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Ghoulish Games: Dark Rituals and Supernatural Challenges from Around the World
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
I received this book from Edelweiss in exchange of an honest review.
💖 Love the How To Use (along with the five sections: Seeking Knowledge/Summoning Rituals/Ghostly Players/Stuck Inside/Adventure Games) + Fear Factor ratings (plus what they mean, and in case of the high fear factor also that they advise NOT to do these as they are really dangerous). I really appreciate the author starting with these, preparing the reader what is to come.
💖 Each game has an objective, tools/supplies/number of players (from single player to multiple players)/warnings and then comes the how to play it/what to say/what to do. It was really informative and I love how detailed everything was. For simpler games it was short, but for others it was longer. Each step is explained, including also what to do when things go wrong. I am really happy that the author didn’t just go for short and to the point instead really explained everything.
💖 Loved the variety of games, many I do know (like Kokkuri-san), a lot of them I didn’t know. And no, I am not planning on doing any of them, haha. Heck nah. I don’t want some bad luck or demon stick to me. Or want to know my death in the case of the first game. Eww. But I do love the variety and I had fun learning new ones. OK, I say that I don’t wanna do any, but the doppelganger one at the start has my interest because I am curious if one of my other selves went the path I would have liked to go. I also like that it doesn’t just focus on one country or one part of the world but shows us games from all over the world. Japan, US, Spain, and others.
💖 Loved the extra information on various topics relating to the games. From Spirit boards and satanic panic to what doppelgangers are to backgrounds on the games. I thought this was just going to be games, but we also learn a whole lot of bonus things. Some made me go ehhh no, like the one about the real story behind the movie Candyman, imagine that your bathroom cabinets had crawlspace behind them. NOPE NOPE NOPE. shivers. I really appreciate that the author didn’t just keep it to games + instructions. These additions just made the book more rounded.
💖 Great illustrations! Plus, use of colour!
I would highly recommend this amazing book to all! I had fun reading!
Review also posted on https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
💖 Love the How To Use (along with the five sections: Seeking Knowledge/Summoning Rituals/Ghostly Players/Stuck Inside/Adventure Games) + Fear Factor ratings (plus what they mean, and in case of the high fear factor also that they advise NOT to do these as they are really dangerous). I really appreciate the author starting with these, preparing the reader what is to come.
💖 Each game has an objective, tools/supplies/number of players (from single player to multiple players)/warnings and then comes the how to play it/what to say/what to do. It was really informative and I love how detailed everything was. For simpler games it was short, but for others it was longer. Each step is explained, including also what to do when things go wrong. I am really happy that the author didn’t just go for short and to the point instead really explained everything.
💖 Loved the variety of games, many I do know (like Kokkuri-san), a lot of them I didn’t know. And no, I am not planning on doing any of them, haha. Heck nah. I don’t want some bad luck or demon stick to me. Or want to know my death in the case of the first game. Eww. But I do love the variety and I had fun learning new ones. OK, I say that I don’t wanna do any, but the doppelganger one at the start has my interest because I am curious if one of my other selves went the path I would have liked to go. I also like that it doesn’t just focus on one country or one part of the world but shows us games from all over the world. Japan, US, Spain, and others.
💖 Loved the extra information on various topics relating to the games. From Spirit boards and satanic panic to what doppelgangers are to backgrounds on the games. I thought this was just going to be games, but we also learn a whole lot of bonus things. Some made me go ehhh no, like the one about the real story behind the movie Candyman, imagine that your bathroom cabinets had crawlspace behind them. NOPE NOPE NOPE. shivers. I really appreciate that the author didn’t just keep it to games + instructions. These additions just made the book more rounded.
💖 Great illustrations! Plus, use of colour!
I would highly recommend this amazing book to all! I had fun reading!
Review also posted on https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
October 1, 2026
This is very similar to Dangerous Games to Play in the Dark, but I didn't like it nearly as much. The entries here felt much more repetitive, and that may be because there's nothing in the way of analysis. Only the most famously viral games, like Charlie Charlie, get anything like background. And I ended up really questioning the authenticity of these games. As in, does anyone really, seriously play them? One of the games is a standard children's game that only has spooky associations because it was used in a horror movie, and another is a variant of Bloody Mary that was invented for a horror movie. Now, I expect that author of books like these are going to be more credulous than me, and I'm usually prepared to enjoy these books as collections of folklore. But I can eventually lose patience with an author for being too credulous, and that happened here. When writing about the most famous hoaxed ghost photo ever, of Mary Todd Lincoln with her deceased husband, Wittman pretends that there's any doubt whatsoever that was faked. There isn't, it's a historical fact, and I can't imagine where she got the impression otherwise. I don't think anyone has written about that photo as anything other than a fraud in decades. I'm not sure if that means she's scraping the bottom of the barrel for sources for some reason, or if she's inventing doubt to make her book more spooky ooky.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Thank you Edelweiss and Castle Books for the eARC of this book.
4 ½ spooky stars bumped-up to 5
This is exactly the kind of book I would write if I was a writer! Horror mixed with folklore AND magic - it has everything I love.
The art is gorgeous, the content is interesting and engaging, and it even includes sources! I don't entirely know how I feel about the fact all the sources are from online, but I guess it's to be expected with most of these games. In fact, I am well aware that some originated from online. Just would have been nice to see a book on some of the older games (like "Light As A Feather, Stiff As A Board".)
Overall, I could not be more pleased with this book. Looking forward to one day holding it in my hands, whether that is through my library or by purchase.
EDIT: The ONE THING that has me a little bothered, the summary mentions the Three Kings Ritual as being in the book, but I never came across it. Did it just not make the cut and they forgot to remove it from the synopsis?
4 ½ spooky stars bumped-up to 5
This is exactly the kind of book I would write if I was a writer! Horror mixed with folklore AND magic - it has everything I love.
The art is gorgeous, the content is interesting and engaging, and it even includes sources! I don't entirely know how I feel about the fact all the sources are from online, but I guess it's to be expected with most of these games. In fact, I am well aware that some originated from online. Just would have been nice to see a book on some of the older games (like "Light As A Feather, Stiff As A Board".)
Overall, I could not be more pleased with this book. Looking forward to one day holding it in my hands, whether that is through my library or by purchase.
EDIT: The ONE THING that has me a little bothered, the summary mentions the Three Kings Ritual as being in the book, but I never came across it. Did it just not make the cut and they forgot to remove it from the synopsis?
September 19, 2026
As a kid and teen I did a few of these and others I have heard of but the majority of them are new to me. I would have liked it more of the author didn't write as if they're real ways to contact ghosts or summon demons. They're just a collection of games meant to entertain and scare friends at parties nothing supernatural or evil about them.
October 2, 2026
A fun, niche little read to kick off the Halloween season. I wish there had just been more historical and cultural context in it surrounding the games.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews