I was feeling a little reminiscent this weekend while working on some of the voodoo and paranormal practices for book three in my Spiritus series and I got to thinking about that game that we used to play at slumber parties called Light As A Feather, Stiff As A Board.
I guess all teenage girls are fascinated by the idea of magic and the unknown. Some of us outgrow it, but then the rest of us must become writers or something. I can't remember a single slumber party where we didn't play that game and I do remember a few parents that were terrified that we were dabbling in black magic and the like. Looking back, how crazy is that?
The night would usually begin with harmless stuff like manicures and maybe popcorn. I'll show my age and say that we all stayed up watching Friday Night Videos and taped episodes of Dance Party USA (Kelly Rippa anyone?). Normally these parties were held in the basement and as soon as all was quiet upstairs, we'd start playing Light As A Feather, Stiff As A Board.
One person would lay down and cross their arms "dead guy" style. Everyone else would sit around them in a circle with one girl at the person's head. That girl was responsible for rubbing the person's temples as we told a scary story, then just the opposite, we told the person to relax and imagine floating down a gentle stream. In unison we would all start chanting "Light As A Feather, Stiff As A Board" as we easily lifted the person using only two fingers each.
Now maybe it's the passage of time, but I seem to remember lifting some people pretty high. It could be that I am remembering it with the naivety of my teenage self, but that's how I remember it. Anyone else remember playing this and how did you do it?
I guess all teenage girls are fascinated by the idea of magic and the unknown. Some of us outgrow it, but then the rest of us must become writers or something. I can't remember a single slumber party where we didn't play that game and I do remember a few parents that were terrified that we were dabbling in black magic and the like. Looking back, how crazy is that?
The night would usually begin with harmless stuff like manicures and maybe popcorn. I'll show my age and say that we all stayed up watching Friday Night Videos and taped episodes of Dance Party USA (Kelly Rippa anyone?). Normally these parties were held in the basement and as soon as all was quiet upstairs, we'd start playing Light As A Feather, Stiff As A Board.
One person would lay down and cross their arms "dead guy" style. Everyone else would sit around them in a circle with one girl at the person's head. That girl was responsible for rubbing the person's temples as we told a scary story, then just the opposite, we told the person to relax and imagine floating down a gentle stream. In unison we would all start chanting "Light As A Feather, Stiff As A Board" as we easily lifted the person using only two fingers each.
Now maybe it's the passage of time, but I seem to remember lifting some people pretty high. It could be that I am remembering it with the naivety of my teenage self, but that's how I remember it. Anyone else remember playing this and how did you do it?
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