Growing up in the 1970s, I had plenty of opportunities to attend slumber parties. One of my favorite party places was the house of my best friend up the street, Jody. (She’s the one who had a horse.) She had all sorts of mysterious things at her house like a fortune-telling 8 ball. You could ask it a question, shake it, and the answer would appear through a dark, watery window in the bottom. I always thought the answers were a little lame, but it was fun to feel like I was receiving some magical advice. My friend’s family also had a Ouija Board that could supposedly be used to talk to the dead like in a séance.

One of my least favorite slumber party games was Bloody Mary. In this game, you go into the bathroom alone with a candle. You light the candle, turn out the lights, and look in the mirror. Say “Bloody Mary” three times slowly. It’s supposed to make Bloody Mary (whoever that is) appear. I didn’t like this game because I needed to be alone for it. I didn’t want to be alone if and when a creepy person appeared! I don’t recall ever doing the game myself, but I may have watched other people do it. (We bent the rules on being alone.) I don’t recall any specter appearing in the mirror, but we were scared out of our wits, which I guess was the whole point.

One of my favorite games was Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board. We played the version where one person lays down (there’s another version where a person sits in a chair). Everyone would gather around under dim lights and placed two fingers from each hand (index fingers) underneath them. The goal was to lift the person off the ground. If we would try to lift the person at this point, it wouldn’t work because we’d be giggling and uncoordinated. But if we tried to lift as we recited the chant associated with the game, the person would rise as if levitating.

The first record of this game came from a British Naval administrator in 1665 who saw a group of French girls doing it. The leader of the game (usually the person at the head) says, “She’s looking ill.” And everyone repeats that in a call and response a few times. Then the leader says, “She’s looking worse,” in the same call and response. Then, “She’s dying,” and “She’s dead.”

This initial ritual is completed when everyone stacks their hands atop the liftee person’s forehead, alternating so that their hands are separated by the hands of another person. The leader then tells the group that they are opening the liftee’s body to supernatural influences and that outside spirits are entering the body to make it lighter.

After that, everyone puts their fingers back under the person. The leader chants, “Light as a feather, stiff as a board,” repeating the phrase many times. Then the group begins lifting the person slowly. Unlike the first lifting attempt, this one should happen easily and for only a few inches. Then the group lowers the person back to the ground.

The game was spooky, exciting, and mysterious. How could we all lift such a weight with only a few fingers? I did a little research and discovered the game is actually based on physics. The weight of the person is divided equally among each lifter. The stiffness of the lifted player also helps the trick work. As the lifters chant, the liftee will become stiff and focused. Their rigid, tense body makes the lifting easier. The supernatural references just make the game more fun.

As with many things in life, the ultimate secret to the “magic” of this game is the synchronization of the group. Many hands (in this case, fingers) working together makes for light work.

Did you ever play these games, or something like them?