A Mexican Demon Named Charlie Is the Internet’s Newest Urban Legend

Teens have settled upon a New Dank Meme , and it ’s an alliterative , culturally inaccurate devil - summoning ritual . Over two million citizenry used the hashtag # CharlieCharlieChallenge on Twitterin the past two days .

Want to feel young , fresh , & supernatural - friendly ? Wish the Cinnamon challenge give you insight into the land of the undead ? Do the following :

pull a cross on a shroud of paper .

Write some potential pre - rigid dispatch for a disembodied pencil - swing Mexican daimon named Charlie ( “ yes ” and “ no ” seem to work ) .

Place two pencil crosswise and say “ Charlie Charlie , are you there ? ”

Wait until somberness kicks in , snub how gravitational attraction works , and have yourself a documented nuclear meltdown over the spookiness of border - obsolete writing utensil moving slightly .

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https://twitter.com/embed/status/603147163242225664

This is n’t a new secret plan as much as it ’s a Vine - ready pastiche of kitsch occultism . The idea of summoning an preternatural spirit through group conjuration has been a thing people have done to gross out themselves out for year , chanting “ Bloody Mary ” in front of a mirror or intone “ Beetlejuice ” after call back too much about the explosive vocation of Michael Keaton .

The pencils - on - a - control grid - moving - to - signify - supernatural - comportment has the intimate wrench ofpareidolia — when your mind fob you into read signification into random or meaningless stimuli . It ’s the same thing that happens when you spiel with a Ouija circuit card , and it has the same folderal exoticism as Ouija ( which was invented by an American businessman , despite the alien - sounding name ) .

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The BBC looked into where the whole “ Mexican ” ingredient got thrown in , and concluded thatit is n’t base on any known folklore from Dixieland of the border .

“ There ’s no demon call ‘ Charlie ’ in Mexico , ” says Maria Elena Navez of BBC Mundo . “ Mexican legend often come from ancient Aztec and Maya account , or from the many beliefs that begin circulating during the Spanish seduction . In Mexican mythology you’re able to encounter gods with names like ‘ Tlaltecuhtli ’ or ‘ Tezcatlipoca ’ in the Nahuatl language . But if this legend began after the Spanish conquering , I ’m sure it would ’ve been called ‘ Carlitos ’ ( Charlie in Spanish ) . ”

“ Mexican demons are usually American invention , ” she says .

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KnowYourMemetracedthe “ Charlie Charlie ” supplication back to a 2014 YouTube video recording call “ Jugando Charly Charlie , ” posted by a Spanish speaker unit , although this variation of the pencil biz there is different than the one people are presently losing their shit over .

But it ’s beenaround for long than that . In 2008 , a user predict twilightfan stake a story about playing the pencil game to get hold of “ a ghostwriter advert Charlie that had died of child abuse ” onYourGhostStories.com . On digital lugubriousness collector Yahoo ! solution , people have been asking about the Charlie devil pencil biz since 2010 .

It ’s not clean-cut when Charlie morph into a specifically Mexican demon , but once the paranormal fad choke viral , it did n’t take long for Christian fearmongers to warn against call on the nefarious spirit world via DIY Ouija .

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPvrQGQzM00

As far as speedy - fire teen meme go , this is a step up from the # KylieJennerLipChallengesince it does n’t involve temperate - to - grievous back talk bruising . And since no one has been inspired to essay execution - via - stabbing by Charlie Charlie ( yet ) this is also an advance overSlender Man .

Image via BBC

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