Charlie Charlie: A Scientific psychosomatic game

A group of young persons asked me a question on this Internet popular game called ‘Charlie Charlie Challenge’. I was posed with a question, whether demoniac spirits exist in and around us? What about Charlie demoniac spirit that is giving nightmares to the young persons in the world? My immediate response was, there is no external spirit, especially demonic or bad spirit. To qualify my statement I had to talk about my experience of good human spirit, and I named it as ‘God’s Spirit.’ This does not rule out the possibility of bad spirit as

experienced by some others. Question about spirit is mysterious in many ways. I have been posed with these kinds of questions especially in religious ambience.

A while ago, I got a phone call to bless the house, especially one corner of the house, where apparently family members see a bad spirit and that spirit is creating havoc in the family. I, as Christian remarked, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31).

The game, Charlie, Charlie Challenge entails people trying to communicate with an ancient Mexican demon named Charlie. The players write YES and NO on four squares on a piece of paper and then set up a pencil sitting crosswise atop another pencil. They then chant, “Charlie, Charlie, can we play?” and wait and for the top pencil to move either towards YES or the NO.

I was curious to see whether pencil moves, of course I did not chant, Charlie, Charlie, rather I just placed a pencil atop of another. After waiting in vain to move, I blew gently and pencil moved. This is Newtonian law of gravity, “an inanimate object will not move unless pushed.” The Independent explained a slight scientifically inclined view on the movement of the pencil. They reported, “With the Charlie, Charlie game, however, nobody is actually touching the pencils. But they are still likely being pushed – the pencils have to be so finely balanced on top of each other that even the slightest movement form the breath or slightly tilted surface will push it around. The arrangement of pencils that the game requires means that they will always move, because it’s just not a natural position fro them to be in.” This simple scientific explanation for the game is satisfactory to a large extent to qualify that the game is based on gravitational pull or gravitational movement of the object

Some of the religious groups have warned against summoning demons. A priest from Saints John Neumann High School in Philadelphia wrote a warning letter. It stated, “I want to remind you all there is no such thing as ‘innocently playing’ with demons. Please be sure not to participate and encourage others to avoid participating as well. The problem with opening yourself up to demonic activity is that it opens a window of possibilities which is not easily closed.” There is an element of religious Spiritism in the game, which I find it hard to buy into it. I have my reservations based on my experience of good spirit, a human spirit or God’s Spirit in each one of us.

This game is not demonic but it is a conglomeration of science and human illusion towards that scientific move. Let me explain; as aforementioned, pencil is moved because of the gravitational pull enforced by an external force, that force could be breath, movement of the paper, and movement of the table. This action of movement happens after a period of certain time depending on the external impact or push enforced on the pencil. This period is spent is waiting by the player. This is not a normal waiting but it is a hypnotised waiting because prior to waiting the player would have already imagined that some demonic spirit is going to move this pencil, hence the correspondence to the actual scientific movement is inevitable. Therefore, there is an element of psychological mesmerisation by the player and that mesmerisation will lead the player to trigger the prior imagined phenomena of the demon or bad spirit. This imagined phenomena will take charge of the player and the player will be moved to scare, fright, and nightmare since the player has not control over that imagination or that phenomena of the demonic spirit.

This is my own reflection into this vicious game that is contagious among the young teenagers. It is contagious among the young teenagers with its deep impact on the society. Social media has made it more contagious with information and experience of the few who are badly affected by the game. The game is player by the teenagers in the absence of the adults hence an element of the curiosity is built and spread. Every teenager who plays this game will be affected by this vicious game because the either play alone or people with similar interests. Therefore, every teenager must be aware encourage others about the psychosomatic Charlie game. We have to be educated in this scientific age to do serious enquiry into matters that can affect our society in a vicious manner. The scientific or psychological enquiry is lacking among the young generation rather we buy into someone else’s experience and theories which may not be authentic. Young persons, let us involve in serious conversations into these matters and do a serious study to educate the world not to spread evil matters in the society.