It’s taken the internet by storm but what exactly is the Charlie Charlie Challenge? Millions of kids around the world are playing the spooky game, which has been sweeping social media. Similar to using a Ouija board, the game sees teenagers summoning a Mexican demon named Charlie to answer questions. 
How does it work?
Challengers take two pencils and place them in a plus symbol shape, one balancing on top of the other. They then write ‘yes’ in two of the four squares created by the pencil cross and ‘no’ in the other two squares. Once this has been set up players ask out loud, “Charlie, Charlie are you here?” or “Charlie, Charlie can we play?” If the top pencil moves towards a yes then it is said they have succeeded in contacting the demon Charlie. Once contact has been established, the writing in the squares can be changed to reflect the answers to questions being asked. When they’re done, participants need to chant “Charlie, Charlie, can we stop?” and wait for an answer before dropping the pencils on the floor to break the connection.
Where did it originate?
The game is said to have originated in Mexico. The current craze is a simplified version of a similar game involving six pencils.
What are kids asking about?
Judging by Twitter’s list of top tweets on the subject, it seems that the majority of kids taking part in the challenge appear to be asking innocent questions about pop stars. Teens are also posting photos and videos across social media, some posting seemingly genuine attempts to contact Charlie and others parodying the craze.The #charliecharliechallenge hashtag has been used over 2million times since the beginning of this week.
Should I be worried?
Probably not. Countless kids in the 80s and 90s messed about with Ouija boards without any harm coming to them and this is basically just a cheaper version of that. It’s doubtful whether any Mexican ghost named Charlie is going to exact revenge on a bunch of European teenagers for asking when Justin Bieber’s next album will be released. As an internet fad this is much safer than the paracetamol challenge that’s doing the rounds.