The Most Dangerous Games: The Hospitality Game

Previously: The Being From The Beyond.

Today, an eerie ritual game that’s sort of like a combination of the Hosting Game and a divination ritual: The Hospitality Game. It’s fairly easy to play, all things considered; the supplies are commonplace and simple to get a hold of, and the procedure, although somewhat involved, isn’t difficult to perform.

Still, though: There’s a reason these games are all filed under the heading of Most Dangerous Games, isn’t there? Well, more than one reason, if we’re really being honesty with ourselves — but either way, this one is certainly a game you shouldn’t actually play.

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

I’ve only ever seen the Hospitality Game in Korean, where it’s usually rendered as 손님대접 or  술 손님대접 , with the oldest mention of the game I’ve recovered dating back to 2012 (in a Thredic post, naturally, preserved on a Naver blog). Interestingly, couple of the Korean sources specify that it’s Japanese in origin — but I’ve yet to identify a Japanese source that follows this set of instructions to the letter. Despite that, though, it’s worth noting that there are an awful lot of elements in common between the Hospitality Game and, for example, Hitori Kakurenbo, or Hide And Seek Alone… except for one key difference: There’s no doll in the Hospitality Game.

The doll is, ostensibly, what the spirit goes into in Hide And Seek Alone. It’s both an antagonist and a kind of failsafe — a physical vessel to hold something potentially dangerous.

We don’t have that vessel in the Hospitality Game.

Just, y’know… think about that for a minute.

But if you want to summon a spirit, and maybe learn something about your future… here’s one way to do it.

Make sure you’re up to the challenges of being a good host first, though.

As always: Play at your own risk.

Players:

• One principal.
• One spectator. (Optional. Not recommended.)

Requirements:

• A room — with at least one window that opens and a door that closes.
• A table — inside the room with the window that opens and the door that closes.
• A second room — with a door that closes and locks.
• A television or radio.
• A small mirror.
• Two candles.
• Matches or a lighter.
• A fire extinguisher and other fire safety supplies.
• A glass of water or an alcoholic beverage.
• A bowl of cooked rice.
• Two sheets of paper.
• A writing implement — red.
• A photograph of yourself.
• A strand of your own hair.
• A drop of your own blood.
• Thread, yarn, or string — red. Lots.
• Scissors.
• Tape.
• An alarm clock.
• Salt. (Optional, but recommended.)

Instructions:

Making The Preparations:

1. Begin at night.
2. Bring your supplies to the first room — the room with the window that opens and the door that closes.
3. Turn off the lights.
4. Place the television or radio on or near the table.
5. Tune the television or radio to a channel or station with no frequency — one that is not receiving, displaying or playing only static or silence. Then turn the volume to level 10, or to its maximum possible level.
6. Place the mirror on the table.
7. Place the candles on either side of the mirror.
8. Place the bowl of rice in front of the mirror.
9. Place the glass of water or alcohol next to the bowl of rice.
10. Are you ready?
11. Are you sure?
12. Good.
13. Take up your matches or lighter, and light the candles.
14. It is time.

Inviting Your Guest:

1. Once the candles are lit and burning brightly, take the photograph of yourself and attach it to the mirror using the tape.
2. Take the strand of your own hair and lay it down on top of the rice.
3. Take the drop of your own blood and deposit it inside the glass of water or alcohol.
4. Place one sheet of paper on the table. Make sure it is blank.
5. Using the writing implement, write the word “forbidden” on the other sheet of paper.
6. Use the tape to attach the “forbidden” paper to the room’s door.
7. Leave the writing implement on the table next to the blank sheet of paper.
8. Measure out a length of red thread long enough to stretch across the entire width of the door. Cut it using the scissors.
9. Measure two more identical lengths of red thread and them, as well, for a total of three lengths of thread.
10. Use the tape to attach these lengths of thread across the door — one across the upper third of the door, one across the center of the door, and one across the bottom third of the door. (See diagram here for reference.)
11. Open the window.
12. Exit the room, taking the alarm clock with you. Close the door behind you.
13. Go to the second room — the room with the door that locks. This will be your safe room. Bring the alarm clock with you.
14. Once you are safely inside, close the door and lock it.
15. Set the alarm clock to go off anywhere from half an hour from now to two hours from now. Do NOT set it for less than 30 minutes. Do NOT exceed two hours.
16. Do NOT unlock the door, open the door, or exit this room before the alarm goes off.

Saying Farewell:

1. When the alarm rings, unlock the door to your safe room, open it, and go to the door to the first room. Do NOT touch or open the door — not yet.
2. Ask aloud, in front of the still-closed door: “Is anyone inside?”
3. Wait five seconds. Listen. Make note of what you do or don’t hear. Do NOT touch or open the door.
4. Ask again: “Is anyone inside?”
5. Wait five seconds. Listen. Make note of what you do or don’t hear.
6. Repeat this process eight more times, for a total of 10: Ask the question, “Is anyone inside?”, wait five seconds, listen, and make note of what you do or don’t hear 10 times. Do NOT touch the door at any point.
   • If you hear nothing: The room is empty; you may proceed.
   • If you hear anything inside the room at any point — anything at all: The room is NOT empty; do NOT proceed. Enact the following safety procedure: Speak aloud the words, “Please leave the way you entered,” wait five seconds, and listen. If you hear noise inside the room again, speak aloud again the words, “Please leave the way you entered,” wait five seconds, and listen. Repeat this procedure until you hear no noise from inside the room — until you are certain the room is empty once more. Only then may you proceed to Saying Farewell, Step 7.
7. When you are certain the room is empty, open the door and enter the room.
8. Turn the lights on.
9. Close the window.
10. Extinguish the candles.
11. Turn off the television or radio.
12. Clear up the table and dispose of the candles, the mirror, the photograph of yourself, the bowl of rice containing your hair, and the glass of water or alcohol containing your blood.
13. If using the salt, scatter it across the table and/or around the room.
14. Look at the sheet of paper you left on the table.
15. If you are lucky, it will still be blank.
16. If you are not, there will be… something written on it.
17. It might be your future—
18. —But that future might not be the bright and shining future you had dreamed for yourself.
19. It might be something… worse.
20. Much worse.
21. I hope you’re happy. Because what you now know about what’s waiting for you days, weeks, months, years down the line?
22. You can never unknow it.
23. It’s coming for you — whether you like it or not.

Additional Notes:

Due to the use of open flames, this game should be considered a FIRE HAZARD. It is NOT RECOMMENDED that you play this game. If you do play, 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.

It is NOT recommended that you leave candles burning unattended.

It is NOT recommended that you play this game.

We are not responsible for anything that may befall you as a result of playing this game.

Due to the use of blood, this game should be considered a HEALTH AND SAFETY HAZARD. Do not attempt to play without exercising proper health and safety precautions regarding the sterilization of sharp objects, first aid, etc. We are not responsible for anything that may befall you as a result of playing this game.

The space requirements for this game are highly specific. You MUST play in a space that contains at least two rooms, one of which MUST have a window that opens and a door that closes and the other of which MUST have a door that closes and locks. Additionally, the rooms must have passing space between them — that is, they CANNOT be separated by a single door. Each room must have its own door.

Do NOT attempt to play in a space that does not satisfy these conditions.

Some sources specify that the table should be a dining table; others do not. As long as the table is large enough to fit all of the required supplies, it should serve its purpose, whether or not it is specifically a dining table.

The mirror should be able to stand up on its own.

The writing implement may be of any variety — pen, pencil, etc. — as long as the color in which it writes is red.

The photograph MUST be of yourself. The hair MUST be your own. The blood MUST be your own. Do NOT attempt to play with the photograph, hair, or blood of someone else.

Some sources state that you need only use one of the three items — the photograph, OR the hair, OR the blood. For best results, however, it is recommended you use all three.

One bystander is permitted. This bystander must exit the first room when the principal does, must enter the safe room when the principal does, and must not exit the safe room until the principal does. The bystander should also not re-enter the first room until the principal does.

However: It is NOT recommended that you play with a bystander. For best results, play alone.

Do NOT permit the time allotted by the alarm to exceed two hours — not unless you’re comfortable with your guest becoming rather more permanent than a simple visit might suggest.

This game may be forcestopped up to 10 minutes into the preparations. If, during the first 10 minutes of Making The Preparations, you wish to stop, you may do so. If, however, you exceed 10 minutes of total play time, you MUST continue.

You MUST see it through.

Do not make commitments you are not prepared to keep.

Concerning The Doors, And The Rooms To Which They Lead:

Do NOT unlock the safe room door, open the safe room door, or exit the safe room before the alarm goes off.

Do NOT touch, lean against, or open the first room’s door until you are certain it is empty.

And above all, do NOT vacate the premises until you have completed the game.

If you do…

…You… may no longer be yourself when you return.

***

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 qimono, Pezibear, sweetlouise, Life-Of-Pix/Pixabay; ramy Kabalan/Pexels]