The Old TV

We got it from the second-hand store for a cheap price when I was about ten years old. I remember being really excited to have my own TV set in my room. It was one of those 70’s-style TVs. After my dad brought it upstairs and hooked it up on my desk, I spent that whole afternoon laying on my bed watching local TV; not knowing what was ahead.
That night, we turned the TV off and drifted to sleep. I was suddenly standing in front of my house. It was daytime, the sun was brighter than normal. A shadow-like figure was in the distance. It looked like a man, but I couldn’t tell. It seemed to be smiling as it started running towards me quickly.
I took off trying to get away. The shadow got closer and closer. It was about to catch me when I woke up. The TV was on full blast, which was strange because the TV was hard to turn on; you needed to pull a lever, and it wasn’t easy to pull. I shut off the TV so it couldn't wake up my brother and baby sister. I drifted back to sleep.
Over the past week, things got even creepier. Every time I entered the room, I felt like someone was watching me, so I tried to avoid going in there. The nightmares became darker and felt more real. The shadow became more aggressive. I don’t entirely remember, but it always had that haunting smile. The TV would always be on every time I woke up from a nightmare, even though I always shut it off before I went to bed.
An odd incident occurred when my baby sister (who can barely walk in addition to only being two years old) was able to escape the crib before wandering to my parent’s room. She stared at them with an expressionless face for a long amount of time. My dad kept telling me that the TV would always turn on at full blast in the middle of the night and how it drove him crazy.
The nightmares became worse, up to the point that the shadow started hurting me in the dreams. The nightmares became more of a blur. I remember once that the shadow had me trapped in a room. The room was small and pitch black. The only thing I saw was that smile. I saw it taking out a knife and jamming it into my chest. The pain felt so real, so intense. I instantly woke up and checked if I was alive.
One morning I was in my room playing my Gameboy happily when I saw the shadow standing at my doorway. This time, I saw him clearly. His face was decomposing and he still had that horrific smile. He stared at me with those crazed eyes. It stood there for two seconds until it disappeared. I was frozen, unable to move or think. I was scared out of my mind. From there I knew the TV had to be responsible for the strange activity.
That same week, my family and I had enough of it, so we decided to throw that piece of shit in the trash. All the nightmares stopped and the heavy air lightened up. Up to this day, I have no idea who that man was or what his intentions were.
I guess the previous owner was attached to that TV and never let it go. The last time I saw that man was two days later after we threw away the TV. It was night and dark. I was staring out of my window because I had nothing else to do. He was standing in an alley beside my house, waving goodbye.
Category:Ghosts
Category:Items/Objects
Category:Dreams/Sleep
Category:Television