The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

Light as a Feather

I first learned this game while at a slumber party.
This game is best played in the dark with 2 or more
people.
One person lies in the middle of the floor on his/her
back with their arms at their sides, as if in a
coffin. The remaining people gather around the person
lying on the floor and place their index fingers
under them as if they were going to pick them up.
One of the people gathered around begins to tell a
story in which the person lying down has died. The
person lying down is supposed to concentrate very
hard and imagine their own death and dying. The
object is to get the person to concentrate so hard
that they "leave their body" and the people around
the person should be able to pick them up off
the floor with their index fingers. This should be
able to be done since the person left their body,
making it lighter.

Submitter comment: My informant said that while she was playing it
didn't work, although someone she knew tried it
and it worked.

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WARREN

Date learned: 00001979 ca