The Bloody Mary Game

A few weeks ago, I went on a school trip to visit a couple of museums in the capital, so we had to spend a few nights at a hotel. It was bound to be just another boring experience, but that time it was not the case at all.

On the first night, when we got back to the hotel, I met Nicole, a girl from another school that was visiting the same places as us. Her room was right next to mine, so she introduced me to some of her friends, and we got along pretty well. After a couple of hours, I went back to my room and got ready for bed. It was almost midnight, and as I was brushing my teeth, I could hear the girls laughing, so I put my ear against the wall and tried to listen using the glass resting on the sink. I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but it sounded like Nicole, and her friends were murmuring and giggling. I assumed it was just some good old-fashioned gossip, and went to sleep.

The following day, when I met up with Nicole and the crew, I asked her about the previous night. She said they were playing the Bloody Mary truth or dare game. ‘It’s like playing truth or dare (by spinning a bottle), but with a twist,’ she said. Basically, if you chose truth, you’d have to share a personal secret about yourself. Otherwise, you would be dared to say ‘Bloody Mary’ three times while staring at yourself in the mirror with the lights off, only having a dim flashlight pointed at your face. It is said that if you complete those steps, Bloody Mary will come and take your soul or some nonsense along those lines. Another important rule was to record yourself while you completed said ritual. I laughed about it and asked if I could join in, and she naturally invited me to come back to her room around midnight and play with them.

After yet another exhausting museum tour, it was finally time for the game. Once we were all back at the hotel, I changed clothes as fast as I could and rushed to Nicole’s room, eager to have some fun after such a boring day. After a few quick turns and witnessing Nicole scaring some of the other girls, it was my turn to take the flashlight to the bathroom. I said the name twice without any hesitation. However, when I was about to say it for the third time, a cold chill went down my spine, and I almost turned on the lights. Then I heard Nicole calling me a chicken, so I just shouted ‘Bloody Mary’ at the top of my lungs. I could feel myself clenching my teeth as soon as I uttered the words as if I was getting ready for Bloody Mary to come, or, most likely, just Nicole trying to scare me. To nobody’s surprise, nothing happened, and we carried on with the game for a couple of more rounds before going to sleep.

Three weeks have passed since that night, and I have gathered some friends at my house to teach them the game. Some of them are real scaredy-cats, but they’re too proud to admit it (especially the guys). I think we’ll hear a few screams tonight. I can’t wait!

We’re about to start the game and I offer to go first. I wonder if somebody will try to scare me, and quite frankly I kind of want them to. The rush of adrenaline and the silly look on one’s face when they get scared of their own reflection is quite something. As I enter the bathroom with the lights off, I proceed to say the name three times. After a few seconds, I hear my friends complaining that they didn’t hear me, so I just say it again three more times. After a brief moment of silence, I notice a slender figure behind the shower curtains. It looks a bit like my little sister. She’s rather short for her age and has long wavy hair. I bet she’s trying to scare me…

The other kids waited for about five minutes before checking in on their friend. They turned on the lights, and she wasn’t there, but the window was wide open, so they all laughed and thought she ran outside to scare them by knocking on the door. Her sister picked up the phone and replayed the recording. After the sixth ‘Bloody Mary,’ a dark silhouette of a girl appeared to come out from behind the curtains. As she got closer to the mirror, dark red streaks could be seen on her face, almost like she had been crying blood. A couple of seconds later the phone just turned itself off, and so did the lights.