Recently, a group of friends gathered to share known ghost stories, and there was one story that I personally found really intriguing. Please bear in mind that I might have embellished some parts since I don’t have great storytelling skills, and it’s been a week since I heard the story, so some details might be fuzzy.
So, there were four university students who decided to do a test of courage at the end of summer. However, they didn’t want to do it at just any random graveyard, so they searched for a nearby haunted location.
They found out about a famous abandoned building that was approximately a three-hour drive away, and they decided to go there. On the night of the test of courage, they arrived at the abandoned building around 11 p.m. Before entering the building, the person who came up with the idea (let’s call them T) said, “I’ve got an interesting idea I came across,” and we decided to listen to it before starting the test of courage.
Apparently, the idea that T had heard of was a method to increase the likelihood of encountering ghosts, called “Blindfolded Oni.” It didn’t require complicated preparations but was said to be quite effective.
To briefly explain the “Blindfolded Oni” method:
- Gather at a location that seems to have spiritual activity with at least two people.
- Hold each other’s hands, and one person blindfolds themselves (they must not let go of each other’s hands).
- The blindfolded person loudly calls out, “Demon, where are you? Please answer me.”
- Stay quiet and listen carefully, trying to hear any sounds.
- If nothing is heard, repeat the call or change the location and try again.
- If the blindfolded person hears any voice or sound, they should move in that direction while still blindfolded (the other person should assist them in moving safely).
- If the voice stops or they’re unsure of the direction, repeat the call right there.
- Repeat this process.
According to T, humans primarily rely on visual information (about 80% of it) to perceive their surroundings. You’ve probably heard stories about how blind people have enhanced hearing or smell, and the same concept applies to sensing spirits, it seems.
In fact, it’s common to hear that blind individuals are more sensitive to spirits or experience paranormal phenomena. This “Blindfolded Demon” method aims to bring individuals closer to a state of heightened spiritual sensitivity, making it easier to detect spirits.
The other three people who heard the story apparently weren’t really enthusiastic about it, to be honest. They just wanted to explore the ruins and have a slightly scary experience before going back. But T insisted forcefully, saying, “We’ve come all this way for a reason. It won’t be fun if we don’t do this.” Reluctantly, the other three agreed.
As soon as they entered the ruins, T held hands with one of the three and blindfolded them with a black cloth they had brought. Then T loudly called out those infamous words. The surroundings fell silent, and the three of them held their breath, waiting for T’s reaction. After several tense seconds without anyone speaking, one of them couldn’t resist and fearfully asked T, “D-Did you hear something?”
T didn’t reply immediately, but after a while, they said with a slight laugh, “I only hear the sound of insects.” Upon hearing those words, the tension in the other three quickly dissipated, and they started chatting excitedly, saying things like, “Just as I thought,” or “Well, that’s how it is.” They continued enjoying the situation, changing locations and performing the “call,” but they didn’t hear anything significant. All four of them were having fun, quite different from their initial apprehension.
However, when they reached a long corridor-like area, the situation suddenly changed. “I hear something,” T muttered softly, causing the other three to involuntarily stop in their tracks. Even though they joked, “You’re kidding, right?” T’s expression seemed completely serious. T asked, “Don’t you hear something like the sound of wind saying ‘ooo-ooo’?” As soon as they were asked, the other three strained their ears but couldn’t hear anything at all. T pointed towards the end of the corridor and said, “I think it’s coming from that direction.” Reluctantly, they decided to proceed.
As they reached the end of the corridor, T exclaimed, “I think it’s coming from above.” Hearing this, one of the people holding hands with T suddenly said, “You can’t see, can you?” Wondering what they meant, the other two looked ahead and saw a staircase. They all started feeling that something was seriously wrong.
But T was different. When they found out about the staircase, they became excited and tried to go ahead alone. They got angry when their hand was pulled back to stop them, leading to a small argument. The other three insisted that they should leave, but T refused and insisted on continuing.
As they had a back-and-forth argument for a few minutes about whether to proceed or not, T suddenly made a surprised expression and said, “Shh!” They silenced everyone.
“I can’t hear it anymore,” T said and immediately shouted that call again, straining their ears. In the much heavier atmosphere than the first time, after about 30 seconds, T told everyone, “It’s no use, I can’t hear anything.”
Instantly, the tension was broken, and they all sighed with relief, saying, “Let’s go back.” They tried to resume their previous conversation, but T showed a pensive gesture and said, “Yeah, let’s go back.” The other three were momentarily stunned, but they quickly understood and started heading back along the same path, eager to leave.
They reached the car safely without any incidents, and apparently, everyone felt relieved. The journey back was uneventful, and it should have ended as just a summer memory.
A few days later, after summer vacation ended, it was the first Sunday. One of the members from that time was hanging around at home. Despite having a day off, they didn’t have anything particular to do, so they ended up sleeping until noon, around 1 p.m.
Feeling bored, they decided to call T and see if they could hang out. When they called, T seemed unusually excited. When asked if something had happened, T told them something unbelievable.
“Actually, I’m heading towards the abandoned building we went to the other day,” T said. The person was momentarily taken aback, but what surprised them even more was that T was going to the abandoned building alone.
When asked why they wanted to go alone, T explained that the original “Blindfolded Oni” game was meant to be played alone. T also mentioned that there was a higher chance of encountering spirits when alone and that it was difficult to sense them when there were living people around. However, it was undeniably an extremely dangerous act to wander around the abandoned building blindfolded all by oneself. They tried to persuade T to stop, but T abruptly ended the call, saying, “I’m almost there.”
Feeling concerned for T’s safety, they decided to go to the abandoned building with the group of friends from that time. One person declined the sudden request because it was impossible for them to join, but fortunately, they found another friend who was willing to go along. So the three of them set out for the abandoned building. They departed around 2 p.m., and by the time they arrived, it was already past 5 p.m., and the sun had begun to set.
Honesty, all three of them were filled with a strong desire to go back home when they stood in front of the abandoned building. However, they mustered up the courage to search quickly before it got dark, as it would be troublesome if T got injured and couldn’t move. So, to cut to the chase, T was not inside the abandoned building but outside.
T was underneath the open window of a room on the third floor, where the door had been left unnaturally ajar. They probably fell from there. When they found T, they were completely exhausted, but it wasn’t from falling from a high place, so they only suffered from bruises and a broken right arm, which would take about two and a half months to heal.
When they later asked T about it, T didn’t remember anything from entering the abandoned building onward. It’s a common story, but T said that they woke up in the hospital bed without realizing what had happened. T jokingly said to their visiting friends, “I guess I’m an idiot for jumping out of the window,” but nobody laughed at all.
Apparently, right in front of where T collapsed, there was a large number of graves or tombstones in the nearby forest. Perhaps T was being called by them.
