If you’ve been on the internet lately, or even just in the last 5 to 6 years, you must have encountered a Charlie Charlie game trend or the #CharlieCharlieChallenge where young people cross coloured pencils on top white paper to summon the ghost of Charlie Charlie.
From Tik Tok to Instagram and Twitter, the Charlie Charlie trend spread like wildfire 5 or 6 years ago or so and in the first month of 2021, the trend is making a comeback.
To summon the spirit of Charlie Charlie, just call out to him: “Charlie Charlie, are you there?”
Once the Charlie Charlie demon is summoned, the player immediately throws a bunch of questions at the demon which it answers by moving the pencil on the top through either the “YES” or “NO” mark.
Seems spooky cool, right? Well, wait until Charlie Charlie goes into some anger fit and one of the pencils goes into someone’s eye and gets stuck there! Someone actually said this on Twitter and the statement has stopped a lot of people from playing the Charlie Charlie game. LOL.
Here are some known facts, or not-so-known facts about the Charlie Charlie game trend on social media:
1. Charlie Charlie is not a new game
The origin of the Charlie Charlie game of pencils dates back to several generations ago. While it is difficult to say the exact region the game was played first, one of the oldest histories of the Charlie Charlie game is traced back to Spain. It appears a game very similar to the Charlie Charlie has been popular among Spanish teens for generations. Called “Juego de la Lapicera” in Spanish (a term that loosely translates to pencil game), the game was played by crossing pencils and summoning a soothsaying demon just like the Charlie Charlie. Many people have opined that the Charlie Charlie game is actually just a recreation of the old Spanish “Juego de la Lapicera” game.
2. Who is the Charlie Charlie demon?
Is the Charlie Charlie demon real? In some of the stories, the Charlie Charlie demon is said to be a child who committed suicide after being constantly abused by her stepmother, in others the demon is the spirit of a teenager who killed herself after she was assaulted by some group of men. In some accounts, the Charlie Charlie demon is described as the ghost of a man who had died in a fatal car accident, and in some, the demon is a pagan Mexican deity. There are several variations of these stories and none of them has any bit of proof of being true.
3. Does the Charlie Charlie game work?
Do the pencils actually move as the Charlie Charlie demon answers the questions?
Well, the answer is that the pencils actually do move. There have been actual cases where the pencil moved on its own when the ghost of Charlie Charlie is summoned.
However, in some cases, the game is played in groups of two or more so that while one person asks the demon the questions, the other person blows at the pencils to move them. You can still also play the game alone. Just ask your question and then blow the pencil to the direction you like – best to do this very gently so that your social media followers will not suspect any foul play when you post the video on your page.
In any case, the Charlie Charlie game just like the Ouija Board and Bloody Mary has demonic undertones and should be played with care.
