Truther

Alright, here's one I remember that's a little more light hearted. It's still a chore and not without side-effects, but this is probably one of the safest rituals you'll ever do. As the title implies, if completed, you'll be able to force people to tell the truth. Nobody will ever be able to lie to you ever again. Quite a power to have. So here we go.

First, grab a piece of paper and a pencil or pen. Write down your deepest, darkest secret on the paper, and fold it in half. Place it on the ground, or the table, it doesn't matter as long as it's a flat surface. Then, whisper what you wrote to yourself five times, pick up the paper and look at what you wrote. If the writing is gone, it worked. Well, it's still there technically, you just can't see it anymore. If you can still see it, get another piece of paper and try again. Rumors say that it can take up to twenty times to work, so don't get frustrated right away.

After that, fold the paper again, and go for a walk outside your house. Don't hurry, don't run The goal here is to meet a stranger during your walk and show them the contents of the paper. But the key here is that it has to be a total stranger, someone you've never met before. Preferably, someone you've never even seen before. This could take a while, but be persistent. If you ask someone who doesn't fit those qualifications, then they'll likely just tell you to buzz off, or read your "letter", questioning your sanity. I'm sure you've had that happen to you if you've done these types of rituals before.

When you do meet a total stranger, show them the paper. The person's expression will change to one of surprise. They'll look at you, then back at the paper, then at you, then back at the paper, etc. And then they'll tell you to buzz off and question your sanity. However, this time, you must ask them what their biggest secret is, and they will tell you. That's the easy part. The hard part is when the person asks you a series of questions about yourself, some easy and innocent, some embarrassing. Did you really eat Jeff's pasta from the staff lounge? Yes. Did you really cheat on your wife with another woman and have a child with her named Ben? Of course! Do you like to make up scary stories and post them on the internet? Duh. But are you still a virgin? Did you hack into your school's system and change your grades in high school? You'll be asked a number of these questions, though if you simply don't have many secrets, this won't take very long and will be relatively easy. There's no way of knowing which ones will be asked. The only real downside is that when you answer the question, everyone will know what you did when you're done with the ritual. So hopefully you don't have too many skeletons in your closet. No, not that kind.

If you lie, by the way, the stranger will just scowl and throw the paper at you, and walk away. Once you're done answering all the questions truthfully, the person will give the paper back to you and be on their way. Don't worry, they won't remember any of this. As for you, the next thing to be done is to cross the street. You'll be hit by a car, even if the street was empty. You'll wake up at your front door (uninjured, don't worry), the paper still in your hand. I'd advise burning it. If you hang on to it for too long, everyone will know your deepest, darkest secret as well, which, if you'll notice, was not asked about when you were playing 20 Questions with that stranger.

You now have the ability to force anyone to tell the truth. If you ask them something, they simply cannot lie to you. As you know with these sorts of powers, you probably won't want to know the truth about everything. But everyone is different, I suppose. If you really want to make the most of it, people have been able to get politicians to answer questions about their numerous scandals in excruciating detail, get government workers to spill the beans about whether or not there are aliens among us, and even made hugely successful careers for themselves for their ability to conduct juicy, tell-all interviews. A reminder, though, that any answers you gave to the stranger are now public knowledge.

Good luck with that!