The Boatman's Game

Do. Not. Move. He’s behind you.

DON’T TRY TO LOOK, KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PAGE!

Please, listen to me, I want to help you. You shouldn’t have entered the game in the first place but now you must keep reading. He’ll get you as soon as you stop.

Don’t look around.

Don’t give him any indication you know he’s there.

Just read and pretend everything’s fine... for as long as you can.

You must try not to panic at what I’m going to tell you next.

Take a deep breath.

Do not react.

Here goes...

You have been dead for several seconds.

You were dead as soon as you agreed to play the game. I’m sorry. It is unlikely that you can return to the land of the living - he always wins. But I will try to explain what’s happening and guide you.

Here’s the first thing you need to understand: everything around you may still look the same but it’s all an illusion. Even though you think you haven’t moved, you are worlds away from home now. Only your senses have been numbed and bamboozled so you won’t realise what’s happening to you until it’s too late. But if you really focus you will notice the cracks, the little clues.

Concentrate hard and you might smell him. He reeks of filth and decay. You are breathing in all that stench, you just don’t register it. You can smell the River, too. Dead fish, rotten eggs and algae. Try to catch a small whiff of it. Can you? Just don’t gag or he’ll know you’re onto him.

Do things look just a little bit blurry? Then you’re catching a glimpse of where you really are. That’s the mist - the perpetual mist that hangs over the River.

Listen for the soft splashing of little waves as they hit the boat. You’re swaying, just a tiny bit, did you notice? The boat is rocking, ever so gently, almost imperceptibly.

Strain your ears. Can you hear a little rasp somewhere behind you? That’s him. His voice is so low and hoarse it is barely audible. Here, this is what it sounds like so you will know what to listen for (except it will be far quieter).

Did you catch it?

Row, row, row your boat

Gently down the stream.

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Life is but a dream...

You thought it was just a children’s rhyme, didn’t you? Even though it is literally telling you that your life isn’t real. Life is nothing but a dream for you now. He’s taking you to the other shore and there’s no coming back from there.

Row, row, row your boat,

Gently down the stream.

If you sense the Boatman,

Don’t forget to scream.

He’s trying to make you acknowledge him. Don’t fall for it! If he senses your awareness he will stop hiding behind this mirage of the world you knew and show you his face. You don't want to see that. There is nothing more horrifying than his eyes. They are large and round, white but tinged with the blue of a corpse’s lips. There is no iris to make them look human, just a pulsating black pupil. If you look into them, he will pierce you with the force of his stare, paralyse you so you can’t even scream. Then he will grab you with his bony fingers and drag you down into the bottomless River. What will happen to you there does not bear describing. So sit still. Don’t let him know. Keep reading like nothing’s wrong so you can hold off the terror for maybe a minute more.

Why does he not attack?

Because he’s stalking you. Like a cat. It’s a game. Your only hope is to not react and hope that he will give you up as uninteresting.

You know how cats often kill for fun because they just love pouncing on things and tearing them apart? He’s like that, too. But what amuses him is the surprise, that sudden spike of horror in his victim. He wants to watch you realise where you are. To slowly become aware of the river, of him, and of your own doom.

Do you feel a small cold spot on the back of your neck? That’s where his eyes are fixed right now. He’s watching for goosebumps. Pray that he hasn’t noticed a shiver run down your spine.

There is only one way for you to go back home.

When the boat reaches the other shore the Boatman will try to show you his face. You must not look at it at any cost!

When I tell you, you must close your eyes and wait.

Listen for the thud of the boat hitting the bank. Do not open your eyes!

He will stand before you and bend near, so close that his face will almost be touching yours. You may feel his breath on your skin. Wait.

If you do not react and he believes you haven’t noticed him, he will give up the game and start taking you back across.

Do not open your eyes until you hear another thud.

If you are lucky, when you open your eyes you will be back in your own world.

The worst part is… you can never be sure if it’s over.

If he already knows you’ve noticed him, you have lost. But he may still decide to trick you, to stretch out his fun a little more. He may keep the illusion going. Then you will think you're home and everything will look normal except for tiny little things that seem odd or out of place. You may go about your day, ignoring the signs. But he will always walk in your footsteps until one day... One day he'll grab you from behind and down into the depths you’ll go.

I hope you haven’t lost already.

Now it’s time to close your eyes, the bank is drawing near.

Remember - one thud, wait, the boat will sail back where it came from, then another thud. You’ll have to strain to hear them. Only then can you open your eyes and hope you are back in the world of the living.

Ready?

Three…

Two…

One.