Cat Scratch

Cat Scratch is one of those spooky games kids play at sleepovers. Some examples of the spooky games are Bloody Mary, Candy Man, and the Ouija board. Although this game does not cause an evil woman to come into your mirror or demons to enter your house, if done correctly this game can still generate a good scare.

• In order to play the game, you need at least two people. If more than two people are in the room with you that is okay too.
• Person 1 sits upright on the floor or a couch. Person 2 will lay down with their head in person 1’s lap. If more than two people are in the room they should sit in a circle around person 1 and 2.
• Person 1 has to rub person 2’s temples as if they were an animal being petted.
• Person 1 will then start to recite one of 2 stories.
• Story 1:
• There once was an old lady who owned a cat. The cat was very nice. It meowed and purred. One day, the cat got hit by a car and died. Cat scratch, cat scratch, cat scratch. The old lady got a new cat. The cat was very mean. It hissed and clawed. Cat scratch, cat scratch, cat scratch. One day, the cat got hit by a car and died. The old lady decided not to get anymore cats. Cat scratch, cat scratch, cat scratch.
• Or story 2:
• You are walking through a dark alley late at night. You are the only one there. The ground is slick with rain. The alley is filled with garbage cans and litter. But then you hear something. A movement in the garbage cans. You pick up your pace. You want to get out of the alley fast. But then you see something. Red eyes. Glowing red cat eyes. They are the eyes of an enormous cat. You run, but the cat chases you and jumps on you. It scratches you, one, two, three. Cat scratch, cat scratch, cat scratch!
• After the story is told person 2 should get up and reveal their back. If done correctly 2-3 scratch marks should appear on their back but the person will not feel any pain.

If no marks appear, try the game again but with the story Player 1 did not read.

This game is best to play at night because of its fear factor. If you will yourself to believe in this working, there is a high probability that it will end up working. The marks usually fade fast so there is no real harm in playing the game.

Many people in the world believe games like Bloody Mary and Cat Scratch are fake. They believe in this thing called group hypnosis. Group Hypnosis is the idea that if you believe hard enough, it will happen. An example using the game light as a feather, stiff as a board. There is no humanly possible way to lift up a human with only two fingers on each hand. Yet, when playing this game it is possible to some. This is where the hypnosis part comes in to play. If everyone in the group believes this game is going to work, then it will.

If you can argue that the game is done by group hypnosis, you also have to argue that the game can also work because of the use of ghosts. The “ghost” of the cat is supposed to be summoned and end up clawing Player 2’s back. And that is the reason why the fear factor comes to play. You want to believe that this ghost is going to come scratch your back and you believe so hard, that it does.