One Man Hide and Seek (Multiple-Player Version)

Note: Please do NOT copy/distribute my posts without my permission.Thank you for your cooperation. 

Click here to view the single player version.
For those who dare not do it alone...

【The Things You Need】
  • A plushie with all the cotton taken out (the plushie has to be the kind which has limbs)
  • Some rice (enough to stuff the plushie)
  • A needle and a red thread
  • A knife or a pair of scissors (something sharp)
  • A cup of salt water for each participant (coarse salt would be best)
Note: Make sure you create a place of refuge (a room). Burn incense and/or put ofuda (1) etc to purify the place, and keep the lights on too. A room with an alter (2) would be best suited for this purpose.


【How to Prepare the Plushie】
Nooo!Don't eat me!
  1. Take out all the cotton from inside the plushie.
  2. Stuff the plushie with rice.
  3. Clip the nails (or some other parts of the body) of each participant, put them in the plushie and sew it up.
  4. When you have sewn it up, wind the red thread several times around the plushie, and then tie it into a knot.
You have to give a name to the plushie.
You can use the name of someone you hate.


【How to Play】

In the beginning, play hiden-and-seek like you normally do and let everyone take turns being  "It."
Note: Include the plushie in your play too. Make sure the plushie is the last one to play "It."

The last person to play "It," when her/his turn comes, has to say to the plushie,
"The next 'It' is____(the name of the last person who plays 'It' )," for three times.

Next go to the bathroom and put the plushie inside the bathtub.
If the bathtub is filled with water, put the plushie inside straight away.
If it is empty, put the plushie first and pour water in later.

Leave the plushie as it is and go back to the room. (3)

Close your eyes and count up to 10. (4)
First, find all the participants, then when you're done, hold a knife (or something sharp) in hand and wander around a bit and go to the bathroom (you can also go there straight away).

When you find the plushie, say to it,
"____ (the plushie's name), I found you,"
and stab it with the knife.
Then as you put down the plushie, say,
"The next 'It' is____ (the plushie's name)."
As soon as the plushie is put down, run away and hide  (all the participants do the same).

 ◆Things to beware of when you hide
Never go outside the house.
You MUST turn off all sources of lights except the TV. (5)
Keep salt (6) by your side while hiding.
Be quiet while hiding.
There is no limit to how long you can hide.
Do not let anyone participate in the ritual if the person hasn't put part of his body into the plushie (it might harm the person).


【How to End It】

It is possible to quit it half way.
Note: when you quit, put the salt water in your mouth and find the plushie, and say to it, "I'm the__ (a number indicating your turn) to quit.  (eg. say "I'm the first to quit," if you're the first person to quit)."
Then say, "The people who are left are ___ ___ ___ (all the names of the people who are still hiding)."
After that go to the place of refuge and stay there until the play is over.

For everyone who is quitting (whether you're quitting it half way or playing it till the end):
When you want to end it, put some of the salt water in your mouth (don't drink it) and come out of your hiding place.
Whatever you see or hear on the way, don't spit out the salt water.
Find the plushie.
I hope you find it in the bathroom....
When you find it,  first pour the rest of the salt water over the plushie, and next spray the salt water in your mouth over the plushie.
When you've done that, say,
"I (we) have won," three times.
This should end the ritual.

You MUST throw away the plushie after the ritual.
The best thing to do is to burn it.



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(1) Ofuda : Paper talismans you can get from shrines.
(2) Altar : Either a bustudan - a little Buddhist shrine (See the footnote to this post for further info) OR  a kamidana - a little Shinto shrine (See the footnote to this post) which some Japanese people keep at home.
(3) I don't know which room he is talking about, but probably it just means the room where you start playing hide and seek.
(4) Clearly these instructions are meant for the last person to play "It."
(5) To find out why you need to leave the TV on, read the Note #4 just before the video on the post of the single-player version of this game. (Go from here)
(6) ie. probably the cup of salt water you prepared at the beginning.

Please don't ask me why it's still called "one man hide and seek" even though it's for multiple players. lol (Actually I think it's because this is a re-arranged version of the original one man hide and seek)

Here's the source for the second picture

(Click below to read a message from Saya!)


Hellooooooo!!
Happy Halloween, children!!

I thought I'd share with you a game or two so that you can have fun with your buddies on halloween night!

Be sure to follow all the safety instructions, and don't get into troubles!
Especially be very careful when you burn incense or candles! You don't want to burn down your whole house and get scolded by your mummy and daddy!

I look forward to hearing from anyone who've tried this!
 
So long, my dear, and take care.

Love,
Saya


 

Comments

Anonymous said…
First!!, thanks for the story again Saya. ;)
Lara said…
Thank you for the story! 0w0 I enjoyed reading it, though I'll never try it, I would be too afraid :o

Why do we have to keep the tv on? and what would happen if someone who is not participating enters the house?
Kiera said…
Saya-sama~

o.o wow! I'd heard things about "multiplayer" but I'm glad to have it done by you! Thank you for the ritual! (I love reading these, they send chills down my spine..)
~Kiera
Radioactive Tea said…
Lovely. This reminds me of a Korean ritual called the "Corner Game"(구석놀읎) since it also requires multiple players...
The ritual itself is quite diffrent, though.

Thank you for the great work as always, Saya-san!
I'd like to translate the tales into Korean if I had your permission, but I'm afraid my skills aren't good enough. Haha
Anonymous said…
then it wouldnt be one man again if you do it with other person haha
also thanks for these great stories Saya-san!
mossy hemisphere said…
good thing we don't have a bathtub

the danger here is you don't know what spirit will posses the doll
since some spirits have certain "behavior" or "abilities" to use to lure you out of your hiding place
like it might disguise itself as a harmless crying baby for you to pick it up or it might even burn some things in your house to smoke you out!
Tia said…
Hello Saya chan! Wow, so there can actually be a game like that for many players... I know some people willing to try it in my group of friends, but only because they don't believe it and wanna play macho around making fun of the spirit(s)... Not the brightest idea if you ask me! Knowing the popularity of this post in combination with the amount of horror it has caused me, i can tell you for sure that this post didn't creep me out any less! That is mainly because i have read about people who have played it in all the wrong ways and shit got real, heheh!(pardon my language!) In any case, i don't think i will be trying it anytime soon, although i would like too very much. But, whoever is brave enough to play and serious enough to follow the rules to the letter, i would be more than happy to read a feedback experience! Another beautiful post, Saya!
Anonymous said…
Yes! Another way to play one man hide and seek! Thanks, Saya-san! You are my saviour!! :D
Yuki said…
Hello saya, thanks again for all the interesting posts that you show us! ^_^
I haven't personally tied the ritual, nor do i think that i will ever try it( too much of a chicken). But i watched a youtuber's attempt and there wasn't any ghost in there, the only spooky thing was the dark house.
Nevertheless it's perfect for a haloween night! hehe~
By the way, i've been dying to ask you: did you ever see any ghosts, or experience anything paranormal?
Inunah said…
Hey Saya, you're probably right about why a multi-player version of the game is still called One Man Hide and Seek.

Also, did you know about the movie "Hitori Kakurenbo" (Creepy Hide and Seek)? It's about people who get wrapped up in the game Creepy Hide and Seek. The game in the movie is identical to One Man Hide and Seek. Because I can't find any evidence of posts about the game before the movie came out, I can say One Man Hide and Seek is probably based on Creepy Hide and Seek.

Anonymous said…
I cant believe it... such a cute little bear, possesed and looking for you to stab you... ._.
well, keep up with the stories Saya!
~桔子~ said…
Hi All, pls post the results if you do play this game on Halloween...I am too chicken to play.. oooh creepy!!!
DonAbad said…
Not much different from the single-player version, but I still love how very creepy it is. =D

BTW, do you have a larger version of the picture at the top of this post, the one with the kid hiding in the room? It looks pretty cool.
Unknown said…
Saya-san, Thanks for posting this, It's somehow give me an inspiration for my game story! Can I use this as a base story for my game? I know you didn't like someone copy/paste your story, (no one would), that's why I am asking first.. :)

Ah.. the hardest part in this game, for me would be,
" when you quit, put the salt water in your mouth and find the plushie, and say to it, "I'm the__ (a number indicating your turn) to quit."
it's hard to talk while having salt water in your mouth.... isn't it? - -lll
FNGunplar said…
Hello Saya San,
I've been wondering. Did you ever do this kind of game before? Because i obviously would not have any courage to do this x) what interests me is that my country also have this kind of game, calling the unknown and let it posesses a doll. It's called Jalangkung. But as i know, to do this kind of game is very dangerous huhuh.. but people always seek out for danger i guess lol. Anyway this post is very amusing, maybe this halloween i will collect my courage and play this game, at least this version allow me to play with my friends and not just with myself hohoho x) keep posting! Love you
Petzie said…
Saya chan, happy halloweeennnn!!


Zaibannnnn as they say in Yami Shibai,, have u watch it? They got some creepy stories for your perfect halloween hihihi
@Anon (26 Oct 10:23): Isn't it just wonderful to be the first? Thanks for your comment!


@Lara: You can't be the Lara Croft!? haha

The reason you have to turn on the TV is written in the single version one-man hide-and-seek post. I added a link to it in the footnote. I hope that helps!

People who don't participate in it properly might become possessed by an evil non-entity, or might get cursed and become sick or suffer from injury -- that sort of thing.
Thanks for your comment!


@Kiera: Hello, Kiera-sama~
This mutiplayer version has been around for a while but I never got round to translate it until recently..it was just because I was too lazy. I love reading about rituals too, although I'd never do it myself XD Thanks for your cute message!


@Radioactive Tea: Oh my. What a dangerous drink you are! lol

Oh cool. I'd love to know what the Korean ritual is like! You should translate scary Korean stories and publish on the internet! I know you have some great creepy stories in Korea.

I'm sure your skills are good enough, dear. Trust me, Translating requires different skills from if you're just learning the foregin language per se, but you'll get used to it as you practice! :D

Anyway thanks a lot for your comment!

@Anonymous (26 Oct 13:47): That's right, dear. What a contradiction in terms. XD My pleasure, thank you for your comment!


@mossy hemisphere: Do you live in the mossy part of the world? The place I live in now can get quite mossy too, because it rains a lot XD

That's right. You can't pick and choose what spirit(s) you're going to invite into the doll, so that can get tricky.

I've heard that some people who tried one-man hide-and-seek couldn't rid of the spirits even after they've done the finishing ritual properly. So you need to be very careful.
Thanks for your comment!


@Iia: Hello, Tia chan!
Oh, you have some brave friends!
I'm not brave enough so I let other people play it! haha XD

But yeah I'm hoping someone will post their experience here after Halloween. Oh if I find someone's experience on the internet I'll post a link to it here.
Thanks a bunch for your comment!


@Kira Collins: Yes, indeed I am your savior, my dear little lost sheep XD
Are you planning to play this? Be safe, dear!
Thanks for your comment!:D


@Yuki: I have had some spooky experiences, but nothing grand. For example, a few years back I heard someone walking around in the sitting room in my apartment although there was no one there. That was when I was updating this blog frequently. My mum then came over to stay with me and she said she encountered a male ghost while she slept in my room. Then she told me to stop updating this blog because it was attracting spirits. It really scared me at the time. haha
Thanks for your comment!









Restu said…
Ah I know this one from shuuen no shiori.. about one man hide and seek, marry love letter/ denwa, and monkey paws..

I love to read your blog.. but it's make me a bit scared too..
Pixie said…
Maybe I'd be brave enough to play this version.

...

...

...

Still nope.

(My friend and I did once try to do hyakumonogatari kaidankai, but... we couldn't finish because it was just the two of us, and we discovered that we couldn't remember 50 stories each! xD)
Unknown said…
I am very fond of these kinds of rituals but to do them is a 'must not' for me. I have friends who are daredevils for supernatural adventure. I told them of this site and was very happy that someone could translate Japanese rituals and horror stories. In behalf of them, I want to say thanks. They would also do it this upcoming Halloween for extra thrill and forced me to post their experiences (because they are lazy).
blackrealm said…
The perfect game for a boring night:D

no seriously, never gonna do it
Anonymous said…
Saya, someone might have posted this already, but here is the Corner Game that was mentioned.

http://hakei1211.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-11.html
Unknown said…
I did try this! Sort of...
I was very mean, and I took the opportunity to scare everyone who was playing with me. I secretly ended the ritual before I did so, then I moved another small doll around with a string to frighten the others. They almost lynched me afterwards when they found out, but it was worth it!
Kiwi said…
Thinking about the last person to play the game is scary enough, then I read the line about not finding the doll in the bathtub. It really frighten me. I hope I don't get any nightmare.
Kiwi said…
Imagining that someone has to be the last person remain playing is scary enough. Then I read the part about not finding the doll in the bathtub. This really frighten me. I hope I don't get nightmare based on this.
Unknown said…
Hello Saya, I and a friend are planning to play it tonight, we're already really nervous it's around 00.30 am. Please wish us luck :)
@Samantha: Hi Samantha! I'm not sure if this message will manage to reach you before you begin the ritual, but GOOD LUCK!

Be very,very careful! :D

I hope you come back and let know what happened during/after the ritual!
Unknown said…
Hmm the first attempt failed..just when we were preparing everything, my sister decided to visit us, so we had to cancel everything....but we really want to try it again, and the next time we'll make sure that nothing interrupts us.

My best Friend experienced something creepy while she was busy preparing the doll upstairs, but she's not sure if it was real Or just imagination. Because i wanted to lock our cats away in a bit more safe room downstairs, and she told me that right after i went inside and shut the door, she heard footsteps from somebody going upstairs, as she called out my name to know if it's me, they stopped for a moment, but then went on. In the next moment i stepped out of the room i was in and the footsteps dissapeared completly....she's really not sure what it was.....

Hmm but we're going to try it again...if something interrupts us again, then we see, that we maybe aren't supposed to play this game, and should stop trying it.
@Samantha: Oh well, so maybe there's a divine interruption at work there, warning you of danger!
Never you mind, I'm glad you're safe anyway, that's the most important thing! :D But what your friend experienced was quite interesting! Thank you for your report!
Unknown said…
Wow I honestly said this is the great Kakurenbo I ever read :)
Anonymous said…
Can multiple people hide in the same area, or do they have to hide in different rooms?
Unknown said…
I have a rilakkuma too... And when I saw your photo I was scared at first because I thought it was mine... Until I realized mine was still here, right next to me... (Maybe I should just stop to read those dark stories haha) -just kidding-. It's my first comment here btw, and I wanted to thank you for your translations, I have a good time reading those stories ! :) (and sorry for my bad english D:)
KMV said…
that's really interesting...have at least one of you ever tried this?if yes let me know about what happens..thank11111 you..
Unknown said…
I have heard that, if done incorrectly, and you are found during the single-player game, you will be stabbed with whatever you stabbed the plushie with. That is why some people recommend that you use a pencil instead of a knife, etc.
I Just really really 100% want to know the truth about does the 2 person hide and seek game really work??? Because my 12 year old son is trying to get me to play this game with him but to be truthful I AM SCARED AS HELL ABOUT IT IF I MUST SAY SO MYSELF.... PLEASE GET BACK TO ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE... THANKS.....
could you please tell me if this game is 100% REAL because my 12 year old son is wanting me to play this two man hide and seek with him but I'm not really sure if we should if it is real. Please let me know something as soon as you get this message.... Thanks
could you please tell me if this game is 100% REAL because my 12 year old son is wanting me to play this two man hide and seek with him but I'm not really sure if we should if it is real. Please let me know something as soon as you get this message.... Thanks
Anonymous said…
The game is real, it is however hard to accomplish correctly considering the game has many different ways to play, but if you play the game correctly then it is very much real. Though if your son is young i recommend not playing considering this game is very VERY high risk.