A Ghost in My Video Game

August 18th 2011 Something strange has been happening to me the past few days. It all started when I was on summer break. My family just recently got a Nintendo 64. I was so excited to play it. We only had one game though, Super Mario 64. Later that day I and my family went to a video store. I scanned around for old Nintendo 64 games. I came across a book for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I must have noticed it since it was the one game I wanted to get most of all. I decided to pick it up since they must have the game around somewhere. With my luck I could not find a copy. I decided to ask the Clerk and he said that he had one copy left. He bent down and picked up what looked like an old un cared for video game. The cartridge was a faded grey and the word 'OCARINA' was written on it crudely. I ignored those features since I was overcome with excitement that I had just found the game I had been looking for. My parents bought me both the game and the guide. As soon as we got home I popped in the game and started playing.

When I got to the save files I noticed two were empty, but on was named 'HAPPY MASK'. I didn't bother looking into it. I started my file and named it 'Link' like I always do. When I started nothing really seemed to be wrong with the game. It ran real smooth. I enjoyed beating the first dungeon with ease. I then exited into Hyrule Field. I went to Zelda's castle and got her letter. When I went to go to the Goron leader's room, I realized I had forgotten to get Saria's Song. As soon as I got back from what seemed like a half-an hour walk I finally made it to the Kokiri Forest. When I went to go into the Lost Woods something strange happened.

When I entered the screen stayed black. It didn't enter the Lost Wood's. After about 5 minutes I finally entered. I again noticed something messed up with my game, the music. The normal Lost Woods theme played except it was reversed. It sounded like it was trying to form the Happy Mask Salesman's theme (The Song of Healing). It was almost demonic in nature. I tried to ignore it thinking it was a glitch. I decided to take a break and exit the Lost Woods. I found that it would not let me. It just made me enter another part of the woods. As I now knew I could not Escape I decided that I have to find the end of the Lost Woods. I navigated for what seems like hours. I could not find my way past it. That messed up song and the never ending maze was driving me insane.

Finally it made me enter another area. What I found there was really freaky. The Happy Mask Salesman was there. I had no clue what he was doing there. He had never appeared there in the game. As I made my way closer to him I found that the creepy Lost Woods them was growing louder. When I tried talking to him the text was scrambled. This is what it said, ' Ar e n't yO u Gl AD Y o U Cou LD Mak E I T??'. Immediately after he said it my screen froze with an error noise. After about five seconds the screen unfroze and Link fell down lifelessly. A message popped up saying 'You can't run, and you can't hide, the best thing for you to do is DIE!' This message was accompanied with the Happy Mask Salesman's laugh from Majora's Mask. Witnessing this really made me lose my nerve. I decided that I've had enough for a while. I tried telling my parents, but they didn't believe me. That night I could not fall asleep, knowing that the game was in my room.

August 19th 2011 Today I woke up very early. I swore I could have heard the reversed lost woods song playing distantly in the background. This drove me to play the game again. When the title screen came up, it wasn't the normal Link riding Epona. It showed Kid Link running. He just kept running endlessly. When I made it to the file select screen I was shocked. My file now read 'SALESMAN'. I finally got it. The three files spelled 'HAPPY MASK SALESMAN'.

I selected the 'SALESMAN' file and nothing seemed to be changed. I spawned in the Lost Woods. The same ear bleeding music was playing again. I decided that the Happy Mask Salesman wanted to have more fun with me. I tried going through the maze the same way I did the first time but it did not work. This shocked me. It isn't possible to change a pattern in a video game like that. When I made it to the end of the maze I found that I was where the Forest Temple is and where Saria usually sits. Instead of sitting on her tree stump like usual waiting to teach me her song she was laying there almost dead.

All of a sudden the music stopped abruptly. I then heard a faint cry somewhere near. Even though I never engaged in conversation with Saria she said the words 'Help me, help me'¦', and instead of saying Link she said my name. This made me go completely crazy. How did Saria know my name? It seemed as if the game was toying with me. No matter how hard I tried to overcome it, it always seemed to beat me. I quit playing because I knew that if I kept on I would end up either crazy or possessed. I didn't know what to do anymore. Every time I would go out I would feel like I am being watched. This game is tearing at my nerves but it keeps drawing me back to play it.

August 20th 2011 The game got the better of me. I started to play and everything seemed to be normal. I finally thought that I was able to escape this curse. I was wrong. When I played my 'changed' file I spawned in my house like normal. I then went outside and found that no one was there except for me. The song was playing again and the Sales man was standing in the middle of the forest. Text then came on to the screen.

It was like it was trying to explain something to me. The text stated 'Young boy found dead in woods. Around the age of 6, blonde hair blue eyes. He appeared to be suffocated.' I was wondering why the game was saying this. What ds this mean? I nervously walked back to the video store to talk to the clerk that had given me the game. I asked him the history of it. Who brought it in or who it belonged to? The clerk only said that some mysterious women brought the game in 3 months ago. She said that it had belonged to her son that didn't play it any more. I tried asking him why the game was so messed up but he said that he didn't know what I was talking about. Seeing that I could no longer receive any help I decided to leave.

That night a had a disturbing nightmare. I was walking in the Lost Woods and that cursed music was playing. I was trying to escape but I couldn't no matter what I did. I decided that the only thing I could do was try to wake up. I tried and failed. Seeing that I have to play this on through I ventured further. That's when I saw it. The HMS staring directly at me. Although it was him it didn't feel real. His face looked mutilated with maggots crawling on it. The music that had been playing was slowed to a demonic version of the once beautiful Saria's Song.

August 21st 2011 After seeing his horrid gory face I woke up. It was very early in the morning. This is getting way to real for me. I've decided to burn the game and never speak of it again.

by Leon Heart