. Redditor u/oddmisfit has been inactive since 2020, as well, so there’s no telling where they might be now.

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

That said, though, it does still utilize longstanding tropes and traditions: Salt; a threshold, e.g. a liminal space; extending an invitation to an otherworldly visitor; and so on.

So: Even if the format of this particular ritual is made-up, and even if the Whimsical Wish Granter themself is likely a fictional being, the principles at work here do track. And besides, arguably all folklore starts as fakelore; the difference between the two mostly comes down to time and belief.

There are quite a few holes in the ritual’s instructions as it stands, so here’s an attempt to clean things up a bit. As always, though: Play at your own risk.

Players:

• One principal.

Requirements:

• A door. This door must be the front door of a home or domicile. (See: Additional Notes.)
• A candle.
• Matches or a lighter.
• An analog time-keeping device. Do not use a digital one.
• Salt.
• A chair or somewhere to sit. (Optional.)
• A wish or desire.

Instructions:

The Preparation:

1. Begin at midnight.
2. Gather together your supplies. When you have assembled all of them, and when you and they are inside the home or domicile belonging to the front door you have chosen to use for this game, bring the supplies to the door itself. Make sure this door is closed at this time.
3. Next, travel throughout the home or domicile, turning off all the lights you go.
4. Additionally, turn off or unplug any electronic devices in the playing space, including but not limited to digital clocks, computers, tablets, gaming consoles, mobile phones, etc.
5. Lastly, close every single door to every single room.
6. When you have turned off every light, turned off or unplugged every electronic device, and closed every door, return to the front door.
7. If using the chair, position it a few feet away from the door, facing it. Then position yourself between the chair and the door. If you are not using the chair, skip directly to The Preparation: Step 8.
8. Face the door.
9. Take a deep breath.
10. Are you ready?
11. Good.
12. Open the front door.

The Invitation:

1. Using the salt, draw a square on the ground in the space directly between yourself and the open doorway.
2. Place the candle on the ground at your feet. Then, using the matches or lighter, light it.
3. Speak aloud the following words: “I invite you in.”
4. Then, make your wish. You do not have to speak your wish aloud… but you must wish for it, actively, with all your might.
5. Extinguish the candle.
6. Now: Wait. If using the chair, you may sit in it while you wait; if not, simply stand where you are. Do not move. Do not leave the area. Do not face away from the door.
7. Wait for 15 minutes. Keep an eye on your time-keeping device.
8. When the 15 minutes are up, one of two things will occur: You will sense nothing, or you will sense… something.
   • If you sense nothing: The ritual has failed; do not proceed. Extinguish the candle, close the door, and clean up the salt. It is recommended that you vacate the premises; if you do so, do not return until the sun has risen. You may try again another time, if you like.
   • If you sense… something: The ritual has succeeded; you may proceed.
     • NOTE: What you sense may vary by player. You may hear a quiet whisper drifting up out of the darkness. You may hear your name being softly called. You may hear another kind of noise—a sliding, a scraping, a bang. You may see something — a shadow, perhaps — moving, just out of the corner of your eye. Or, you may see, hear, or feel something else. No matter what is, though, if your environment has… changed, somehow — or, more accurately, if your sense of who or what is in your environment with you has changed — that is how you will know: He is here.
9. Count to 10. Count aloud.
10. Now, close the door.

The Visit:

1. You may now move freely about the home or domicile in which you have chosen to play. But know that you are not alone in this space; your visitor is here, as well. Be respectful. Be a good host.
2. You are being judged.
3. You may speak with your visitor, if you like, but again: Be respectful. Be a good host.
4. You are being judged.
5. Continue moving freely about the home or domicile — or don’t; you may also stay in one place, if you so desire — until at least 30 minutes have passed since you closed the front door. Keep an eye on your time-keeping device; DO NOT PROCEED until at least 30 minutes have gone by.
6. When at least 30 minutes have passed, you may proceed to The Farewell.

The Farewell:

1. To bid your visitor farewell, return to the front door, if you have traveled away from it.
2. Open it. Then stand facing the open doorway.
3. Using the matches or lighter, light the candle at your feet once more.
4. Then, speak aloud the following words: “The time has ended. It is time to leave.”
5. Extinguish the candle. Close the door. Clean up the salt. Go to sleep.
6. Pay attention in the coming days, weeks, months, or years. If your wish has been granted, you will know.
7. If your wish has NOT been granted…
8. …You will know.
9. You will know, and you will come to regret having wished for it in the first place.

Additional Notes:

Due to the use of candles and open flames, this game should be considered a FIRE HAZARD. Take common sense fire safety precautions before playing, including but not limited to removing all flammable objects or items from the vicinity of the flame, keeping a functional fire extinguisher on hand during the course of the game, etc. We are not responsible for anything that may befall you while playing this game.

The door must be the primary entrance to a domicile of some sort. In the case of a house, the door should be the house’s front door. In the case of an apartment, the door should be the unit’s front door. It is not recommended that this game be played in a non-domicile.

Do NOT use a window in place of the door.

Although most players choose to perform this ritual in their own homes, the domicile used does not necessarily have to be your home, specifically — that is, it may be played in a rental, a borrowed home, etc. However, please note that doing so may present something of a risk for those who stay in the home after you, for those who actually live in the home, etc. Your willingness to put others at risk as a method of minimizing risk to yourself may or may not affect the judgement upon you carried out in The Visit. (See: Regarding Failed Wishes.)

Regarding Failed Wishes:

Wishes are not guaranteed to be granted.

If your wish has NOT been granted, it may be because you failed to follow the rules correctly.

If your wish has NOT been granted, it may be because you were judged unworthy.

If your wish has NOT been granted, it may be because your visitor simply didn’t feel like doing so.

Wishes are granted at your visitor’s whim.

If your wish has not been granted, do not display anger.

If your wish has not been granted, do not attempt retaliation.

If your wish has not been granted, be on your very best behavior — inside and out.

Mind your actions.

Mind your thoughts.

For, if your wish has not been granted, your visitor may have also chosen not to leave your home.

He is there.

He is watching.

And although he might accept a favor from you in exchange for leaving you be…

…Your safety cannot be guaranteed.

***

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!

[Photos via Tama66, WOKANDAPIX, TheoRivierenlaan/Pixabay]