B Movies Blog

Up All Write: The Origin Of Sleepover Activities

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping the anatomy of a sleepover into the ol’ VCR.

First and foremost, I want to give Elliott credit for her excellent idea of tackling sleepover activities. There’s a reason why I asked her to come on this journey with me, and she proves I made the right decision every single day. 🖤

Okay, friends, let’s take it back a few years. 

It’s a Saturday night, and you’re hosting a sleepover for 5-6 of your friends.

Sure, at some point during the night, one, if not all, of you will be in tears because of the most low-stakes drama imaginable, but all will be forgiven by the time you finally crawl into your sleeping bags. 

I digress. 

You have all of your favorite activities planned for the night: 

  • Charades 
  • Prank Calls 
  • Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board 
  • Truth or Dare 

Heck, you’re feeling crazy, so you even grab a gel pen and Lisa Frank notebook to do a MASH. 

That’s right, Movie Mavens. 

We’re diving into four of our favorite sleepover activities, throwing out some nice horror movie recs for each, and yes, I’ve even created a B Movies-centric MASH game for all of your nostalgic pleasure. 

I do want to give a good ol’ disclaimer up top, though: 

We won’t be talking about Ouija because a) it wasn’t allowed in my house. In fact, KP once threw a Ouija board out into our front yard when my sister’s friend tried to bring one in. And b) I don’t go near them. Period. 

Alrighty, that should do us for introductions and disclaimers. 

Without further ado, let’s dissect our favorite sleepover activities 

Charades 

Charades of today looks very different from charades of yesteryear. There are so many variations now, whereas, back in my day, you had strips of paper and frantic arm movements. Now, kids have all kinds of options and ways to generate topics. But, where did the entire game actually start? Three words: 18th-century France. 

The modern form of charades, as we know it, can be traced back to 18th-century France, however, it appears that other variations of the game showed up as early as 16th-century France. Take this with a grain of salt, though, because my sources were varied on the timeline. Moving on. 

After seeing a rise in popularity in England, the Brothers Mayhew would publish “official” rules called Acting Charades, or, Deeds not Words. A Christmas game to make a long evening short that you can actually read for free. After that, the game of charades spread like wildfire. Now, you can enjoy screaming and yelling the exact same phrases repeatedly with all of your friends and family at any gathering. 

Prank Calls 

I’m not happy to say that I’ve made some prank phone calls in my day (I did grow up in the era of *67 after all). The wild thing is, I’m far from the first generation to participate, with some of the first prank calls being recorded in the 30s. 

Throughout the years, pranks calls would come into the limelight through various avenues of pop culture including comedy shows, movies, and morning radio shows, with one of the most popular examples being Crank Yankers. 

Many a morning radio show host still relies on prank calls as part of their programming, but they just don’t have the same charm as their predecessors. 

Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board 

I only played this game once or twice growing up, and I never played it properly; it was usually just a couple of people, making the “magic” a lot more difficult to “conjure.” 

Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board has some interesting roots, if I do say so myself. The first actual reference to the game came all the way back in 1665 from Samuel Pepys in a letter to one of his friends. He claims that he came across a group of girls in France who managed to “levitate their friend while reciting a ritualistic poem.” 

TL;DR – it probably comes from witchy shit, and I couldn’t feign surprise if I tried. 

Truth or Dare 

For someone who always wanted to play Truth or Dare, I absolutely hated playing it. I would almost always pick truth because teenage girls can be ruthless, and it was always risky on what I would be dared to do. I know that some of y’all HAD to be in the same boat, especially with the game being over 300 years old, much like many of the other games on this list. 

The earliest official iteration of the game was recorded to have taken place in 1712, though many people believe it may have started with the ancient Greeks (which would not surprise me because they were lil freaks).  Regardless of how it started, one thing has remained the same: someone’s bra always ends up in the freezer. 

B Movies MASH

Will you end up with Dan Stevens in Chicago or living as a barista and driving a Jeep? Only the mighty MASH can tell. 🍥

Job 

  • Chef 
  • Barista 
  • Influencer 
  • Film Critic
  • Professional Wrestler 

City 

Partner 

Car 

  • Bus
  • Limo  
  • Jeep 
  • Truck 
  • Tesla (but fuck Elon Musk) 

House 

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