While I am holed up on my couch recovering from having my mouth ripped open and various things extracted and grafted, please enjoy the weird and possibly cursed history of Houska Castle in the Czech Republic: theghostinmymachine.com/2026/04/20/h...

You’re all wise enough not to entrust any of your valuable information to an odd and seemingly untraceable website, right?... Right??? theghostinmymachine.com/2026/04/13/c...

Reason number five million not to go out after sunset or let your fingernails get too long. theghostinmymachine.com/2026/04/06/e...

Part summoning ritual, part wish-granting ritual, and part piece of blood magic, this week's Most Dangerous Game sees you calling upon the titular Being From Beyond to make a request. There is, however, more to this one than meets the eye, of course... theghostinmymachine.com/2026/03/30/t...

Wisconsin, I have learned, is full of weird things. Among them is Summerwind Mansion - or, at least, its ruins. Strap in - it's... quite a tale. theghostinmymachine.com/2026/03/23/a...

Wisconsin, I have learned, is full of weird things. Among them is Summerwind Mansion - or, at least, its ruins. Strap in - it's... quite a tale. theghostinmymachine.com/2026/03/23/a...

Don't look at this painting. Not if you value your life. theghostinmymachine.com/2026/03/09/e...

Want to play the Elevator Game, but don't have access to a building with an elevator? Here's a staircase-based alternative. Just... make sure you know what you're in for before you try it. theghostinmymachine.com/2026/03/02/t...

When is a house not a home? When it's a horrible home - a place where something terrible has happened, or is happening, or will happen sometime in the future. And the houses in these horror novels are definitely NOT places you'd want to live. theghostinmymachine.com/2026/02/23/h...

The perfect video game doesn’t exi— theghostinmymachine.com/2026/02/16/c...

If Taxi #45 pulls up next to you in Davao City in the Philippines... don't get in. It might just be a ghost taxi. theghostinmymachine.com/2026/02/09/e...

Valentine's Day is fast approaching, so let's take a look at a seasonally-appropriate ritual game. Just be warned: Who - or what - your “eternal love” is may not be what you're expecting. theghostinmymachine.com/2026/02/02/t...

In the 1970s, two small boys unearthed a pair of tiny stone heads from their garden in the village of Hexham in the UK. We still don't know exactly what the Hexham heads are - or where they've gone. theghostinmymachine.com/2026/01/26/u...

Meet the Headless Horseman's modern cousin. theghostinmymachine.com/2026/01/12/e...

Meet the Headless Horseman's modern cousin. theghostinmymachine.com/2026/01/12/e...

From the December backlog: When is a bucket of slime not a bucket of slime? When it's... whatever the heck it is in this creepypasta. theghostinmymachine.com/2025/12/22/c...

From the December backlog: Meet the Badalisc, a wacky Italian goat-serpent-thing that spends the year collecting local gossip so it can roast the entire town on Epiphany. Fun! theghostinmymachine.com/2025/12/15/e...

First game for the new year: Yeongan Ticket, or the Spirit Ticket Game. It might just be your ticket to earning your spirit eyes... theghostinmymachine.com/2026/01/05/t...

In the spirit of the season, here's a Most Dangerous Game for the holidays that... isn't really dangerous at all. Here's to your good health! theghostinmymachine.com/2025/12/08/t...

This week, a look at one of my favorite recent web series: 'School Rumors,' a terrific piece of found footage that exemplifies the art of less-is-more storytelling. Here's what happens when the monster in the basement is real... theghostinmymachine.com/2025/12/01/t...

SADAKO for VOGUE JAPAN

This week, something short and not-so-sweet: "The Kaleidoscope," a creepypasta that might make you think twice about bringing home that neat thing you just found at that out-of-the-way antique shop you stumbled onto by chance. theghostinmymachine.com/2025/11/24/c...

Today is my birthday! 🎂 If you like my work and want to make my day, I only ask that you share my art and stories with someone who might enjoy them :) Or trick your gullible friend for a minute. That's also a good one.

In 2009, a thread posted to 2ch titled "Do you want a house in Kita-ku, Kobe City?" offered a free house to whoever wanted it, as long as they abided by certain... stipulations. Odd ones. Troubling ones. Ones to which no ordinary person would agree... theghostinmymachine.com/2025/11/17/e...

This week, a ritual game that's been circulating TikTok since the spring of this year. If you've been itching to try to record a video of a ghost in your own home, playing The Sky Is Blue And I See You might be the way to do… maybe. theghostinmymachine.com/2025/11/10/t...

There's knowing yourself… and then there's *knowing yourself.* These 13 ritual games might help you do the latter. Play at your own risk... theghostinmymachine.com/2025/11/03/1...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN Y'ALL Here's hoping any parties you are either going to or throwing turn out better than these ones theghostinmymachine.com/2025/10/20/d...

This week, a creepypasta about how gargantuan pumpkins are really grown - or, as I like to think of it, It's The Great Pumpkin's Terrifying Grimoire, Charlie Brown. Happy almost-Halloween, friends! theghostinmymachine.com/2025/10/27/c...

Today, a look at one of my favorite highly specific horror subgenres: Dinner party horror. Consider this a lesson in how NOT to throw your Halloween party this year. theghostinmymachine.com/2025/10/20/d...

Sleepy Hollow isn't the only place where headless horsemen ride... theghostinmymachine.com/2025/10/13/e...

Haunted houses, cursed train stations, amusement parks populated by ghosts... all of these places claim to be some of the scariest locations you'll ever visit. There's just one problem: They... might not actually exist. theghostinmymachine.com/2025/10/06/t...

Looking for a way to change your fate? Playing the Ghost At The Crossroads game might help. You don't even have to go to an actual crossroads to do it. theghostinmymachine.com/2025/09/29/t...

Most things are terrible but THIS IS TERRIFIC

Tucked down a tiny passage in the city of Cambridge in the UK, there's a haunted bookshop. No, really - that's what it's actually called: The Haunted Bookshop. theghostinmymachine.com/2025/09/22/h...

To celebrate the 5th anniversary of my Yokai zine project; I’ve made the PDFs for both zines available via my patreon for purchase; •Part 1: www.patreon.com/posts/139043... •Part 2: www.patreon.com/posts/139038... also available for all supporters pledging $5 or more! • patreon.com/samkalensky

Everything is bad, but books are good. Get a book. Read the book. Cherish the book. Finish the book. Tell your friends about the book, and leave a review of the book. Hold the book close. Listen to what it tells you. Do as it commands. Place it on the dread altar and let it guide your every choice.

If you're looking for costume inspiration this year… maybe don't take it from Carrie Morgan's Halloween costume. theghostinmymachine.com/2025/09/15/c...

Today, an oldie but goodie: We're taking a look at the "Mystery Cave" of the classic internet horror story known as Ted The Caver. Hold onto your headlamps... theghostinmymachine.com/2025/09/08/e...

HI, HELLO, it is DANGEROUS GAMES TO PLAY IN THE DARK'S sixth birthday! Happy birthday, Dangerous Games! It is still widely available in both hardcover and e-book form, and probably also in the stacks at your local library! Check it out! bookshop.org/p/books/dang...

HI, HELLO, it is DANGEROUS GAMES TO PLAY IN THE DARK'S sixth birthday! Happy birthday, Dangerous Games! It is still widely available in both hardcover and e-book form, and probably also in the stacks at your local library! Check it out! bookshop.org/p/books/dang...

Looking for a short, simple ritual game to play with one player? The Ghost Book Game might fit the bill. But as always: Play at your own risk... theghostinmymachine.com/2025/09/01/t...

This week, some reading recommendations - a "What's In My Bookshelf?" kind of thing, with a highly specific focus: Friends, let's talk about some horror novels that are about horror movies. theghostinmymachine.com/2025/08/25/h...

Are you a fan of John Carpenter's The Thing? Yes? Then you're probably going to dig this creepypasta about a group of friends that set out for a multi-day hike and get... a little more than they bargained for. theghostinmymachine.com/2025/08/18/c...

In the darkest corners of your home, something might be hiding. It looks like a child. It is not a child. It is Carazi, the Child Of The Void. theghostinmymachine.com/2025/08/11/e...

This wish-granting ritual game should only be used for the deepest of wishes, owing to the fact that you may only attempt to perform it once - just once - over the course of your lifetime... theghostinmymachine.com/2025/08/04/t...

It's time for our annual installment of our long-running Most Dangerous Games FAQ feature, in which I attempt to answer your burning questions about ritual games, urban legend games, and sleepover games of all types. theghostinmymachine.com/2025/07/28/t...

Have you ever lived somewhere with walls so thin, you could hear your next-door neighbors through them? theghostinmymachine.com/2025/07/21/c...

Be warned: Should you encounter hantu galah in the wild... by the time you notice, it will be too late. theghostinmymachine.com/2025/07/14/e...

Last day for this on sale at Bookshop dot org!

The alchemist/fantasy corner in my library! The center piece is the lovely "Dangerous games to play in the dark" by Lucia Peters, a really fun read! For all the horror and creepypasta lovers ❤️ @ghostmachine13.bsky.social