I always enjoyed thrifting. I guess it wasn’t as much about the bargain as it was owning something that held history. I would always stop on my way home from work and browse the stock of a local secondhand store.
I always made my way towards two isles, the books, and the DVD’s. The books always had something out of the ordinary like a diary or a journal that I could read and pry into others lives anonymously. Whereas the movie isle could hold a good deal on some classics or maybe something I’ve never seen before.
I walked into the store and heard static jazz music overhead. I peered over to see Mr. Johnson, the old store owner, at the counter. I waved and proceeded to my routine isles. It wasn’t out of the ordinary to get a sense of Deja Vu walking past the items that had never sold before. Sometimes even the homeless don’t want things like lampshades or broken glass bottles, but nevertheless they were there.
As I approached the movies I noticed something odd, something that actually didn’t give me Deja vu, because it stuck out like a sore thumb. It was an old VHS tape. It was yellowed and grimy looking, with a piece of tape on the side that read “Hide N’ Seek! With Spunky”. I grabbed the tape from the shelf and turned it around to see that there was no writing on the cover. Just a blank dirty abyss of off-white. I figured maybe the owner lost the cover and this was their solution.
The tape had a tag on it that read “50¢” so I figured I’d pick it up and check it out. It sounded like a corny children’s show but maybe it would be worth a couple quarters. So I took the tape up to the counter and paid for it after I hadn’t seen anything in the books worth buying.
When I got home, my cat Patch was waiting on me at the door. He was never one to be left alone for too long. I figured I’d entertain myself over dinner with the tape so I set my purse down and began to change and destress from work. I made a simple dinner, spaghetti with salad, and I sat down to bask in the glory how much my fifty cents was worth.
I put the tape in the player and sat back. The screen flicked for a few seconds and then a logo appeared. It was written in Russian with a little boy as the symbol. I waited for more things to happen but after 3 minutes nothing had changed from the black screen that appeared after the logo. I got up to inspect the tape but my tv suddenly jolted alive with an unsettled laugh. It was a low belly laugh that you’d expect from maybe a chubby clown or a dumb cartoon character.
As I looked at the screen, a human-like being appeared on the screen, fading in from the black. This person was clearly the culprit of the laugh, as he had an uncanny smile. His large teeth almost looked painted white, and his ears long and floppy. He seemed like cartoon character from the 1930’s. Something that would’ve been cute long ago but now just came off as unsettling. Especially since it wasn’t an actual cartoon, but a man in makeup.
The character then spoke up, in a low yet innocent enough voice. “Hey hey hey everybody! Are ya ready to play some hide and seek!” He said. I found it odd that he was speaking in clear English when the tape had a Russian studio as its producer, but I figured it wasn’t too out of the ordinary for countries to film outside of their territory.
Playful music was playing softly in the staticy background while he stared blankly for a moment. Then he spoke up once again. “Then let’s get to it! I’ll start! You close your eyes and count to ten, and I’ll go hide!” he said with a frozen smile on his face that almost seemed forced.
He didn’t say or do anything, especially well after ten seconds. So I looked over at Patch and gave him a confused look, as if I expected my cat to understand it. I decided I’d play along so I closed my eyes. Then something odd happened. “Now count to ten!” the tv said. I opened my eyes swiftly. How did it know when my eyes were closed? I waited almost four minutes after the fact and it just happened to know when my eyes were closed? “No cheating! Close your eyes, silly!” the character said.
I thought maybe this was just a case of the show trying to make kids think they were actually involved. Like when Dora would say she couldn’t hear you. So I played along and closed my eyes and counted to ten. But when I opened my eyes, the character was gone…
I presumed this character was the aforementioned Spunky. I was confused because how could a character hide if their only spot was the tv they were in? I sat in silence for maybe five minutes waiting him to run across the screen or pop out so I could see him, but the screen stayed black as night. The feint music played in the background.
By now I realized why this tape was only fifty cents and at a thrift store. I decided to shut it off and prepare for bed. I went and brushed my hair and changed into my pajamas. As I laid down in my bed, I heard the tv turn on in the living room. This wasn’t entirely uncommon as Patch had a strange addiction to the tv remote, and would occasionally turn the tv on at night. As I went out to the living room, I noticed Patch was asleep in front of the fridge, nowhere near the tv remote. Maybe he was just trying to not look guilty.
I turned off the tv and returned to my room. I sat up though as I heard the tv click on again. But this time I felt patch right at my feet. I sat tired and confused pondering how the tv was doing this. I reached down to pet patch and his fur seemed wet. It also seemed more rough than usual. I turned on my light and looked down to see…nothing.
I peered into the living room and saw patch right where he was laying the first time. A twisted knot rose in my stomach. What was I just petting and why was it purring…?
Just then I heard that same laugh come from the tv. The same awful belly laugh. Spunky was back on the tv. His makeup seemed wet and matted, his eyes almost seemed to glow like an animal caught in lights. “You found me! Great job! Now I’ll close my eyes and count to ten!” the screen said.
I felt about in my stomach grow. I didn’t turn the tv on, I didn’t just pet patch, and I didn’t want to find out what else was on that tape. I ejected the tape as the eerie voice said the number four on his countdown. The tv shut off and came to a halt while I grabbed the tape and smashed it to pieces. I used a broom to sweep up the chunks of plastic and film and toss them in the trash.
I laid down in my bed finally in an okay state to rest when the power to my house had been taken out. I breathed heavily as I tried convincing myself that this was normal, that this was just a power outage and not linked to the tape or that horrifying thing within it. But I just had gotten through to myself and convinced myself that this was all just a big misunderstanding, when I heard that awful music again.
The music wasn’t coming from my tv, it was coming from my house, it seemed like it was all around me. I panicked and shut myself in the bathroom, feeling my way to the room and shutting the door and turning the lock. I could still hear the music clearly. I heard footsteps begin from the living room all the way to kitchen. Someone was in my house. The footsteps were meaty, as if sometime was walking barefoot on my floors.
Between the music and the footsteps I couldn’t take anymore. So I curled into a ball on my bathroom floor and began to cry. I regretted ever buying that tape, I regretted ever bringing it home, and I wanted this all to be over.
When I started to calm down, I realized that the music was no longer playing. The house was dead quiet, still dark as before. I shuttered as I felt a hot breath on my neck. I froze in place and begged God to not be what I thought it was. That’s when I heard a low and malicious tone in my ear…
“Found you”
I fled my house immediately and ran to the neighbors to call the police for a home invasion. The detectives found nothing but a pair of muddy footprints that were almost a 15 inches long. What confused them more is they didn’t lead from the outside. They began from the tv and lead up the walls and ceilings, up the furniture and doors, and ended in the bathroom.
I haven’t been back to the house since then. I took Patch and have been living with my sister until I can find a new place to stay. I had an eerie thought the other night. If the game is still going on, the that means Spunky is still waiting for someone to find him.
Is he hiding in the house? Or is he back in the thrift store?
It’s an answer I truly hope I’ll never find out. Because if I ever find him, then that means it’s his turn again.