The Haunted TV

THE HAUNTED TV - #8
----
center|500px
I was taking my dog out for a walk as usual. In the woods behind my house to be exact. It was a cloudy, rainy, and humid autumn day. There were orange and yellow leaves everywhere, and the ground was very wet from the rain. I noticed a ditch in the distance, so I went go check it out. In the ditch was a load of junk. A tire, beer bottles, wrappers, you name it. But there was one particular thing that caught my attention. It was a TV. A really old, wooden TV. It was just laying right there in the ditch. It didn't look broke, or even wet for that matter. I thought this was fairly strange. It must have been put out here after it stopped raining.
I stopped walking my dog, and brought him back in the house. I came back to the ditch sometime later to analyze the TV some more. Should I take it in? I don't have a TV of my own, I'm too poor to afford one. So this would be my only option for one. After some thinking, I decided to take the TV in.
The bottom side was completely covered in mud. I got a towel and some water, and cleaned off the mud. Other than the mud that was on it, was in pretty decent shape. But does it work? I was curious to find out. I went to the storage room, grabbed my small dresser, and set it in the living room. I put the TV on the dresser, and plugged it into the wall. I heard a loud tick, and some static. Does that mean it works? I turned the top knob on the right of the TV to the right. But nothing happened. No picture, or even static. I then realized that I didn't turn on the TV. I did a quick facepalm, and turned on the TV.
Static appeared. The TV definitely worked. I was quite happy about this. Now I have something to do besides read scary books all day and night! I turned the knob again, and again. I still kept getting static. I turned the knob to the furthest it could go. Then, the TV went black. So black I could see my reflection in the screen. Oh boy... did I break it? I turned the knob back a little, and it went back to static. Then I turned it to the very right again, and got a black screen, again. Huh. The last channel seems to make the TV go black. None of the other channels seemed to work. Well, looks like I got a fluke. I walked away disappointed from the TV, and fixed me some Campbell's chicken soup.
After I got done eating, I went back to the living room. I saw that the TV was flashing blue static. The light from the TV was reflecting on the walls, because it was already dark outside. I stood there next to the TV, just staring at it. A picture seemed to be fading in and out of the static. After standing there for about a minute, a clear picture finally came in. It was a black and white show. It had some kind of professor sitting behind a table talking into one of those old telephones. I tried turning the TV up, but all I got some kind of weird buzzing and static. Audio is probably busted, sadly.
I sat there watching. The camera didn't seem to move a bit. It was only focused on the professor talking on the phone. As I continued to watch, I noticed how the professor kept looking straight into the camera every once in awhile. I thought it was a bit strange. This doesn't even feel like an actual television show. It feels like I'm spying on someone live. After 10 minutes, I got bored of watching. I went upstairs to get a book, and went back downstairs. I was going to keep the TV on to see if anything at all would happen, while reading my book.
Nearly an hour goes by... and he's still talking on the phone. Is this just a clip of a movie or TV show but repeated over and over? I kept staring to see if I would notice a cut loop. But instead, the man finally hung up. He looked around the room, and then set his eyes dead set on the camera. He didn't move at all. He only stared straight into the camera, and nothing else. The door behind him was shaking, as if someone was knocking on it. The window behind him randomly flew open, and leaves started blowing in. The door slammed open, and more leaves blew in. The wind was blowing like crazy, and leaves were covering up the entire place... but he still didn't move a mussel. He just kept staring into the camera.
At that point, I started feeling a bit unconformable. This is one messed up film. I then noticed the cabinets behind him started to shake, and the small doors on them flew wide open, with stuff falling out of them. Then the table tipped over... all while the man was still sitting in the chair, staring into the camera. I started to feel dread. I questioned whether or not to keep watching. But I kept watching anyway.
So much leaves were blowing to the point they started to cover up the camera. I couldn't see anything besides leaves. After a minute, they moved away from the camera. When they did, the man wasn't sitting in the chair anymore... but the chair was still standing. My heart was pounding. I was so confused to what I was watching. I didn't know if this was real or fake.
The film ends, going to static, then pitch black. White numbers appeared on the screen... "3523". Something about those numbers seemed familiar to me. But I couldn't exactly pin-point what. Then the TV went black again. I just sat there emotionless. I did not know how to react what just happened. What was the point of the film? Why was it on the last and only channel that worked? What did those numbers mean? I had to get to the bottom of this. But I have work tomorrow, so I need to get some sleep. That is... if I can go to sleep at all.
The entire time I was at work, I couldn't stop thinking about that strange film. I just couldn't fathom it at all. When I pulled-up to my house, I thought of the numbers... what do they mean? Is it a hidden message of some sort? Or is it just that... numbers. And nothing more. But something about the numbers... they seem so familiar to me. I got out of my car, and approached my house. As I was about to open the door, something caught my attention in the corner of my eye.
It was my home address. 4 digit numbers... 3524. My heart sank into my stomach, and my blood ran cold. I slowly turned behind me, and there it was... house number 3523... right up there on the hill. T-that's where the film probably took place. I had to go up there and check it out. I just have to. But I need to walk the dog first.
After I took the dog for a walk, I immediately headed for the house on the hill. When I got up to it, it the house seemed like it was destroyed. The door was missing, there was a gaping hole in the room, and... it was covered in leaves. I walked in, and my heart stopped. The chair... was still sitting up right. The table was on the other side of the room. There were leaves everywhere, and the cabinet doors were wide open. I stood there speechless not knowing what to do. Then... I saw it. The camera. It was there. It's like this happened over night. I was in utter despair, completely baffled.
Behind the camera was another room. I walked in the room. In it was a couch, a coffee table, and a dresser. On top of the dresser was some kind of old recording device. It was blinking, and there was also an antenna sticking out of it. This place was making me feel sick, so I had get out. But before I did, I took a closer look at the device. It said displayed in LED the number "97". 97 was the last channel on the TV. The house, the camera, the antenna, the TV... The man in the film owns the TV I took from the ditch. And the film was broadcasted live to channel 97. The film was made last night. I quickly ran out of the house, and ran back home.
I busted through the door, and went to the living room. I unplugged the TV, and went back to the ditch. I threw it in the ditch, as I watched it sink in. I ran back to my house, and tried to regain my sanity.
Later on... it was night. I went to go to sleep. But I was awoken by the sound of static. I lay up, rubbing my eyes, trying to fully wake-up. I heard the static, and it was loud, but I didn't know where it was coming from. I peaked out the window behind my bed, and I jumped back. The TV was in the ditch... but it was displaying static. I put a robe on, and run outside to the ditch.
I stood there completely in lost for words. The static on the TV was trying to display an image. After a few minutes... the image came in. It was an extreme close-up of the man in that film... just... smiling. I jumped back, as my heart was beating a million miles per hour. The man moved his face out of the shot, and it revealed something that made me want to scream. I-t was me... the back side of me... staring at the TV in the ditch. I quickly looked behind me. And there it was. That same camera. Behind it was the man... smiling. I stood there in silence. I felt like I was going to throw up. He then spoke.
"This is my favorite channel."
Category:Fall/Autumn
Category:Televisions
Category:Haunted
Category:Animals
Category:Houses/Buildings
Category:A Bump in the Night
Category:(Don't) Go to Sleep
Category:Paranormal