Seance

Book: Creepy Computer Games
Author: Brendon Kavanagh, Colin Reynolds, Val Robinson, Alan Ramsey, Keith Campbell, Chris Oxlade
Translator: Marcus Medina

Story

You’ve dimmed the lights. The candles flicker. The computer screen glows softly as you type the first words of the séance program…

Suddenly, letters begin to appear — messages from the spirits! They whisper cryptic phrases through your machine, one letter at a time. Your task is to remember the letters and type them back in the correct order.

But beware: mistakes make the spirits angry. Too many, and something terrible will happen — the screen will shake, the lights will flicker, and cold, clammy hands might reach out for you…

Can you keep calm long enough to please the spirits?

Pseudocode

SET score = 0
SET ghost anger = 0
SET base character = 37

LOOP 3 times to create random spirit messages
    PICK random letters
    DISPLAY them one by one
    STORE each sequence
END LOOP

WAIT for user to repeat the message
IF correct → continue to next message
IF wrong → spirits become angry
Display different reactions based on anger level:
    1 = Table shakes
    2 = Light bulb shatters
    3 = Cold hands grasp your neck
END IF

If all letters typed correctly → spirits vanish peacefully
If not → YOU become one of them.

Flowchart

flowchart TD
    A[Start Seance] --> B[Generate random message letters]
    B --> C[Display message with stars and pauses]
    C --> D[Ask user to repeat message]
    D --> E[Correct?]
    E -->|Yes| F[Increase score and next message]
    E -->|No| G[Increase anger level]
    G --> H[Display spooky reaction]
    F --> I[All messages done?]
    I -->|Yes| J["Print: The Spirits Have Gone"]
    I -->|No| B
    H --> K[Too angry?]
    K -->|Yes| L["Print: A pair of clammy hands grasps your neck!"]
    K -->|No| D
    J --> M[End Game]
    L --> M

Code

Pages

Seance, sida 1 — Usborne Creepy Computer Games

ZX-81 BASIC

10 LET S=0
20 LET G=0
30 LET CS=37
40 CLS
50 PRINT
60 PRINT TAB(8);"SEANCE"
70 FOR I=1 TO 8
80 LET X=6+I
90 LET Y=5
100 LET A$=CHR$(CS+I)
110 GOSUB 710
120 LET Y=11
130 LET A$=CHR$(CS+22-I)
140 GOSUB 710
150 NEXT I
160 FOR I=1 TO 5
170 LET X=5
180 LET Y=5+I
190 LET A$=CHR$(CS+27-I)
200 GOSUB 710
210 NEXT I
220 FOR I=1 TO 5
230 LET X=8+I
240 LET Y=16
250 LET A$=CHR$(CS+8+I)
260 GOSUB 710
270 NEXT I
280 LET N=INT(RND*4+3)
290 LET L$=""
300 FOR I=1 TO N
310 LET L$=L$+CHR$(CS+INT(RND*26)+1)
320 NEXT I
330 PRINT
340 PRINT "THE MESSAGE IS:"
350 PRINT L$
360 PRINT
370 INPUT R$
380 IF R$=L$ THEN PRINT "THE SPIRITS ARE PLEASED":GOTO 470
390 LET G=G+1
400 IF G=1 THEN PRINT "THE TABLE BEGINS TO SHAKE"
410 IF G=2 THEN PRINT "THE LIGHT BULB SHATTERS"
420 IF G=3 THEN PRINT "A PAIR OF CLAMMY HANDS GRASPS YOUR NECK!":STOP
430 GOTO 330
470 PRINT "THE SPIRITS HAVE GONE"
480 STOP
490 FOR T=1 TO 20
500 NEXT T
510 RETURN
710 PRINT AT Y,X;A$
720 RETURN

using System;
using System.Threading;

class Seance
{
    static void Main()
    {
        Random rnd = new Random();
        int anger = 0;

        Console.Clear();
        Console.WriteLine("SEANCE\n");
        Thread.Sleep(800);

        while (anger < 3)
        {
            int length = rnd.Next(3, 7);
            string message = "";
            for (int i = 0; i < length; i++)
            {
                char c = (char)('A' + rnd.Next(0, 26));
                message += c;
                Console.Write("*");
                Thread.Sleep(200);
            }

            Console.WriteLine("\n\nType the message:");
            string input = Console.ReadLine()?.ToUpper();

            if (input == message)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("The spirits are pleased...");
                Thread.Sleep(800);
            }
            else
            {
                anger++;
                if (anger == 1) Console.WriteLine("The table begins to shake...");
                else if (anger == 2) Console.WriteLine("The light bulb shatters!");
                else
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("A pair of clammy hands grasps your neck!");
                    Console.WriteLine("You have angered the spirits!");
                    return;
                }
                Thread.Sleep(1500);
            }

            Console.WriteLine("\nThe spirits whisper another...");
            Thread.Sleep(1200);
        }

        Console.WriteLine("\nThe spirits have gone. The room is silent...");
    }
}

Python

import random, time, os

def seance():
    anger = 0
    print("SEANCE\n")
    time.sleep(1)

    while anger < 3:
        length = random.randint(3, 7)
        message = "".join(chr(65 + random.randint(0, 25)) for _ in range(length))
        print("Messages from the beyond appear...")
        print("*" * length)
        time.sleep(0.5)

        guess = input("Type the message: ").upper()

        if guess == message:
            print("The spirits are pleased...")
            time.sleep(1)
        else:
            anger += 1
            if anger == 1:
                print("The table begins to shake...")
            elif anger == 2:
                print("The light bulb shatters!")
            elif anger == 3:
                print("A pair of clammy hands grasps your neck!")
                print("You have angered the spirits!")
                return
            time.sleep(1.5)
        print("\nA new message flickers into view...\n")
        time.sleep(1)

    print("The spirits have gone. The air feels heavy...")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    seance()

Java

import java.util.Random;
import java.util.Scanner;

public class Seance {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Random rnd = new Random();
        Scanner scanner = new Scanner(System.in);
        int anger = 0;

        System.out.println("SEANCE\n");

        while (anger < 3) {
            int length = 3 + rnd.nextInt(4);
            StringBuilder message = new StringBuilder();
            for (int i = 0; i < length; i++) {
                message.append((char) ('A' + rnd.nextInt(26)));
            }
            System.out.println("Messages from the beyond appear...");
            System.out.println("*".repeat(length));

            System.out.print("Type the message: ");
            if (!scanner.hasNextLine()) return;
            String guess = scanner.nextLine().trim().toUpperCase();

            if (guess.equals(message.toString())) {
                System.out.println("The spirits are pleased...");
            } else {
                anger++;
                if (anger == 1) System.out.println("The table begins to shake...");
                else if (anger == 2) System.out.println("The light bulb shatters!");
                else {
                    System.out.println("A pair of clammy hands grasps your neck!");
                    System.out.println("You have angered the spirits!");
                    return;
                }
            }
            System.out.println("\nA new message flickers into view...\n");
        }

        System.out.println("The spirits have gone. The air feels heavy...");
    }
}

package main

import (
  "bufio"
  "fmt"
  "math/rand"
  "os"
  "strings"
  "time"
)

func main() {
  rand.Seed(time.Now().UnixNano())
  reader := bufio.NewReader(os.Stdin)
  anger := 0

  fmt.Println("SEANCE\n")

  for anger < 3 {
    length := 3 + rand.Intn(4)
    var sb strings.Builder
    for i := 0; i < length; i++ {
      sb.WriteByte(byte('A' + rand.Intn(26)))
    }
    message := sb.String()

    fmt.Println("Messages from the beyond appear...")
    fmt.Println(strings.Repeat("*", length))

    fmt.Print("Type the message: ")
    line, err := reader.ReadString('\n')
    if err != nil {
      return
    }
    guess := strings.ToUpper(strings.TrimSpace(line))

    if guess == message {
      fmt.Println("The spirits are pleased...")
    } else {
      anger++
      switch anger {
      case 1:
        fmt.Println("The table begins to shake...")
      case 2:
        fmt.Println("The light bulb shatters!")
      default:
        fmt.Println("A pair of clammy hands grasps your neck!")
        fmt.Println("You have angered the spirits!")
        return
      }
    }
    fmt.Println("\nA new message flickers into view...\n")
  }

  fmt.Println("The spirits have gone. The air feels heavy...")
}

C++

#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <cstdlib>
#include <ctime>
#include <algorithm>

int main() {
    srand(time(0));
    int anger = 0;

    std::cout << "SEANCE\n" << std::endl;

    while (anger < 3) {
        int length = 3 + rand() % 4;
        std::string message;
        for (int i = 0; i < length; i++) {
            message += static_cast<char>('A' + rand() % 26);
        }

        std::cout << "Messages from the beyond appear..." << std::endl;
        std::cout << std::string(length, '*') << std::endl;

        std::cout << "Type the message: ";
        std::string guess;
        if (!std::getline(std::cin, guess)) return 0;
        std::transform(guess.begin(), guess.end(), guess.begin(), ::toupper);

        if (guess == message) {
            std::cout << "The spirits are pleased..." << std::endl;
        } else {
            anger++;
            if (anger == 1) std::cout << "The table begins to shake..." << std::endl;
            else if (anger == 2) std::cout << "The light bulb shatters!" << std::endl;
            else {
                std::cout << "A pair of clammy hands grasps your neck!" << std::endl;
                std::cout << "You have angered the spirits!" << std::endl;
                return 0;
            }
        }
        std::cout << "\nA new message flickers into view...\n" << std::endl;
    }

    std::cout << "The spirits have gone. The air feels heavy..." << std::endl;
    return 0;
}

Explanation

You receive ghostly messages — each letter appears as a star on the screen. Your task is to remember and retype the message exactly as it appeared. Each mistake makes the spirits angrier, and their reactions grow stronger:

The table begins to shake…
The light bulb shatters…
A pair of clammy hands grasps your neck!

If you survive their test, the spirits will vanish peacefully. If not — you’ll join them in the afterlife.

Challenges

Speed Variation – Adjust line 490 to control how fast the stars appear.
Random Lengths – Change the range of letters per message for variety.
Sound Effects – Add thunder or whispers using your computer’s sound commands.
Memory Mode – Show the message only once, then clear the screen before typing.
Spirit Names – Make each spirit introduce itself with a random eerie name.

Copyright

These programs are adaptations of the original Usborne Computer Guides published in the 1980s. The books are free to download for personal or educational use from Usborne’s Computer and Coding Books. Programs and adaptations may not be used for commercial purposes.

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