Halloween in Madison may have come and gone, but there's still one thing that might make you scream.
Forget about monsters.
Forget about zombies.
Next Halloween, the only thing you should be afraid of is your TV set.
You're probably wondering where I'm going with this. After all, who could possibly be afraid of that wonderful little box that brings us such fine cultural achievements as I Love New York"" and ""Deal or No Deal""?
But I'm not talking about what's on the TV. I'm talking about what might be inside.
Think about it. Television sets themselves have become sources of terror for us. Horror movies are now using television as their main selling points. ""Poltergeist"" features ghosts that talk to a little girl through the family TV set and later travel through the television into the physical world. ""The Ring"" introduces us to a ghost that crawls out of television sets to attack unsuspecting victims. Arguably, there is a lot more to these movies than that, but one thing is clear: For the films' protagonists, the television becomes a major paranormal threat. This is made clear enough by the final scene of ""Poltergeist"": Having escaped the haunting of their home, the afflicted family checks into a hotel - and promptly moves the television set out of their room.
Haunted TV sets aren't just a production of the movies, either. Almost everyone has experienced weird, unexplainable occurrences with their televisions, from random static to something more difficult to explain. A friend of mine told me about one of her creepy TV-related experiences. She was sitting around with her family when the conversation turned to a deceased relative. At that moment, the volume of the TV went up - way up. All by itself. It did this a few more times, enough to make my pal think that maybe it was a sign from beyond.
Even a simple Internet search turns up ample evidence proving people are starting to wonder what may be lurking in their televisions. I stumbled across dozens of pictures online that show ominous, unexplainable faces clearly visible in TV screens that the photographers swear were turned off at the time the picture was taken. Sure, some probably have logical explanations, but others are shockingly eerie.
What is it about the idea of ghosts in the television that has made it such a popular topic when it comes to scary movies and unsettling real life experiences? For me, the answer seems twofold. We normally associate the unknown with things that have history, like old houses. The idea of ghosts inhabiting a relatively new object, like a seemingly harmless TV set, throws all of our traditional beliefs about the paranormal way off. It's something we least expect, and for some people, that makes it all the more threatening.
But the other reason I think haunted TVs are so creepy is simply because of what television stands for. Picture this: You're home alone, and you start to feel a little spooked. What do you do? Turn on the TV, of course. It's something we use to fill the silence, to fool us into thinking we aren't as alone as we actually are. But if even the television set could hold something mysterious and frightening, it may make us think twice about picking up the remote.
Of course, this shouldn't discourage you from sitting down to watch your favorite show every week, but maybe it will make you hesitate - just for a second - before you flip on the TV next Halloween.
Tell Casey your paranormal television experiences at mysliwy@wisc.edu.
