there is something in the woods

Have you seen its eyes in the dark?

You know that feeling you had as a kid, hiding under the covers, certain that there was something watching you? 

You can feel that in the woods, too.

What is this?

"there is something in the woods" is a psychosis horror role-playing game.  It contains instructions for hiking into the deep dark woods and meeting the thing that waits there.

I've taken to calling it a roleplaying activity because it's "something you do" as much as it's "something you play".  It's not a traditional dice and dragons style RPG; there are no stats, no characters, no dungeon masters.

It's just you, one or two friends,  and this booklet: part ritual, part lyric game, part ouija board, part LARP.

And there is something in the woods

Who shouldn't play this?

If you're having problems telling what's real from what's not, don't play this game.  If trying to sleep while scared sounds awful, don't play this game.

If going hiking with friends and invoking dark presences doesn't sound like fun, don't play this game.

If you do not trust that whatever waits in the dark will leave you unharmed, you are wiser than I, and should not play this game.

Why should I play this?

If you enjoy sharing scary stories by a campfire, you should play this game. 

If you've ever stood with your friends staring into a mirror in a darkened bathroom, saying "bloody mary, bloody mary, bloody mary" over and over, you should play this game.

If you've ever wanted to do improv theater, live action roleplaying, or write creepypasta, you should play this game. 

How do you play it?

"there is something in the woods" can only be played in the woods, at night, from the safety of a tent.  

It can only be played in the quiet dark. It can only be played when something is uncomfortably close.

Hike into the woods. Set up your tent. Let the last light fade. Ask questions of the thing that is waiting there. There's a few in here I've been too afraid to ask.

The rules are dead simple. Ask only questions. Don't speak for the thing in the woods. Leave yourself open to the answers.

Listen to the questions, listen to the silence, and know. Know what the thing in the woods wants you to know, and know what question you should ask next.

Stop when you are too scared to go on. Sleep, and if you survive the night, head home in the morning.

Try not to think of the thing in the woods again.