Schools spooked by ‘supernatural game’

Church and State schools across Malta have been spooked by students engaging in the new internet trend Charlie Charlie - a supposed supernatural being who answers questions by manipulating pencils to point at ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers.

This newspaper has also heard reports of priests visiting schools blessing the classrooms to rid of all ‘supernatural’ activity.

For those wondering, Charlie Charlie is a game which involves balancing pencils over the words ‘yes’ and ‘no’ on a piece of paper. Players ask questions which are supposedly answered by Charlie - a mysterious demon who spookily moves the pencils.

What actually moves the pencils is nothing more than gravity - the pencils could never sit still even if you want them to. The Maltese Church is not taking the matter

lightly, worried that it might be sparking children’s interest in engaging in some sort of ‘demonic’ activity.

In comments to The Malta Independent, Fr Paul Chetcuti, member of the Curia’s Education Committee, explained that while the trend is merely playing with gravity, children might interpret it to be more than that.

“The excitement of the game derives from the unexpected; it is very much like fortune telling and the Ouija board. It is concerning because children might start believing they are being controlled by something or someone else and, in turn, they may feel helpless. It might just be a game, but they are biting off more than they can chew,” Fr Paul said.

He explained that some of the older students are using the trend as a mechanism to bully younger children. “We’ve had reports of some students telling the younger ones that if they fail to participate, they’ll get a terminal illness. So its repercussions have definitely been negative,” he said.

Fr Paul said that while church schools have been advised to be on the lookout, they have also agreed on not creating too much of a fuss about the issue, not to spark curiosity in those who haven’t yet tried it.

In Philadelphia, in the United States, a priest sent an open letter to pupils of two schools encouraging them not to try it out, saying that there is no way of knowing what could happen if they took up ‘the challenge’.

In the letter, he wrote: “There is a dangerous game going around on social media which openly encourages impressionable young people to summon demons. I want to remind you all there is no such thing as ‘innocently playing with demons’.

Vatican-approved exorcist Jose Antoine Fortea has also warned against the dangers of playing the game. He warned that the game involves the real, occult practice of “calling on spirits,” cautioning people that “some spirits who are at the root of that practice will harass some of those who play the game.” Even though players “won’t be possessed,” the spirit that has been summoned “will stay around for a while.”