Work Game Story

A long coworker story:

The most embarrassing part is that all of this is true.

When I was young teen, my friends and I did a bunch of séances. We’d go into my buddy’s basement bathroom—the darkest room in the neighborhood—light a candle and call for Scary Mary.

Of course, we never felt her presence. That is, until one very special Saturday afternoon.

The plan was for me to arrive at the home of two brothers—Brad and Fred—for the séance that would finally succeed. When I got there, Brad was gone. Fred said he was with his mom. No big deal. We’d continue as planned without him.

We positioned ourselves around a small card table set up in the bathroom. Fred explained that the light in there was broken and I knew it was true because I could see the wires hanging down from the ceiling. The only light in there was a dim candle.

We stared at the candle and chanted together, “Scary Mary Scary Mary” over and over.

Then suddenly it happened. It actually fucking happened.

A purple glow oozed through the mottled glass of the shower door. Fred stepped up to see what it was. Just then the shower door opened—it fucking opened! Out stepped a figure cloaked in black. It knocked Fred against the bathroom door. It must have been a hard blow because Fred slid against the door all the way down to the floor. Now the figure turned its attention to me. Now I could feel the strange cold, rough, scaly grip of the figure’s hands clasping my throat. I’ll never forgot how those hands felt. Then I could sense it—she?—was about to squeeze shut my windpipe when for some reason she—it?—let go, opened the door and breezed out of the room.

Silence. The candle flame flickered weakly. Fred’s limp body was crumpled against the door, effectively shutting me in...

I was scared for a week. And it was yet another week before I truly understood everything that happened.

That was Brad wearing his mother’s wig and long black raincoat. On his hands were his father’s beaded gardening gloves. Everything else was in my own imagination.

Best. Prank. Ever.