The Tale of the "Haunted VCR"

The following was written by Richard Carradine
(founder of GHOULA and proud owner of a haunted VCR)

"A couple of months back, I was goofing around on Craigslist, when I typed in the word "haunted" just to see what would come up...

Among the entries, there was one for a "Ouija VCR." According to the write-up, the owner lived in a haunted apartment building in Hollywood, and he noticed anytime he watched an old movie in his VCR, strange things would happen in his apartment. So, he painted a Ouija board-like design on the top of the VCR, and when the ghosts got active during a movie, he would communicate with them. He was asking 40 dollars for this spirit-talking/video-playing device.

I immediately sent him a message, inquiring if he still had the VCR, and if it still worked. The response was that it was still available, and the picture quality was not very good, but (as an explanation) it is haunted (so what did I really expect). I offered $5, and the response was "Sold." My assumption was that the owner was moving away from Los Angeles, and thus motivated to sell. A time was set for the exchange...

I showed up at the "haunted" apartment building (which is indeed an old building), and waited about a half hour. The owner (a tall, lanky 20-something, unshaven and disheveled) finally appeared, holding the VCR. He stepped up to me, slammed the VCR down in front of me, and screamed (in a panicked tone), "JUST TAKE IT!!" With that, he ran back into the building (as if running away from the machine), and slammed the door behind him.

He never took my five dollar bill. Seemingly, he just wanted to be rid of the machine. For a couple of moments, I stared at the old VCR, and wondered if there was some kind of curse attached to it, before picking it up and taking it home. Any further info about the history of the machine, and/or the paranormal activity possibly connected to it, is unknown. A planchette did not come with the machine, and judging from the photo on Craigslist, this guy used a triangular shard of glass with one tip inked over with a red sharpie. Also, a closer inspection of the VCR revealed a price tag from Goodwill ($7.99). 

It now sits in my apartment (in my "haunted" apartment building) as a conversation piece, until I decide to fire it up, and see what happens..."

(to read about the first "Haunted VCR Movie Night"...)