The Most Dangerous Games: How To See Ghosts By Looking Upside Down

Previously: The Headphones Game.

There are loads of ways to see ghosts, according to Thai folklore and superstition; even better, most of them are pretty easy to do and don’t require a ton of unusual materials. Case in point: A method purporting to teach you how to see ghosts by looking upside down — that is, by bending at the waist and looking through your own legs.

It’s not dissimilar from Japan’s Fox Window Game; as is the case with that one, this ghost summoning ritual makes a window out of parts of your own body which, when looked through under the right circumstances, claim to give you a glimpse of something otherworldly.

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

Whether it’s wise to look through that window, of course, is another thing entirely. But, well… that’s up to you to decide for yourself.

Although I haven’t been able to determine precisely when the whole how-to-see-a-ghost-by-looking-through-your-legs thing started, my understanding is that it’s quite a longstanding tradition — the kind of urban legend or scary story that’s been passed around by word of mouth for generations. Indeed, it’s pervasive enough in Thai pop culture that it even makes an appearance in the 2013 film Pee Mak, a comedy-romance-horror movie (a lot going on there!) based on the legend of Mae Nak which has gone on to become Thailand’s most commercially successful film to date.

Interestingly the chant that’s repeated during the summoning sequence of this game is the same one that’s used when playing ผีถ้วยแก้ว (Phi Thuay Kaeo) — literally the Ghost In The Glass, the Thai version of games like Kokkuri-san, Bixian, and the Western Ouija or talking board. Just, y’know… FYI.

All of which is to say: For the curious, here’s how to see a ghost by looking through your legs, or how to see a ghost by looking upside down, or however you want to think of it. Remember, though, that just because something is simple doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s safe.

As always:

Play at your own risk.

Players:

• One principal.

Requirements:

• A large, open, outdoor space in which to play.
• Nearby, a tree.
• From that tree, a fallen leaf.
• A compass. (Optional, but recommended.)

Instructions:

The Preparation:

1. Begin at night.
2. Go to the large, open, outdoor space in which you intend to play. Bring the compass, if using.
3. Nearby — either within the large, open, outdoor space itself, or as close to it as you can get — locate a tree.
4. Find a leaf on the ground. The leaf must have fallen from the tree. The closer to the tree the leaf has fallen, the better; ideally, it will have fallen on or among the tree’s roots.
5. Pick up the leaf. Hold it in one hand — but do NOT position your hands in a prayer position.
6. Now: Stand in the middle of the large, open, outdoor space.
7. Look up.
8. Can you see the moon?
9. Good. Keep it that way.
10. Identify which direction is east, either with the compass if using or by another means.
11. Stand facing the east, with your back to the west.
12. Make sure you can still see the moon.
13. Can you still see it?
14. Good.
15. Now: It is time.
16. It is time to invite your visitor.

The Viewing:

1. From your starting position — facing the east, back to the west — rotate slowly in place in a clockwise direction. While you turn, repeat the following chant aloud: “พุทโธทายะ” (rendered phonetically, “Phu thṭho thā ya”). Be sure to complete the chant by the time you finish the rotation.
2. Rotate in place clockwise a second time, again repeating the chant as previously written.
3. Rotate in a place clockwise a third and final time, repeating the chant a third time, as well. At the end of this final rotation, you must end facing east, your back to the west, and your feet planted on the ground, shoulder width apart.

4. Now: Close your eyes, and think of the leaf in your hand. Think of the tree from which the leaf fell. Think of the energy held within that leaf — the energy connecting it with the tree. Think of the leaf falling. Think of the leaf dying. You are connected with the dead leaf, and, as such, you can communicate with the dead leaf.
5. Keep your eyes closed, and think, too, of the spirits of those who have passed on. They are the leaf; the world of the living is the tree. And, just as you are connected with the dead leaf, and can therefore communicate with it, so, too, are you connected with the dead — and can therefore communicate with them, as well.
6. Keep your eyes closed. Do not open them — not yet.
7. Now — eyes still closed — slowly lower your head; then, when your head can lower no further on its own, bend at the waist, and lower your head even further. Still standing, eyes still closed, fold yourself in half, until the top of your head is parallel with the ground — until you are upside down.
8. Were you to open your eyes, you would be able to look through the gap between your own legs — but you cannot yet, because you have not opened your eyes yet, have you?
9. You haven’t, right?
10. Good.
11. You mustn’t do so until the time is right.
12. Keep them closed, until…
13. Now.
14. With your head still down, and your body still folded in half, open your eyes — slowly.
15. Open your eyes, and look through the window formed by your legs.
16. What do you see?
17. Take note — but do NOT jump, startle, or run. No matter what you see, or how close it is to your own face, remain calm, collected, and still.

The Farewell:

1. When you are ready to bid farewell to your visitor, bring your body back to an upright position, drop the leaf, and rotate in place — this time in a counterclockwise direction — three times. Make certain to make three full rotations. Do NOT speak while you turn.
2. You may return home now — but do NOT run to do so. Move slowly. Move deliberately. Do NOT run.  
3. As soon as you arrive at home, locate a sink and turn on the water.
4. Cup your hands and fill them with water; then take a breath, blow the air you have just taken in across the water, and repeat the following chant aloud:  “พุทโธ” (rendered phonetically, “Phu thṭho”).  When you have completed these steps, splash the water on your face.
5. Repeat this step again a second time: Fill your hands with water; take a breath and blow the air across the water; repeat the chant; and splash the water on your face.
6. Lastly, repeat this step a third and final time: Water. Breath. Air. Chant. Splash.
7. There. You should be safe now.
8. …Hopefully.

Additional Notes:

The playing space should ideally be somewhere out in nature — somewhere grassy, surrounded trees, and plants, and creatures, and life. It is not recommended that you play in heavily paved or cemented locations like parking lots.

The tree from which the leaf comes must be a deciduous tree — a tree which grows and sheds leaves as part of its natural life cycle.

The leaf must be a leaf — not a pine needle; not a palm frond; not a flower petal. It must be a leaf, and only a leaf.

The leaf must have fallen from the tree of its own accord prior to the start of the game. Do NOT shake or pluck the leaf from the tree yourself. If there are no leaves beneath the tree you have chosen with which to play, do NOT proceed. Find a different tree, or wait to play at a different time, or try a different place at which to play.

A Final Warning:

Do NOT run at ANY POINT throughout this ritual.

Should you run, your visitor may run after you.

They may, in fact, follow you all the way to your home.

And if they make it that far?

They may not want to leave.

Ever.

***

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 标先森, Atlantios, Bru-nO, T_ushar/Pixabay]