Charlie Charlie challenge

[10] Joseph Laycock, a professor of religious studies at Texas State University argued that while "Charlie is most often described as a 'Mexican ghost,' it appears that Christian critics reframed the game as Satanic almost immediately," due to their interests being served by claiming "a monopoly on wholesome encounters with the supernatural.

[19] Kate Knibbs writes that "once the paranormal fad went viral, it didn't take long for Christian fearmongers to warn against calling on the nefarious spirit world.

[21] Several exorcists[22] promoted the idea that the game caused spirit possession, a concern repeated by Muslims in Jamaica[23] and the UAE.

[27] Psychological suggestion can lead people to expect a particular response, which can result in thoughts and behaviors that will help bring the anticipated outcome to fruition – for instance by breathing more heavily.

[6] Chris French, head of the anomalistic psychology research unit at the University of London says that human agent detection leads people to see patterns in random events and perceive an intelligence behind them.

"[6] Kate Knibbs, writing in Gizmodo described the game as "a Vine-ready pastiche of kitsch occultism" that "has the familiar pull of pareidolia" where people interpret patterns as having a meaning.

[20] Stuart Vyse, a psychology professor at Connecticut College argues that teenagers often go to see paranormal movies in groups, and "There's a real social bonding aspect to this whole phenomenon,"[5] and "It's almost a developmental passage for some kids, to deal with things that are scary."

Donald Saucier, a psychology professor at Kansas State University argues that teenagers go through "a period where social influence is very strong" and they are more prone to superstition.

"[1] David Emery argues parsimoniously that when simple scientific explanations "can sufficiently explain why a phenomenon occurs, there's no reason to assume supernatural forces are at work."