Anomaly C-2930
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File no. MFA-C.2930-█████
Description: A paranormal parlor game intended for children and adolescents. It is known by several names, such as "Cellar, Cellar", "The Basement Game", "Understairs", and "Missing, Missing, Michael". Though it has been known to the American public since the mid-eighties and is played under a menagerie of different rule sets, if specific conditions are met, it will result in the production of an extradimensional space.
To date, no less than twenty-four individuals have been irrecoverably lost as a result of playing “Cellar, Cellar”.
Gameplay:
The following has been taken from "ehorrorfun.com" to provide a summation of “Cellar, Cellar” gameplay.
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UnderStairs - 3-5 Players
Hello again, horror fans! Welcome to another edition of Phantasm Fun where we look at interesting paranormal games from around the globe! Last month was Bloody Mary, but today we'll be learning about "Understairs", AKA "Bottom's Up" AKA "Where's Michael?" AKA… well, you get the point!
Story
It was a dark and stormy night. Micheal had snuck out of bed for a snack. A lightning strike spooked him, and he tried to return to his room, but ended up making a wrong turn. Right down the stairs!
The clatter woke his parents. Turning on the lights, they could only find his glasses near the bottom of the stairs and blood coating the concrete. They never found him!
Some people think his parents offed him, and are lying about Micheal vanishing. Some people think he just ran away.
Some people think he kept falling right through the floor.
Tools and Rules
You and your friends have to collect seven candles and a full-size mirror.
Gather down in your basement! That’s where he went missing, after all. Right at the bottom of your stairs.
Put your mirror somewhere so that it faces the stairs, and cover it with a sheet or blanket.
Take turns in front of the mirror. Whoever's turn it is will start counting up depending on how many steps your stairs have. Once they reach that number, someone else should reveal the mirror! There — falling down the stairs… the ghostly spirit of Micheal! Everyone should look away before he lands!
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Note [decrypted by AnomaLeaks]: A fundamental aspect these tutorials often leave out is that nobody, none of the players, should be looking at the stairs at the moment the mirror is revealed. Even if it’s not “their turn”, all players have to be looking at the mirror to trigger the actual effect.
We’re lucky. Though it’s been played for years, there’s only a scant few cases where the anomaly manifested. We’ve been testing it for weeks now, and in several test groups, there’s been one subject that simply can’t keep their eyes off the stairs. Like they’re expecting Micheal to come tumbling down.
-Researcher Swanson
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Recovered Footage:
On ████/06/17 a construction crew working to remodel a home for resale uncovered a cell phone embedded within the ground of the unfinished basement, approximately half a meter below the floor level.
Due to the peculiarities of its location, and the fact that the home’s former owners had lost their son David under mysterious circumstances, an agent was dispatched to recover the device. Despite being damaged during excavation, photos and videos were able to be extracted from it. The final batch of photos depict David alongside two of his friends during a sleepover. Photos taken after midnight depict the children in the unfinished basement with lit candles strewn about, and a mirror propped against the wall.
Captured footage ends with a video, approximately eight minutes long. In it, the missing youth records a depression in the earth at the base of the stairs that had suddenly appeared. Looking into its depths, there is a stairway leading into the darkness. After a moment of joking and daring one another to descend, the three decide to explore it together. David takes the lead.
They descend for roughly four minutes down a staircase bordered on either side by loose soil. As there is no end to the stairs in sight, they debate whether to turn back. It is then that a loud series of thumps is heard, quickly growing closer.
Shining the light at the source of the noise above, there can be seen a flurry of movement. Bloodied pajamas, broken limbs, and a neck twisted fully around beneath a head of blonde hair — the mangled frame of a young boy, grinning widely, is tumbling rapidly after them.
The youth closest to the falling boy presses up against the wall, trying to avoid contact, but the boy’s bent leg strikes him in the chest. Within the span of a single frame, all four of the youth’s limbs bend and break, his neck twists, and he begins to tumble down after the boy. He’s seen to be smiling as well.
The remaining two youths scream and barrel down the stairs. Little useful footage is gleaned between the darkness and rapid motion, until there comes another scream and snapping of bones, and only the voice of David can be heard over the clamor of three bodies tumbling after him.
After another minute of descent, David trips, sending the device flying from his hand, where it disconnects upon contact with the ground.
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Efforts are underway to seed online resources regarding the rules of “Cellar, Cellar” with bogus stipulations, such as using flashlights instead of candles, so that civilian parties cannot manifest the anomalous aspect of the game. Due to the events depicted within the recovered cell footage, all persons lost to “Cellar, Cellar” are presumed deceased. No rescue or exploration efforts are to be undertaken.
Sources:
S D Locke
Mr. Illustrated
