Previously: The Elevator Game – Salt Water Version.
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You’re probably familiar with the concept of electronic voice phenomenon, or EVP — the idea that, if we set a recording device going and ask some questions into thin air, we might, upon playing back the recording, hear answers from spirits or other entities that weren’t audible to our human ears at the time the recording was made. This ritual game instructing us on How To Record The Dead is sort of like a super-charged version of an EVP session — although whether that means it’s more likely to work or not than your standard EVP session remains to be seen.
I first encountered this ritual on a pair of Indonesian websites that typically take existing games and translate them more or less directly, rather than adapting or further exploring them. These two sites, which both published the game in 2016, filed the ritual under similar titles: “How To Record The Dead” and “Recording Dead Sounds.” After digging a little deeper, however, I found that the source material for both of these translations was likely a 2013 post published on the on-again, off-again blog Whispering Dark — and that there, it was actually called something very different: Duck, Duck, Goose.
When Whispering Dark publishes ritual games, they’re usually drawn from other sources — but in this case, it seems to have been drawn from their own personal experience: “There are many variations of this game. I am basing this on the game I played as a child,” the writer notes in the introductory bullet points. I’m not totally sure what other variations actually do exist, although for what it’s worth, there are a few similarities between this one and the Camera Game: Circling up, the presence of a drinkable liquid, and the inclusion of small mirrors for each participant and the way they’re used. There are differences, too, of course—here, the liquid is meant to be wine or another alcoholic beverage, rather than chamomile tea; it’s not drunk by the participants, but presented as an offering; and the mirrors are placed face up on the ground, rather than face down. Still, though — I do wonder whether the Camera Game and this game might be distantly related.
[Like what you read? Check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available from Chronicle Books now!]
As for why Whispering Dark called it Duck, Duck, Goose? That’s a bit of a mystery to me; it’s mostly played like a summoning game or game of knowledge — that is, it aims to invite a spirit into your presence and then permit you to converse with them — but for one odd detail: If you get tired of asking questions of your correspondent, you can, it seems, play a paranormal version of the children’s game Duck, Duck, Goose here instead. Writes Whispering Dark:
“Play as normal, but each person should run within the circle rather than crossing the basil/salt. If you win, then it is said you will have good fortune. If you lose, then it is said that one among you will have bad fortune for a year to come. This is why it is very important to know who you are playing the game with. Spirits with an evil agenda may demand another price from anyone who loses the game and by entering into the game with them you have implicitly agreed.”
This seems to me like it turns the game into a different ritual entirely, which I… don’t totally know what to do with. The discrepancy is strange, so here, I’ve mostly stuck with what seems to be the game’s primary purpose: Communicating with a deceased friend or loved one. All three of the versions I’ve found are also enormously scattered and unclear, so as usual, I’ve made an attempt to clean up the instructions, plug any plot holes, and make clarifications where needed.
As always, play at your own risk.
Players:
- At least one participant. Groups are recommended.
Requirements:
- Salt.
- Dried basil.
- Four cloves of garlic.
- Five white candles.
- Matches or a lighter — one per participant.
- Incense — one stick per participant.
- Small hand mirrors — one per participant.
- Flashlights — at least one, ideally one per participant.
- A pot or thermos of chamomile tea — enough for each participant.
- Cups, mugs, or other drinking receptacles — one per participant.
- A photograph of a deceased friend or loved one.
- A question to which only this person knows the answer.
- Other questions you wish to ask this person.
- A timer or alarm clock. (Optional, but recommended.)
- A voice recorder.
- A quiet room designated as the playing space.
- An additional room designated as a safe room.
Instructions:
Making The Preparations:
- Begin at night.
- Put the kettle on and brew the tea.
- While the water is heating and the tea is brewing, prepare the safe room:
- Go to the room you have designated for this purpose and turn on the lights.
- Place one clove of garlic in each of the four corners of the room.
- Then lay down a line of salt and basil in front of each of the room’s egresses — doors, windows, the lot.
- Exit the room after you have finished preparing it, leaving the lights on when you go.
- Once the tea is brewed, prepare the playing space:
- Go to the room you have designated for this purpose, bringing with you the pot or thermos of tea, the candles, the matches or lighters, the incense, the hand mirrors, the flashlights, the cups or mugs, the photograph, the timer or alarm clock, and the voice recorder.
- Dim the lights, but do not turn them out completely.
- Draw a large circle on the ground using the salt and basil. Make sure this circle is large enough for all participants to be able to sit comfortably inside it — also in a circle — together.
- Place four of the candles inside the large circle of salt and basil, such that they form a square within the circle. Then draw additional small circles of salt and basil around each of these four candles. Do NOT allow the candles or their individual salt/basil circles to cross the edge of the large salt/basil circle.
- Place the fifth candle in the center of the large salt/basil circle.
- Place the voice recorder next to the fifth candle.
- Place the photograph near the voice recorder and fifth candle.
- Place the pot or thermos of tea within the large circle. It does not have to be in the center with the fifth candle, voice recorder, and photograph, but it should be within easy reach. Do NOT place it outside the edge of the circle.
- Bring all participants into the playing space, if you have not already, and ensure that each has a hold of their own stick of incense, matches or lighter, cup or mug, flashlight, and hand mirror. Keep the salt and basil close by.
- If using, set the timer or alarm clock to go off after one hour.
- Are you ready?
- Now: Begin.
Having The Conversation:
- Carefully assemble all participants within the large salt/basil circle. Do not disturb the salt or basil — any of it.
- Within the large salt/basil circle, sit together, again in a circle — as tight a circle as you can manage. All participants should be facing inward — that is, should all be able to see each other’s faces. Do not disturb the salt or basil — any of it.
- Have each participant place their hand mirror face-down on the floor in front of them. Do not place the mirrors outside the large circle.
- Also have each participant place their cup or mug, stick of incense, matches or lighter, and flashlight within easy reach. Do not place these items outside the large circle.
- Pour the tea. You do not have to empty the pot or thermos completely, but ensure that each participant has enough in their cup or mug to take several sips.
- Together, have all participants drink one sip of tea. Do NOT empty your cups or mugs; ensure there is still at least one sip of tea left inside.
- Light four corner candles.
- Once the four corner candles are lit, light the fifth candle — the candle in the center of the circle.
- Turn on the voice recorder.
- Have one participant pick up the photograph and speak aloud the name of the person it depicts, followed by these words: “I honor and request your presence beside our sacred space.”
- Together, have all participants pick up their mirrors and raise them to shoulder-height.
- Together, have each participant look into their mirror. What do you see reflected back at you?
- If you see only yourself and the room: The ritual has failed; do not proceed. Place the mirrors face down on the floor, turn on your flashlights, extinguish the candles, and exit the playing space. It is recommended, though not required, that all participants proceed to the safe room and remain there until the sun has risen. Do NOT disturb the salt or basil at any of the egresses.
- If you see the face of a person you do not recognize: The ritual has failed; do not proceed. Place the mirrors face down on the floor, turn on your flashlights, extinguish the candles, and exit the playing space, closing the door behind you. Proceed IMMEDIATELY to the safe room. When all participants are safely inside, close the door behind you. Remain there until the sun has risen. Do NOT disturb the salt or basil at any of the egresses. Do NOT attempt to re-enter the playing space until daylight.
- If you see the face of the person depicted in the photograph: Observe their expression. How do they seem?
- If they appear to be upset or angry: The ritual has failed; DO NOT PROCEED. Place the mirrors face down on the floor, turn on your flashlights, extinguish the candles, and exit the playing space, closing the door behind you. Proceed IMMEDIATELY to the safe room. When all participants are safely inside, close the door behind you. Remain there until the sun has risen. Do NOT disturb the salt or basil at any of the egresses. Do NOT attempt to re-enter the playing space until daylight.
- If they appear happy or neutral: The ritual has succeeded; you may proceed.
- Have all participants place their mirrors face down on the floor again. Then, address your guest — politely! — and ask them the question to which only they know the answer.
- Wait. Remain quiet. You will not necessarily hear anything, but give your guest time to respond.
- Next, ask them the following question: “Who is out there in the dark?” This MUST be the second question you ask. Do not ask any other question for your second question.
- Wait. Remain quiet. You will not necessarily hear anything, but give your guest time to respond.
- If one or more of the candles goes out: DO NOT PROCEED. Place the mirrors face down on the floor, turn on your flashlights, extinguish the candles, and exit the playing space, closing the door behind you. Proceed IMMEDIATELY to the safe room. When all participants are safely inside, close the door behind you. Remain there until the sun has risen. Do NOT disturb the salt or basil at any of the egresses. Do NOT attempt to re-enter the playing space until daylight. Do NOT attempt to play this game in this specific playing space again.
- If the room remains calm and lit: You may proceed.
- You may now ask of your guest any questions you like — within reason. Keep your queries light and pleasant; do not ask of death — your own, or anyone else’s — and do not ask for overly personal information. Be polite and respectful. Do not be rude. After each question, wait and remain quiet; you will not necessarily hear anything, but give your guest time to respond.
Saying Farewell And Listening Back:
- When you have had enough — or when the timer or alarm clock goes off; whichever comes first — have one participant pick up the photograph again, speak aloud the name of the person it depicts, and then repeat the following words three times: “Thank you for playing our game. Go now in peace and love.”
- Together, have all participants pick up their mirrors and raise them to shoulder-height.
- Together, have each participant look into their mirror. What do you see reflected back at you?
- If you see any faces besides your own: It is NOT SAFE to end the ritual yet. Return the mirrors to the ground; then repeat Steps 1 through 3 of Saying Farewell And Listening Back. Repeat until, when all participants look into their mirrors, you see only yourselves and the room. When you achieve this result, you may proceed. Do NOT proceed UNTIL you achieve this result.
- If you see only yourself and the room: It is now safe to end the ritual. You may proceed.
- Place the mirrors face-down on the floor again. Have each player scatter salt and basil on their individual mirror.
- Turn off the voice recorder.
- Together, have all participants drink one sip of tea. This time, drain your cups.
- Together, have each participant pick up their stick of incense and light it.
- Together, extinguish the candles — all of them.
- Together, stand up. Keep a hold of your incense.
- Together, step outside the circle. Do not disturb the salt or basil — any of it. Keep a hold of your incense.
- Together, exit the playing space. Leave the door to playing space open.
- Together, proceed directly to the safe room. Close the door to the safe room behind you.
- Do NOT disturb the salt or basil at any of the egresses.
- Remain in the safe room for at least two hours, but ideally until the sun rises.
- Once the sun has risen and it is daylight once, you may exit the safe room.
- Return to the playing space and scatter salt in each of the four corners of the room.
- Collect any supplies remaining in the playing space.
- Destroy the candles and mirrors and dispose of them as far away as possible.
- Later — when you feel the time is right — listen to the recording stored on the voice recorder. Pay attention to the pauses between questions: Just because you didn’t hear anything while you were making the recording… doesn’t mean that you won’t hear anything when you play it back.
- BUT: Listen especially carefully after you hear yourself ask the question to which only your guest should have known the answer. If you hear nothing but silence, or if the answer is incorrect, turn off the recording and delete or otherwise destroy it immediately.
- Your “guest”… may not have been who you thought it was.
Additional Notes:
It is recommended, though not required, that you purify both the room designated as the playing space and the room designated as the safe room before beginning. You may use the purification method of your choice.
It is recommended that the participants seated closest to each of the four corner candles take on the responsibility of lighting them. You may designate these participants in advance if you like.
It is additionally recommended that one participant take on the responsibility of lighting the fifth candle, as well as performing the invitation invocation invocation in Having The Conversation and the closing invocation in Saying Farewell And Listening Back. Again, you may designate this participant in advance if you like.
You may play with more than one photograph — that is, you may invite more than one guest per game. To invite multiple guests, bring with you a photograph of each guest you would like to invite, and repeat Step 10 of Having The Conversation with each of these photographs until all guests have been invited. Similarly, when closing the ritual, repeat Step 1 of Saying Farewell And Listening Back with each of these photographs until all guests have been dismissed.
It is not recommended that you play this game within your own home, if you can help it.
Further Do’s And Don’ts:
Do not play in a completely dark room.
Do not play at 3am.
Do not play on Samhain, Beltane, Walpurgisnacht, Midsummer, Yule, the Hungry Ghost Festival, or other observances or celebrations that occur on “turning days.”
Do not play if other mirrors besides the hand mirrors are present in the playing space or safe room when you begin. Remove any and all additional mirrors prior to the start of the game.
Do not play with red candles.
Do not play with black candles.
Do not play with a photograph of someone whose death was untimely, or who was known to hold resentment or ill will towards any of the participants.
Do not play with a photograph of someone unknown to you.
Do not play without a photograph.
Do not disturb the salt or basil.
Do not play the recording back before the game has concluded.
And Above All:
Do not play for longer than one hour.
After that… well, let’s just say that the longer your guest stays, the less inclined they’ll be to leave.
***
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[Photo via shakibuzzaman3104/Pixabay]