WATCH ABOVE: Similar to the Ouija board, new internet craze “#CharlieCharlieChallenge” takes over social media
TORONTO – Do you remember when it was all the rage to stand in a dark bathroom and shout the “Bloody Mary” chant into the mirror? Or gather your friends around a Ouija board in an attempt to summon whatever spirits may have been listening?
Well, turns out millennials want to get in on the spooky spiritual fun too – but the Internet-age versions of these superstitious games involve uploading reaction videos to social media, of course.
The so-called “Charlie Charlie” challenge is the latest social media craze to climb its way up the trending topics charts.
The game – involving a Spanish-language turned Internet urban legend spirit demon named Charlie – is simple. Participants draw a grid on a piece of paper with “yes” and “no” in the boxes and then balance two pencils on top of each other to create a cross.
Then someone chants, “Charlie, Charlie, can we play?” or “Charlie, Charlie, are you here?”
The hope is that the pencil eventually moves – landing on either “yes” or “no” – so that participants can scream, freak out and shout expletives, and upload their video to Twitter in the hopes of garnering horrified reactions.
The hashtag #CharlieCharlieChallenge exploded this past weekend, generating over 1.8 million tweets and countless news articles asking, “What is this #CharlieCharlieChallenge thing anyway?”
Where did “Charlie” come from?
Good question. There have been many varying reports about how the game was created.
According to some, the game could be traced back to a version of a classic kids game played in Spain for generations called “Juego de la Lapicera.”
The Washington Post reported “Charlie Charlie” was a similar game, played with coloured pencils, which merged with “Juego de la Lapicera” over time. Both games involve demonic or supernatural aspects.
Other reports claim a Mexican demon named “Charlie” is behind the whole thing.
However, Maria Elena Navez of BBC Mundo said “There’s no demon called ‘Charlie’ in Mexico.”
Is an evil spirit really moving those pencils?
Probably not. A story in UK publication The Independent attributed the supernatural experience to nothing more than gravity (and the screams of the participants who believe they are in the presence of a demon).
“The pencils have to be so finely balanced on top of each other that even the slightest movement from a breath or slightly tilted surface will push it around,” read the report. “The arrangement of pencils that the game requires means that they’ll always move, because it’s just not a natural position for them to be in.”
As with most viral trends, many are taking to Twitter to make fun of those participating in the challenge.
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