INTRODUCTION BEFORE THE MAIN STORY
This is an urban legend, but unlike most urban legends, this one feels more like an occult practice rather than just a scary story.
It is one of the most infamous internet born legends, originating from creepypasta and Reddit's NoSleep forum in the early 2010s.
... And is said to act as a "gateway" to one's subconscious allowing participants to "meet their kings" and confront the truths they hide.
To perform the ritual, you must enter a completely dark room at 3:30 AM and set up three chairs in a triangle formation.
One chair, known as the Throne, is for the participant.
The other two chairs, placed to the left and right, represent the Queen and the Fool, whose reflections are shown in two large mirrors facing the throne.
Also, a lit candle, a bucket of water, and an object of deep personal meaning or significance must be placed nearby.
The participant must sit in the Throne and stare into the darkness, never ever directly looking at the mirrors.
If performed correctly, strange visions, voices, or even spirits may begin to communicate to the participant.
But, if something goes wrong— like the candle blowing out— the ritualist would end up being trapped in the other realm, or...
The kings will follow you, WHEREVER you go.
However despite this, and so many other warnings to never attempt the ritual, the Three Kings Ritual remains one of the most well- known supernatural games many still go ahead to try.
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Today was a wonderful day; I was fresh out of college and had finally gotten my own house just on the edge of town in Ohio.
Call it a congratulations gift to myself; after all, that with all I've been through in my life, graduating and getting a house of my own was a real achievement for me.
It had everything I'd ever wanted; a pouch, a sitting room, two bedrooms and a kitchen and toilet.
Hell, it even had a small yard out front.
But most especially, it had a basement which was cold, damp, and windowless.
... Just Perfect for the ritual I'd found two nights ago on my favourite horror forum.
You see, amongst all the horror dares I saw out there, one of them had a pretty catchy caption to it;
'If you want to see beyond the veil, perform the Three Kings Ritual. But you must be beware, because what you see will depend on who you truly are.'
Yeah, it was damn catchy, so I was trying it out.
I've got to say though, the items I was going to need for the ritual were... normal, and yet odd so it fascinated me.
... and I just HAD TO know what was going to happen if I did the ritual.
I was going to be needing:
A dark, empty room (which is where the basement comes in.)
Two mirrors
A candle
A chair
Two other chairs
A bucket of water and a cup
A fan
A fully charged phone which has to belong to me, and...
A loyal friend who will call me at 4:34 AM
I had everything; thank the stars for that.
My friend Jake agreed to be my "backup," and he'd actually laughed when I told him about it.
"You're insane," he said.
"Why the hell would you sit in the dark for an hour just to freak yourself out?"
"Because," I told him, only half- joking,
"maybe I'll finally meet a king who'll tell me why my life sucks."
Jake just scoffed.
So now I just had to wait for the right time to start the ritual, which was by 3 AM.
----
By 3:00 AM, everything was ready.
I placed a chair in the middle of the basement----- my 'throne' as the instruction said----- and on either side of it, exactly an arm's length away, I set down two other chairs.
Then on those chairs, I placed two large mirrors facing me at an angle, so that if I were to look straight ahead, I would only be able to see the darkness behind me.
... but from the corners of my eyes, I'd still be able to see faint reflections of myself.
After that I set a candle on the floor in front of me, and behind me, I set down the fan and turned on low, angling it to face just my back.
And that was it.
I'd done everything as the instruction said, and finally set down a lighter to the ground, which I would used to light the candle once the ritual starts.
You see, the rules said: If the candle goes out before 4:34, do not turn around and do not look into the darkness. Sit still and wait until 4:34 AM.
Honestly everything about this ritual was all too specific and too different.
This was the first time I was hearing about a standing fan being present in a ritual, and I definitely hadn't ever heard of a ritual that stopped by 4:34 AM.
It was usually by 4 AM on the dot.
Hell even it's starting time was different, but anyways...
"So what now? I just have to call you if something goes wrong?" Jake called out, causing me to look up at him who stood at the top of the basement stairs with his own phone in his hand.
"Exactly," I replied.
"If I don't pick up, come down. But if you see me staring at the mirrors or the candle's out, don't touch me. Just yell my name until I respond."
He frowned at that. "Man, this is creepy as hell. Don't die on me for this."
I laughed, "Relax dude, it's just a game."
-----
Once it was 3:33 AM, I sat on the throne and lit the candle, watching the small flame flicker weakly,
Then Jake turned off the basement light and shut the door behind me, going to stay in the kitchen where it'll be easier to hear me if I called him.
With the door closed, I was now immersed in a semi darkness, with the candle barely illuminating the concrete walls around me.
Aside from noticing the lack of adequate lighting, the first thing that hit me was the think heavy silence around me.
It was suddenly very aware that I was alone and could hear only the sounds of the turning fan and my heartbeat.
I could also fully feel the faint breeze that the fan whirred behind me, brushing the back of my neck.
Minutes passed and yet nothing happened, I was soon begining to wonder if a part of the ritual setting I had gotten wrong.
However everything was correct, I was sure of that since I'd done everything about that myself.
Or...
... was a spell or something I was supposed to recite?
I doubted that.
While I was still thinking, I thought I saw my form in the mirror move and I blinked.
I hadn't moved and inch from my chair.
Trying to peer into the mirror, I got distracted when I felt the soft cold air from the fan begin to slow down, and the candle flame flickered a bit.
My ears prickled, "Jake?" I whispered.
Did he come down and turn off the fan?
"Jake did you turn off the fan?" I asked,not turning around since I
However he didn't answer.
"Come on dude. Turn it back on, I told you it's for the ritual."
Still he said nothing.
Now I was at a loss at what to do; I couldn't turn around because it was forbidden by the rules of the ritual, but I also needed that fan to be turned on.
So I tried again, "Jake?"
"I'm not Jake."
I gasped, jerking and almost bolting from my chair from the shook.
However I was able to hold myself from doing that just in time.
"Why are you here…?" The voice asked, not even giving me time to regain myself.
However regaining myself wasn't what was on my mind right now; my throat had tightened and I didn't dare move.
... Because when the voice spoke the second time, I realised that it came from my left... from the mirror.
"I---- I'm here to… see the truth?" I said, although my voice was shaking a bit.
The voice laughed then, letting out a low, female chuckle that sent chills racing down my spine.
"The truth?" she repeated.
"The truth doesn't want to be seen King."
I didn't know what to say to that; wasn't 'seeing the truth' the whole point of this ritual.
But before I could ask that, another voice spoke, and it was deeper, male and speaking from my right... from the right mirror.
"She's not wrong," he said.
"The truth does tear more than it amends."
I stared straight ahead, gripping my knees with both of my hands.
I hadn't prepared for this; no one said anything about voices speaking.
"Who… who are you?"
"We are your kings," the male voice said.
"And queens," the female added.
"You invited us," they said at the same time.
My breathing quickened at that, and suddenly I began to feel...
Hot?
My eyes turned there attention to the candle that I'd in front of me, only to see its flame begin to grow right before my eyes, growing taller and taller, then a little wider.
And as it did, it began flickering between red and blue, then orange.
I was speechless.
Suddenly something moved in the corner of my eye, causing me to turn to it, and I saw a pale face.
Gasping, my eyes widened as I stared back at my face which was staring at me from the mirror to my left.
It was me, only that its eyes were pitch dark with no white in it.
"Do you want to see what you hide?" It asked, its voice reverberating the space around me.
I shook my head. "No… it's just the truth of-----"
"Silence, you dare lie?"
I wasn't, I didn't even know what IT was talking about.
So I turned to look away, but I couldn't move my neck.
Then the male voice spoke again, talking louder this time. "Pathetic. You don't deserve to sit here."
I soon as he said that, the candle's flame started trembling, lowering to its initial flame size, and then the fan that had turned off before instantly began to spin breeze towards me.
And it was coold.
So cold that my breath came out in white clouds as I breathed through my mouth.
"What do you mean?" I asked the male voice I couldn't see, shivering.
"You've wasted your throne," he rumbled.
"You kneel to fear, guilt, and to lies."
I clenched my fists at that. "I only wanted to see if this ritual was real and experience what it could bring."
"Oh, it's real," the woman hissed.
"And you'll see what it'll bring."
Instantly the candle fame blew out, soaking I and the entire basement in darkness.