While they chanted, the girls allegedly raised the boy into the air using only their fingers. Mr. Brisband added that they were able to replicate the trick with someone else: "The cook of the house, a very lusty fellow...who is very big, and they did raise him in just the same manner." This was around the time that the plague was hitting Europe in waves, so it's pretty understandable that children would not only be aware of death, but they'd make games out of it to boot. Of course, that doesn't explain what actually goes on when the liftee supposedly levitates — which has been deemed a work of witchcraft , black magic, and even Satan since the game's inception. Luckily, Science has a pretty even-handed (pun intended) explanation. Watch enough attempts at "Light As A Feather, Stiff As A Board," and you'll notice that no one nails it on the first try. It all comes down to timing , according to ABC Science. When all of the kneelers raise their fingers at the same time, chanting and witchcraft have nothing to do with it — it's just easier to lift something if several people do it together. And, as ABC Science notes, we tend to underestimate the strength of our fingers. Beyond that, it stands to reason that this party trick has lived as long as it has thanks to our biased memories. A 2007 paper found that if we don't completely remember an event, we'll unconsciously recreate it in the way we think it should have gone. In other words, if pop culture has led us to believe that "Light As A Feather, Stiff As A Board" is this fantastical phenomenon, we may end up recalling that time we played it as a truly magical experience, when we really just barely lifted a friend off the ground. This is also why most slumber parties experience less stunning results than the teen witches of The Craft. Perfect timing and prepubescent finger strength can only hold out for so long. But don't let that ruin the illusion. It's never a bad thing to let a group of kids believe they're supernaturally strong.