Scary Stories, Rituals, and Urban Legends

I Found a ritual on Tumblr part one

I don't leave my house that much. My social anxiety doesn't allow me to. For that reason, I spend a lot of time on Tumblr, posting original stories and reblogging whatever catches my attention. Most nights I stay up into the early hours of the morning, spiralling into the darkest depths of the creepy shit people post. Conspiracy theories, paranormal experiences, gruesome stories – you name it, I'll read it. It's kind of like 4chan without the child pornography.

The other night I was doing my thing at around 3am – the time people refer to as "dead time", when spirits and demons and all that freaky shit are at their strongest. I rarely sleep before 4, but even when I get tired I wait until after the dead hour is over. The idea of something watching me while my eyes are closed makes it impossible for me to fall asleep.

On that particular night I was scrolling the paranormal side of Tumblr, in the tag containing games and rituals designed to bring out ghosts and ghouls. Normally I avoided that particular tag, but tonight my curiosity got the best of me. I didn't believe I could make a spirit appear just by chanting a few words, but it still freaked me out. I stumbled across one particular post about a game that caused a man to appear in a mirror, who would answer any questions you had about the future. This freaked me the fuck out – I hate looking in mirrors even during the day, and this ritual had to be performed at night – during the dead hour. Call me boring, but that doesn't sound like my idea of a good time.

Two days later, I got a call. My mother had lost her job, and she couldn't afford to keep hiring nurses to take care of my sick father and pay their mortgage at the same time. She tried to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal because she didn't want to worry me, but I could tell even over the phone that she didn't know what she was going to do. I offered to send her part of my paycheck every week – I work as a freelance writer at home – but she wouldn't hear of it. She told me she'd figure something out.

I know what you're thinking, and you're right. The ritual that was meant to tell me my future sprang to mind. It wouldn't help the situation, but I couldn't bear to wonder what the future would hold for my parents. I still didn't fully believe that the ritual would actually work, but it was worth a try, right?

I pulled up my Tumblr page where I had reblogged the post, and started to read the instructions again. A large candle, any colour, and a mirror in a room with no windows, or windows that can be covered. Sounded easy enough, it meant I could do it tonight. I kept reading.

"Cover all windows so the room is pitch black. Place the candle behind you on the floor and sit in front of the mirror. You should just barely be able to see your own reflection."

There were a couple more instructions that I'm not going to post here in case anyone is stupid enough to try it. It's a pretty simple but very specific ritual – one wrong step means it won't work at all. I bookmarked the page so I could refer back to it tonight, right before I started. I gathered up some blankets to cover the windows and my large candle, and went about my day.

2am rolled around – time to start preparing. I put up the blankets, tucking them in at the sides so no light from the street lamps outside peeped through. I read through the instructions again, making sure I was ready to go. And that's when I saw it.

Right at the bottom of the page was a warning. I was positive it hadn't been there earlier – I had read and reread the post multiple times. The post had been edited.

"Warning: do NOT play this game under any circumstances. If you end the ritual before the man says goodbye and disappears, he'll be able to use the mirror as a portal into our world and follow you around until you lose your mind and kill yourself – or until he decides to kill you himself."

Well, shit. I grappled with that for a few minutes – the catch was a game changer and I wasn't sure if it was worth it anymore. But then again, it was for my parents' sake. It was too late to back out now. I decided to keep going. I wasn't going to end the ritual prematurely – I'd be extra careful to do everything properly. Everything would be fine.

I waited anxiously in the dark until 3am. It was time to start. I lit my candle, my hands trembling, and then sat cross-legged in front of the mirror. I cleared my throat, placed my hand against the mirror, silently grateful there was no blood sacrifice or something, and started to chant. It was just a stupid little rhyme, but the words made my skin crawl and the hair on the back of my neck stand up. My reflection was pale in the dim light from the candle behind me.

The candle flickered, making a wave of fear pass over me. I stopped chanting and waited. Slowly a form began to take shape in the mirror – the form of a man in a black suit, over my shoulder. He came into focus and I could see his dark hair, his black eyes, his blank expression.

Shit, I thought. No backing out now.

He began to speak, asking me what I wanted to know. "I-I want to know about my parents. If they'll be alright. Financially," I stuttered, my hand shaking against the glass. "Please."

The man regarded me through the mirror and I resisted the urge to turn around, to see if he was really behind me. I could feel that the air in the room had gotten colder, and I thought I could feel cold breath on the back of my neck. Shit.

"Your father is unwell."

"Y-yes."

"Your mother unemployed."

I just nodded.

"You are concerned for them, with good reason. Within the next week, your father will pass away. Your mother will be taken ill, and then she, too, will die."

I gaped at him in shock. "But- no. That can't- no!"

He looked at me solemnly. "I trust you did not call me here only to accuse me of lying."

"No, I- That can't happen. No!"

I scrambled to my feet. The man's image flickered, his eyes turning bright red. "Do not question me."

I turned away quickly, knocking over the candle. The flame went out and I panicked, running to the door to turn on the overhead light. I was trembling all over, my mind racing, wishing I had never started this stupid ritual. I looked over at the mirror, but the man was gone.

So here I am, three days later. I haven't slept since I performed the ritual, wondering if the man is going to kill me or if my parents will die or if I imagined everything. I haven't left the house, I've just been huddled in my office and trying to find answers. There's nothing online about this ritual except for that one Tumblr post, so this is my last hope. I have four days left to figure this out before the week is up – can anyone help me?

XOXO JADE