Are you genuinely looking to unsettle your audience?

If so, you’re in the right place.

Mastering psychological manipulation is essential for this performance. Please note that the creators and all involved parties disclaim any responsibility for the mental or physical well-being of participants in a Gloomy Sunday Séance or similar events.

“Gloomy Sunday,” often referred to as the “Hungarian Suicide Song,” was composed by Hungarian pianist Rezső Seress and released in 1933.

The lyrics, penned in 1932 by László Jávor, emerged from his sorrowful love poem “Szomorú vasárnap” (“Sad Sunday”), inspired by the departure of his beloved. The song was first recorded in Hungarian by Pál Kalmár in 1935. During World War II, Seress created alternate lyrics titled “Vége a világnak” (“End of the World”), published in 1946, reflecting the war’s atrocities and humanity’s losses.

Pál Kalmár’s initial recording, featuring Jávor’s lyrics, quickly gained popularity in Hungary but became infamously linked to numerous suicides, including that of Jávor’s former fiancée. Reports suggest that several individuals jumped into the Danube River while clutching copies of the sheet music. Consequently, Hungarian authorities reportedly banned public performances of the song.

In January 1968, over three decades after composing the piece, Rezső Seress tragically took his own life. After surviving a fall from a window in Budapest, he ultimately succumbed to choking himself with a wire while in the hospital.

• Learn to craft new props for your séance!

• Explore the art of “suggestion hypnosis”!

• Uncover the most effective techniques for conducting a séance!