This is a warning, I am the living reason why you should never do what I am about to tell you. There are things in this world that exist, some that we do not understand or believe. This is what happened to me and my two friends four years ago and why I am now paying the price.

Me and my two friends Nathan and Charlie loved our horror films, conventions and events. We had also done lots of Ouija boards, pentagram rituals, chanting and the rest! Now I know this may sound dangerous to some, but we really didn’t believe in all that and what these things apparently bring upon their victims.

We would always say that it was a ploy to invest people in the horror genre and make horror films, games and experiences more scary. In fact we were actively looking at new ways to summon “demons, spirits and witches” with chants, practices and actions.

How naive we were is beyond me but look we were young and dumb. Now I’m sure many are accustomed to the film “Candyman”, say his name five times in the mirror and he comes and kills his victims. Nathan and Charlie liked to browse the dark web, they even got mystery boxes delivered, one of the boxes even contained a blood stained knife. Nathan had a sizeable YouTube channel until it was taken down. I didn’t really get involved in any of that stuff though.

One Friday night they both came round with something new to try and they said it was like the film Candyman. They explained that they found a phrase online that is said to summon the devils daughter named “Lucia”. I was intrigued and prompted them to tell me more. Nathan passed me a printed piece of paper with four written lines on it:

‘Lucia, Lucia, demon of the night, I speak your name with fear and spite. I call forth your power, dark and divine, I pray to survive until I am thine.’

He told me that we have to say the lines into parallel mirrors, then she would appear behind you slowly. Lucia makes her way through the reflections, until finally she takes you. He was laughing by the end of that sentence at how stupid it sounded. I questioned him on what he meant by the “parallel mirrors”, he said it’s like when you have two mirrors facing each other it’s as if there is an almost an infinite amount of reflections. I immediately went back to him saying that I have that in my bathroom! He leaned in and stared at me, then snapped back saying that’s why we are here!

We each stood in front of the mirror, I had a smaller mirrored medicine cabinet adjacent to the main one above the sink. One at a time we said the satanic phrase, Charlie first, then Nathan. The tension grew after each one of us had finished. I went last, I finished the last word and the light went off. I shouted “what the hell!” It turned out to just be Nathan messing around.

We all looked into the mirror again but nothing happened. Charlie was the first to say it was all bullshit, like the rest of the stuff we had tried many times before. We all then went downstairs to watch some budget zombie film.

Later that night after the guys had left I went to clean my teeth, as I was half way through brushing my stomach dropped. I looked up to the train of mirrors in front of me. Just before my view was blocked by my own reflection, a girl stood in the distance.

I couldn’t make out many features as she was so small, every time I moved myself for a better view I would still be in the way. I stared intently at her, she wasn’t disappearing. I know we had a few beers earlier and I put it down to the alcohol. I went to bed convincing myself it was all in my head.

I woke the next morning, as I went into my bathroom my mind went back to what I had seen last night. I looked in the mirror, she was there again. This time she was not in the furthest reflection, she had moved forward to the next one up. I could see more features; a white dress with red patches, black straight hair, she was looking down to the ground as her arms dangled lifelessly beside her.

I splashed water in my eyes and dried them with a towel. When I looked again she had moved once more to the next reflection. I rushed to my phone and called Charlie and Nathan, they both hadn’t seen anything and told me to stop being stupid. They were both working that day as they worked weekends so I couldn’t get them round to show them. I went online and spent the next four hours looking into what we had done and what i saw but found nothing.

Half way through the afternoon I received a call from Charlie, he was breathing heavily and was just saying “what the hell” repeatedly. I said back to him “you’ve seen her” his voice broke as he uttered the words she’s so close. I was confused as I could hardly see her the first time, I went back to him asking how many times he looked?

He said 6, she’s one away, like right next to me. I told him to get out of where he was and leave. I will never forget the loss of hope in his next sentence. “I’m in a cubicle, the toilets have mirrored walls”. I told him to cover his eyes and run, I would meet him outside his work soon.

I turned up 25-30 minutes later, the place was evacuated with police outside. I asked some of the staff if they had seen Charlie and what had happened. They told me they heard a crash from the toilets, when they went in, the floor was covered in mirrored glass. Within the glass they saw blood with what looked like whole human finger nails and teeth. This was when they called the police.

I called Charlie’s phone, I could hear ringing coming from a few officers outside the store. I went striding up to them, calling Charlie’s name as I walked. All three officers turned round and put there arms out to stop me. I noticed the ringing was coming from a clear sealed bag one of them was holding. They questioned me after I explained how I knew Charlie, I said nothing on what we had done or saw as they would have laughed it off.

Once I got home I called Nathan, he already knew. He was also questioned by the police. He said that nothing had happened to him and that I was making up the whole thing. He said not to joke around if something bad had happened to Charlie. A few words were exchanged and Nathan moved away not long after that.

After all of this I took the cabinet down, this was done at the cost seeing her again. I spent the next year trying my best to not getting myself into a situation where there were parallel reflections. A year and a half later I found myself in a double mirror walled public toilet.

The terror I felt as I went in and noticed was incomprehensible. There she was, only four reflections away. This time she was looking up at me, I could see her clearly. The black straight hair fell onto her white blood smeared dress, her eyes rolled upwards with only the red veins visible on the whites of her eyes. Her blackened fingertips capped with talons gripped the bottom of her dress. She was smiling at me, wearing deep red lipstick exposing yellowed sharpened teeth. Her pale, cracked decaying face glued to me as I walked in. There was a large bang behind me, i shot my head back as someone ran in. They apologised as they went into one of the cubicles.

I looked back at the mirror, she had reached the third reflection from me. I started to panic, I could feel my knees shaking uncontrollably as her arm lifted. She was calling me closer with her hand. I shouted to leave me alone and ran out of the toilet. This was the last public toilet I have been into.

Six months after this happened I received a call from Nathan’s parents, he had gone missing. The police had told them that everything in his apartment was left untouched except for the bathroom. This had been trashed, was full of blood and broken glass. They had ran DNA tests and dental records, to confirm it was Nathan. He had gone the same way as Charlie. She had got them both.

I have now been living on my own in the countryside for two years, I only leave the house once or twice a month for a walk. I get all of my groceries and essentials delivered as I can’t risk supermarkets or stores. I own no mirrors only a laptop which I have put a non reflect screen cover on. I have only seen her twice these last two years, the last time she was reaching out to grab me. I know if I ever see her again it will be the last thing I ever see.

You have all been warned, please don’t make the same mistakes we did. It will cost you your life either way.