“The Devil’s Alphabet”: The New And Dangerous Viral Game
The behavior of young people is often misunderstood by adults, because they are usually more prone to taking risks or practicing risky and daring behaviors.
In recent months, the behavior of some teenagers has raised alarm bells in several countries due to the macabre game called “Blue Whale,” which some media outlets claim would have been the cause of the death of at least 130 young people
But this dangerous phenomenon associated with the use of social networks and the chains of challenges is not the only game that is worrying the authorities, but a new dangerous trend seems to have burst with great force into the lives of children and adolescents, that is what is known as the “Devil’s alphabet”, a dangerous viral game that causes serious injuries to participants
Although the blue whale game has created a great alert in half the world, the devil’s alphabet game has become known in Spain, specifically in the town of Mieres in Asturias, when The mother of an eight-year-old boy noticed that her son had two deep wounds on his hands and similar in appearance in both limbs.
At first, the child avoided the mother’s constant questions, worried about the facts, and he refused to answer what was the cause of these marks. However, after the insistence of her mother, the minor ended up confessing to her that the origin of these injuries was in a dangerous and painful game called the devil’s alphabet.
This game, in principle, does not endanger the lives of children; however, the pain can be very intense. The game has a simple operation, since the participant must recite the alphabet out loud, but instead of saying the corresponding letter, he must verbalize a word that begins with that letter. For example: now, donkey, rocket, chocolate, dentist… like this until you reach the “z”.
As the participant says the words, another person is in charge of scratching the outside of the hand with their nails. Depending on mental agility and speed when saying the words, it may take a person more or less to finish the alphabet. If you get stuck on a letter, you will receive more and more intensity in the scratching The wounds that occur as a result of this act can be very deep and take several days to heal.
Also with sharp objects
Just when just a few weeks ago there was talk in the media about the Blue Whale case, this new game has come to light. It might seem like child’s play, perhaps something more abrupt; nevertheless, The authorities already speak of cases in which children have used sharp objects to scratch, for example, scissors This has worried many parents, specifically in the region of Asturias where the first case in Spain was known.
According to the local newspaper “La Nueva España”, the Association against School Bullying of Asturias (ACAE) has launched a message on social networks in which it states that “the rules of this game are sadistic. In some cases, it may happen that a person who leads the group and chooses the victims to become part of a club or group. The same association states that it does not want to create alarm, but teachers must be cautious and observe if there are students with this type of wounds on their hands.
Since the information circulating regarding this game is still recent, some individuals doubt its credibility.
According to what can be read in some media outlets such as Spanish television “Cuatro”, it was a friend of the Asturian child’s mother, and not the authorities, who decided to alert about the case through Facebook and the Association Against School Bullying – ACAE- (that is, the same publication that asks teachers, fathers and mothers to be attentive to detect the signs of this disturbing game). In fact, according to the National Police, they have not yet received any complaints although it has communicated that it could act ex officio in the centers that present the problem if necessary.
The Blue Whale, the precedent
Just a few weeks ago we echoed one of the phenomena that has been talked about the most in recent months, the Blue Whale game. A game has caused a great commotion because it has claimed several fatalities due to suicides One of them was a girl just 10 years old who was taken to the hospital for concussion and other injuries after jumping from a window in Kirishi (Russia). According to several sources, the total number of victims of this game is more than 130 people.
The first cases of this phenomenon, which would later become a global phenomenon, occurred in the territory of Russia and in some Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The game consists of participants having to go through different tests (for example, tattooing a blue whale with a knife or jumping into the void from great heights) that increase in danger and severity. In total there are more than 50 tests, and the last one consists of committing suicide.
This game went viral and according to various media reports, the curators use different hashtags in Russian that translated mean: “blue whale”, “sea of whales”, “I’m in the game”, “wake up at 4:20”, among many others. Among the youngest, it has become a social phenomenon due to its presence on social networks.
