- Lie on your back on the floor of a dark room with your head in the lap of another player, who will be the storyteller.
- Relax and close your eyes as the storyteller softly rubs your temples and reads one of the Cat Scratch stories out loud.
- Sit up when the story is over and check your back for the telltale red marks. If you’re brave enough, swap roles and tell the second story.
Playing the Game
The listener lies on their back with their head in another player’s lap. You need at least 2 people to play the Cat Scratch game: one to tell the story, and the other to listen and get scratched. The listener lies flat on their back on the floor, with their head in the storyteller’s lap (with a pillow, if it’s more comfortable). Feel free to set the spooky mood with things like candles or small lanterns. Shut the blinds and make your room as dark as possible if you’re playing during the day. Bystanders are welcome, but they can’t make a peep. Extra players sit cross-legged in a circle around the 2 main players.
The storyteller recites one of the Cat Scratch stories. The listener closes their eyes while the storyteller rubs their temples with both hands in gentle, circular motions. If you're the listener, breathe deeply, relax, and feel your body sinking into the floor. Then, when they feel that it’s the right moment, the storyteller recites the first of the 2 stories below, speaking slowly and clearly. While the story is told, nobody in the room may move, speak, or open their eyes, except for the storyteller. The storyteller may print the stories or read from their phone, but the game works best if they recite them from memory.
Check the listener’s back for scratches when the story is over. Once the storyteller is finished telling the story, the listener sits up and lifts their shirt in the back. Now’s the moment of truth, so try not to freak out. If you’ve been visited, the listener will have long red marks on their back, even if they don’t feel anything. The marks may be faint or slow to appear, but you won’t miss them. If they do appear, keep an eye out for any strange cats—you may have a new pet. If the scratches don’t appear, repeat the game and swap roles of listener and storyteller. This time, recite the second story.
Reading the Stories
The first story: 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 any more cats. Cat scratch, cat scratch, cat scratch.
The second story: 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.
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