The Most Dangerous Games: How To Experience Your Inner World

Previously: The Whimsical Wish Granter.

If you’re in search of a way to better learn the workings of your own mind — to access things stored away in your noggin that might not be easily reachable; to dig up your true feelings about a certain situation, or a certain person; to recall memories your conscious mind has long since buried — this ritual game will teach you how to experience your “inner world.”

Perhaps more a method of meditation than, say, a way to journey to another world, it’s fairly easy to carry out… although, as I’ve remarked several times in the past, beware of your own mind. It is not always your friend.

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

I first encountered this game on Namu Wiki, but it seems to be a creepypasta in the truest sense of the word — that is, it’s been shared in pretty much the same form, word for word, over and over and over again, copied and pasted and copied pasted ad nauseum. The equation is the same as always: Creepy plus copypasta equals creepypasta.

As for where it originally came from? Most copied and pasted sets of rules for this method of experiencing your inner world note that the game first appeared on Thredic — a 2ch-like anonymous bulletin board system popular in Korea — circa 2010-2011. I’m unable to independently verify this fact, though, as that original source is no longer accessible.

Not unlike 2ch, which is now 5ch, the current version of Thredic isn’t the original one; the older version imploded for reasons I don’t fully grasp in the mid-2010s. Archives of this original iteration of Thredic are hard to come by, as the servers have long since been shut down — and unfortunately, the Thredic that exists today, which came to the fore around 2017, doesn’t preserve much, if anything, from its predecessor.

The upshot is that the original thread featuring this ritual has been lost, and is likely not recoverable. The internet, alas, is not always forever.

At least we still have it in some form, though, even if we don’t have its original form.

So: If you’re feeling brave — or curious — or thoughtful — or any combination of the above, here’s something for you to try the next time you’re hoovering just on the edge of sleep.

As always, though:

Play at your own risk.

Players:

• One principal.

Requirements:

• A quiet room with a place to lie down — ideally your bedroom.

Instructions:

Before The Journey:

1. You may begin at any time, although nighttime — late — is recommended.
2. Wait until you are a bit drowsy. If you are wide awake, do NOT begin. Wait. Wait until you are ready for bed. Wait until you are starting to yawn. Wait until your eyelids begin to feel heavy, and staying awake feels like it is becoming a chore.
3. When you feel you are in the correct state, go to your bed and lie down in it. Tuck yourself in. Close your eyes. Get comfortable.
4. Breathe. Pay attention to how you feel. Keep breathing.
5. Let yourself become drowsier. No, drowsier than that. Even drowsier. Wait until you are just at the line between waking and sleep — but do not cross it, not just yet. Stay there, suspended, not fully awake, yet not asleep.
6. In the physical world, keep your eyes closed.
7. In the world inside your mind, open them.

At The Door:

1. Imagine you are standing outside your bedroom.
2. Now, imagine the door to your bedroom. See it in your mind’s eye. Visualize it in as much detail as you can. How tall is it? How wide? What color is it? What does the knob look like? Is it a knob at all, or is it more of a handle? Imagine everything about it you can, as clearly as you can.
3. Inside your mind, speak the following words to yourself: “Knock, knock. Please open the door. Knock, knock. I am at the door.” As you speak, imagine yourself knocking on the door before you.
4. Keep repeating those words to yourself. Keep knocking.
5. Keep going until the door opens.

Inside The Room:

1. When the door opens, stop chanting your refrain, and cease your knocking.
2. Now, speak — inside your mind still — the following words: “Thank you. Only I may enter this door. Please leave it open until I enter.”
3. Prepare to enter the room.
4. Think to yourself, “I am entering the room.”
5. Now: Enter the room.
6. I hope whatever you find there is… useful to you.

Additional Notes:

For best results, this game should be played in your own room. You may attempt to play it elsewhere; however, results may be mixed.

Upon reaching Step 1 of At The Door, do NOT attempt to imagine any door other than the door to your room. Use only the image of the door to your own room.  

If the door does not open for you in Step 5 of At The Door, do NOT attempt to force it open. Leave, wake up, and try again another time.

Do NOT neglect Step 2 of Inside The Room. If you do NOT speak these words, do NOT enter the room.

When you enter the room in Step 5 of Inside The Room, it should be empty of all other… people. If it is not, leave immediately. Close the door behind you. And in the real world: Wake up.

If you successfully enter the room, keep an eye on the door. Do NOT allow it to close on you while you are inside the room.

There is no record of any specific way to end this ritual. The following method is one possible solution: When you are ready to leave your inner world and return to the physical world, leave the room and close the door behind you. Then, in the physical world: Wake up. Please note that waking up may be easier said than done.

DO NOT fall asleep while playing this ritual. “Waking up” as described elsewhere in these instructions should not consist of literally waking up from sleep. Bringing yourself back to the physical world from the world inside your mind is… something else.

Bear that in mind, should you choose to play.

Something To Consider:

If you have performed this ritual successfully, and entered the room successfully, note that there should not be anyone inside waiting for you.

So:

Who was it that opened the door for you in the first place?

***

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 65234, Grizzlybear-se, PiotrZakrzewski/Pixabay]