The Vanishing of Tommy Hensley: A Game Gone Awry?
Issue #26: February 1981
On Halloween night, 1973, eight-year-old Tommy Hensley of Dayton, Ohio, vanished without a trace. His bedroom was left in eerie disarray: a strange board game called Ritual sat on the floor, its candle burned to a nub, and the game’s alphabet cards were scattered across the surface. Some claimed the cards spelled out a cryptic message, though interpretations varied. The official investigation yielded no leads, and Tommy’s disappearance remains unsolved. But could the game itself hold clues to his fate?
A Child’s Fascination
Tommy’s family described him as a bright, curious boy with an active imagination. Earlier that year, his aunt had picked up Ritual at a local charity shop, intrigued by its unusual design. The game featured a folding board adorned with arcane symbols, a deck of alphabet cards, and a small pewter candleholder. Though its origins were unclear, it bore the air of something older than its modest packaging suggested.
Tommy became captivated by Ritual, often playing alone in his room. His mother recalled hearing him whisper questions into the flickering candlelight late at night. “He said the game answered him,” she told neighbours after his disappearance. “But I thought it was just make-believe.”
In the weeks leading up to Halloween, strange events began to unfold in the Hensley household. Objects moved on their own, lights flickered inexplicably, and Tommy spoke of “a man in the shadows” who visited him during his games. These incidents were dismissed as childish flights of fancy until Tommy disappeared.
The Origins of Ritual
The game’s history is as enigmatic as the events surrounding it. In 1972, Revenant Games, an Ohio-based company, sought to capitalise on the popularity of spirit-contact devices like the Ouija board. Andrew Van Schurman, Revenant’s founder, enlisted British medium Ena Twigg to consult on the project. Twigg’s involvement lent an air of authenticity but also unease.
During an investor demonstration led by Twigg, something unsettling occurred. Witnesses described several investors abruptly leaving the room, visibly shaken. Van Schurman himself was reportedly pale and trembling by the end of the session. Neither Twigg nor the investors ever disclosed what transpired that day.
Despite these ominous beginnings, and Twigg’s warnings, Van Schurman pushed forward with production. Misfortune followed swiftly: a fire at Revenant’s Cincinnati factory destroyed most of the initial run of Ritual. Financially strained and spooked by rumours surrounding the game, Van Schurman cancelled production in 1973. Only a handful of prototypes survived, and one found its way into Tommy Hensley’s hands.
Coincidence or Something More?
Sceptics argue that Tommy’s disappearance is unrelated to Ritual, chalking it up to an unfortunate coincidence or foul play unrelated to supernatural causes. Yet those familiar with Fortean phenomena see unsettling parallels between Tommy’s story and other cases involving alleged cursed objects.
Could Ritual have been more than just a game? Its design, part séance tool, part puzzle, seems purpose-built to invite interaction with forces beyond our understanding. Was Tommy simply an imaginative child swept up in his own fantasies? Or did he unwittingly open a door that should have remained closed?
The Lingering Mystery
To this day, no trace of Tommy has been found. His family moved away shortly after his disappearance, leaving behind only whispers and speculation. Meanwhile, surviving copies of Ritual have become sought-after curiosities among collectors and paranormal enthusiasts, but few dare to play it.
Perhaps some mysteries are best left unsolved. As one investigator put it: “If there are answers in that game, they’re not answers we’re meant to find.”