The Radio Game

I've always been in love with the radio. It was my way to access the outside world, to hear about all the places I would someday go. All the things I would someday see. I always had the radio on at my house when I was little, and at night, my parents would always get mad at me for listening to my favorite shows and songs when it was time for bed.

My other favorite thing about the radio were the secret channels. If you were careful, you could sometimes toon into frequencies that you weren't supposed to hear. The quality might be bad, but sometimes, you could make some interesting things out. Sometimes it was a police broadcast, other times it might be a number channel, where someone would just repeat a series of numbers over and over again, like some kind of code or message to those who knew where to look. Rogue stations would hijack frequencies to broadcast banned or underground music or political rhetoric, before they would be found and move to a different channel. One time, I heard from a friend of mine about something else you could do with secret channels. Its dangerous, so play at your own risk.

I present for you, the Radio Game. You will need a radio and something blunt, like a hammer.

At approximately 2 am, take a radio with a sensitive frequency dial and begin scanning through the channels. This is when there should be the least interference in most areas. If there are still too many signals, start at 3 am instead. Lights can sometimes influence radio signals, so keeping the lights off in the house is advised. Scan the channels carefully until you hear it. It will be very quiet, layered in static, but in the space between the frequencies, you may be able to hear a number. It might only be a whisper, or it may sound as though its coming from far away, but it will be a number nonetheless. It will repeat only a few times before the static becomes too loud, and the number is inaudible.

You have now started the Radio Game. You can stop the game at any time by turning off the radio, or not following the rest of the instructions. If you wish to continue, however, you have been warned.

Take the radio to highest point in your house. This could be a high bedroom, or possibly an attic. Keeping the lights off, begin scanning the channels again. The number you heard before is a clue to where you should start looking. At this stage, the next clue should not be as difficult as the previous time. The voice may be more clear, and the volume a little louder. If you are having trouble hearing what is being said, turn your volume as high as it can go, the signal will be very quiet.

Once you hear the next number, take your radio to the lowest point in your house. This could be a basement, a room on the ground floor, or even a cellar outside the house. Scan again until you hear the next number. It should be louder and more clear this time.

Repeat this process two more times. First, move to the Western most room in your house, then to the Eastern most room, searching for the voices again using the clues provided from the previous room. At this stage, you are still free to cancel the game at any time. After this point, it is much more difficult and more risky to break off the game. Turn off the radio, and optimally, don't turn it back on again for several days. Other channels may now be experiencing interference, and it will take a few days for service to return to the radio you used. However, if you wish to continue the game, proceed now with the last clue to the darkest room in the house. This could be a bathroom, broom closet, a garage, or even the basement once again. Any ambient light will interfere with the signal and prevent hearing the next part of the message.

In the room, begin looking through the channels again. This time, wait for a signal. The static should drop out and the frequency become silent, without any interference. This is your last chance to back out. Turn off the radio, and with the hammer, destroy it. Then, without looking back, exit the room and close it off. Do not reenter the room for the rest of the night.

I have never proceeded beyond this point, but there are some rumors from others I know. In the silence, without the static, one message should come through, now loud and clear with the volume turned up. Radios, although good at broadcasting, can sometimes be used to send and receive information. Finding the clue in each of the areas of the house could perhaps create some sort of map, a set of coordinates for something to follow. With a precise destination, it is possible for whatever dwells behind the sound waves to enter your home. I've been told that some have heard shuffling, things being knocked over or moved in the dark. The friend that told me the full list of words I haven't heard from in a long time, but he did tell me the last thing he heard before exiting the room.

Something whispered his name.