The Living Doll Game



WARNING: This ritual is alleged to be MORE DANGEROUS THAN ONE MAN HIDE AND SEEK.
The doll's face might change.

【The Things You Need】

・Two sheets of mirrors
・One doll (a Japanese doll is best, but if not get something that looks as close to human as possible. No plushies.)
・One candlestick
・One scapegoat doll (anything will do as long as it's a doll)
・One strand of hair
・Salt*1 (5 spoonfuls) wrapped up in paper

【The Procedure】

1. Arrange the two mirros so that they face each other.
2. Put the doll and the candlestick between the mirrors.
3. Wait until it is 12 o'clock midnight.
4. Just as the clock strikes 12.00  light up the candle.
5. Say to the doll, "I will leave here a new body for you. Please take it" for five times.
6. Then say to it, "Let's play together" for five times.
7.  If you start hearing some rapping noises or start experiencing some other strange occurences at this point, it is an indication that the preparation has been done properly. But don't worry if nothing happens.
8. While keeping the salt close to yourself , say to the doll, "Please come and find me. If you find me I will give you my life" for five times. After that go to a large room or your own room, turn off all sources of light in the room, and sit zazen *2   with your back to the door. Make sure you sprinkle some salt on yourself too.
9. Now all you have to do is wait for the doll to come to you.

Note: If you ever feel you are in danger, go and hide in some place like a closet.

【How To End It】

1. Still keeping the salt close to you, go to the room with the candle.
2. When you arrive in front of the candle, say, "You lose. It's over now" for five times.
3. After you've finished saying it, blow out the candle and sprinkle some salt over your body.
4. Find the doll and sprinkle some salt over it too.
5. Turn all the lights on and create a  happy, cheerful atmosphere (this is important).
6. Keep this atmosphere for at least an hour.
7. Make sure you take the doll to a shrine where they can perform a ceremony on the doll to appease the spirit*3, within three days of the ritual.

【Important Things to Remember】

・You must do it alone. It won't work if you have other people around.
・You must NOT utter a word while the doll is going around and looking for you.
・Do NOT use up all of the salt on yourself at the beginning. You'll still need some of it at the end.
・Do NOT go outside during the ritual.
・You must NOT run away without finishing it properly. If you run away it will come after you.
・Make sure to end it before the day breaks. If you don't it will stay on in your place.
・You must take the doll to the shrine where they can perform a ceremony for it at the end.
・If you find yourself having to combat with the frog, snake or fox, be very careful.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
*1 Salt - as usual, natural salt is best.

*2 zazen - a posture used in Zen Buddhist meditation. It usually requires you to sit cross-legged, with your back straight. (see the picture on the left (top). For more info see wikipedia and Zen Meditation Instruction.








*3 A ceremony to appease the spirit inside a doll - a Japanese term for it is 人形供養(ningyo- kuyo). 人形(ningyo) means "doll" while 供養(kuyo)is a translation of "puja".
The picture on the left (middle) shows a scene from the Shinto-style ningyo-kuyo.



The pictures at the top of the post and on the left (bottom) show Awashima Jinja (淡嶋神社), a shrine in Wakayama prefecture famous for ningyo-kuyo.  As you can see the shrine's building is overflowing with dolls sent in from all over the country.





******************************************************
This video below is done by one Japanese girl trying out the Living Doll ritual.
Unfortuately it's all in Japanese but at least you'll get the feel of it! :D

There's one comment on Youtube that says "While I was watching this I experienced the same things that happened in the video. I heard some cracking noises, something scraping the floor and felt my room temperature drop suddenly."





The video says, if at any point you feel you are really in danger stop the ritual immediately. (And that's what she does in the video.)

But funnily, she keeps talking during the ritual when she's not supposed to do that. LOL

Comments

Yep, I know what you're gonna say.
"Doll? NOT AGAIN!" XD
Anonymous said…
dammit saya you're so evil making us want to try this!
Unknown said…
Hi Saya!

I thought you were hiatus for a while last time i checked, but then when i visited today, i think i missed a lot! It's good to read your stories again.

As for the rituals, as tempting as it can be....i guess a kokeshi wouldn't be sufficient, right? :|
Anonymous said…
hmm saya do you know what makes this ritual more dangerous than the one man hide and seek? thanks for the update btw glad you are back :)
HAHAHHAHAHA :3
yes, DOLL AGAIN!?
but this is interesting!!
if One Man Hide and Seek is Hitori Kakurenbo, then what's this ritual called Saya-san? :3
in the video she keeps talking -_-"
oh btw can i share this link to my Dollie Group in Facebook? :3
thank you Saya-san!
Dethyl said…
Hi Saya,

Thanks for another great post. I read on other Japanese sites that the doll's face changes when it finds you. Example, if you have a normal smiling face doll, it may have an evil smirk when it finally finds you and you're face to face with it.

For those asking why it is more dangerous..... It is a LOT more dangerous than hitori kakurenbo because of what the instructions say, you said to the spirit that it can have YOUR LIFE if it finds you. To a spirit that is a promise and promises are never meant to be broken to such things, hence the need to take it to the shrine for purification instead of just simple burning. Imagine if the spirit found you, the doll gave an evil laugh but couldn't touch you due to the salt and you properly following the ritual, and then you end the ritual. It would be very angry!

Hope to read more stories from you saya.

Regards,
Dethyl
ryuu said…
oh it's her i think i've seen her in a different video, she was taking pictures using a polaroid camera i think that's what it was in a tunnel i think somewhere in japan and caught something in one of the pictures i think i don't know if its real though. anyway, i'll never try this haha..i'm too chicken haha..
Anonymous said…
I'm curious why it asks for hair and a scapegoat doll. The instructions don't mention them. Does anybody know?
blackrealm said…
Dolls again?

i think you have a trauma with them saya

i will remember not try this never, ever.
unicorn said…
Did you try any of the rituals that you posted, SAYA?
@lotusmist: well what do you expect from someone living in the underworld? lol

@Gin: Thank you! I hope you enjoy reading my new stories! :D

No I don think a kokeshi would do dear! It doesn't look quite human enough!

@Anon: it's more dangerous than one man hide n seek I think because in this one you tell the doll it can take your life when it catches you.

@Time: the ritual is called, "Iki Ningyo Asobi." And yes you can share the link in your Facebook. Thank you very much for asking me first dear.

@Dethyl: dear Dethyl, as informative as ever! I don know how you manage to find all those informations!

Yes I hope to translate more stories, that is, as long as I don get bored with it!

Thank you very much n take care :)

@Anon: I wondered about them too. One source says you can make a scapegoat doll by inserting your own hair inside it. But I don know what you're supposed to do with it next. Maybe you just keep it close to you during the ritual.

HN3: are you being serious? No, I do not have a trauma with dolls! LOL It's just a coincidence that I've been translating a lot of scary doll stories.

You're being wise not trying it! :D







@ryuu: Oh I missed your comment!
you've seen her before? that's interesting.
No I would never try this myself XD

@unicorn: no dear, apart from the "have you got the ability to see ghost" thing. I keep away from dangerous things! XD
Anonymous said…
If this goes through (I have had issues sending a message as "anonymous")

Dear Saya, I discovered your site from a vocoloid song that was based off "one man hide and seek" since then I do not want to leave. I have read every story and hope to hear more.

now on to this story: I have read about this before and about the face changing on another site. I heard from "scary for kids" (another site) about the answer man and satoshi (most likely slept wrong) both are clling on something to ask a question, satoshi sounds like the safest, all you have to do is know your question when hes behind you, and not look at him. do you have any more info on him? I'd live to hear it from you.

I love learning about the paranormal, even though I'm a girl of science, and I adore psychology.

You said the only one you'd try is the one to see ghosts, same here, I vaguely saw a girl in pink tutu, and I always had a "weird" feeling on the steps, still do, and I saw her around there. I do believe that the person could want to see something so the imagine it them self while doing that though. So thats an issue.

But please keep them coming!
(you can call me Dest)
@Dest: Hi, welcome to my blog!
Yes if you send a message as anonymous sometimes it gets sent to the spam box. But I do regularly check the spam box so don worry if your message doesn't show up immediately.

But I think you can also enter a name in the name field to prevent it from being categorized as spam.

Yeah this "Satoshi" and answer man are both famous figures that appears in Japanese urban legends. I might write a post about them too if I'm not too lazy!
Unknown said…
Ooh! Another cool ritual!! :D I don't like dolls very much- especially lifelike ones, and if I come face to face with an evil smiling doll I will probably keel over from a heart attack there an then. XD But I think I'll give this a try. Although first I need to find a place that will purify a doll. Would a Hindu temple or an ordinary church qualify? And may I keep my cat with me?
blackrealm said…
@saya: wise? who is being wise? it just scares me xD
@Tani: you'll give this a try? You serious? O_o

I'm sure any place that offers a purification ceremony is fine, be it a Hindu temple or a church!

I'm not sure about cats, dear. Please bear in mind that I only have limited information. I don't want anything bad happening to you or your cat! Be very very careful!

@HN3: I'd call a person wise if s/he admits s/he's scared and stays away from the source that scares him/er! XD


Hikage said…
Darn, doing this with my dolls would be creeeeepy! I collect Living Dead Dolls, I wouldn't want one to start pursuing me xD Let alone my headless ball jointed doll! xD
Steeple said…
I can tell you why this is more dangerous!

BECAUSE YOU LEAVE AN OPEN FLAME UNATTENDED!

I love scary games myself, but that's the only thing preventing me from trying this myself. =/ Even if nothing is likely to happen, my training prevents me from having an open flame alone like that. Or maybe I could carry a fire extinguisher instead of a doll for a scapegoat? Haha.
@Hikage: Oh! Those Living Dead Dolls.. They are so cute!

Yeah don't! Your headless doll might snatch your head away! XD

@Steeple: Sensible words from a sensible person!
If I ever go camping you'd be the first person I'd ask to come with me!
Yes maybe I should add a fire extinguisher to the list of "Things you need"! LOL
Steeple said…
Yes, even though I love to be scared, I'm very sensible and practical! I guess that makes these easy...

Hehe I am very experienced at camping, so that'd be fun! But for outdoor fires, you'd want a bucket of water and a shovel.

I wonder if I could make this game work if I had an electric candle? Like the kind for decoration. Or maybe a candle deep in a jar, that'd be the safest.
@Steeple: wow. would you belieive I have never gone camping in my whole life? I admire you XD

I dunno. You could try! But a candle in a jar would be a very good idea!
Anonymous said…
・If you find yourself having to combat with the frog, snake or fox, be very careful.

What does THAT mean?
♡Princess♡ said…
Yay! More dolls!
Eek. I have a creepy baby doll (y'know I find babies creepy enough!) beside me right now... I had to go do something and when I came back it had moved... just by reading this ritual!? (>.<)

What if I watch the video and it moves even more?
Luckily I'm selling it soon *phew~*

Kimberly-Anne said…
what sites exactly do you go to to get these stories?! i would really like to read more of them
@Anon: I don't know what that means either. Curious, eh?

@Princess: your doll moved? NO kidding!

It surprises me you that find baby dolls creepy, because you look like a sweet baby doll yourself in your profile picture! lol


@Kimberly: I got it from a Japanese site and translated it in English.
♡Princess♡ said…
The doll in my picture is a favourite ~♡
I do not like dolls that look like real babies (they are the only doll I dislike lol)
There are even ones that have smooth skin and realistic hair and stuff... very creepy to me!

The girl messed the ritual up and the doll she used didn't look very realistic. At least she tried I guess, I myself don't think I could do the ritual!
Though, it would be nice if somebody did it properly and filmed it, if they are brave enough of course!
Unknown said…
Oh wow Saya you show the most awesome things again, at the part of the year when most of the day is dark ^^ im factinated really
Toi said…
I'm really curious about that scapegoat doll!! Maybe you use it as an exit if the doll finds you? Or maybe you can place it somewhere so the doll can find it instead of you?? But that doesn't quite explain why you have to put a strand of hair in it. I have no idea. Thinking of doing some research.
Vylot said…
I think the role of the scapegoat doll is that it's supposed to stand in for you as a decoy. (Probably why it's called a scapegoat)That way, while the other doll is distracted by the scapegoat, you can hide in a closet or something. (I'm assuming the hair you'd have to use while making it would be your own?)
Anonymous said…
What does it mean by "having to combat the frog, fox, or snake"?
Do you actually fight with frogs, foxes, or snakes?
Unknown said…
This is sounds creepy, but Ms.Saya, I cannot play the video T_T
Anonymous said…
Hi Saya,

First I must say I LOVE your blog. I am practically your fan girl xD

But I was curious if this is a game you translated. I hate to be a snitch but I think someone posted this and didn't even credit you. What bothers me is that person didn't bother to tweak it so it doesn't look taken, they simply pasted it exactly how it is on here and used the same photo of dolls. I was wondering if they might have found it somewhere else or if they did rip you off.
Unknown said…
This is super late, I know. But I just found out about the site XD. Anyway, the scapegoat doll functions as a distraction.
Anonymous said…
I ᗪOᑎ'T ᑌᑎᗪEᖇᔕTᗩᑎᗪ TᕼE "If you find yourself having to combat with the frog, snake or fox, be very careful." ᑕᗩᑎ ᔕOᗰEOᑎE ᑭᒪEᗩᔕE E᙭ᑭᒪᗩIᑎ TᕼᗩT TO ᗰE.
Anonymous said…
If you find yourself having to combat with the frog, snake or fox, be very careful...ᑕᗩᑎ ᔕOᗰEOᑎE ᑭᒪEᗩᔕE ᕼEᒪᑭ ᗰE ᑌᑎᗪEᖇᔕTᗩᑎᗪ TᕼᗩT ᔕTᗩTEᗰEᑎT.
Unknown said…
If you find yourself having to combat with the frog, snake or fox, be very careful.

Meaning??