GAME ON!

28-07-2006  //  05:29 PM  //  pathways95
UNMARKED TAPES FOUND IN STORAGE
I work at a video store and while clearing out our storage cupboard today I found this box of around 20 to 30 VHS tapes that are all unmarked except for a few that have ‘S!’ written on them. Most of them are either physically damaged or empty but 3 of them have something on. They appear to be recordings of some 80s gameshow I don’t think I’ve ever seen before but it’s hard to make out what show it is as all the tapes start after the opening credits and all each only have around 5 minutes recorded on them. The host isn’t anyone I recognise but, in the episode chunks I’ve seen he was wearing a bright blue suit while the set was all yellows, oranges and reds. The premise seems to be based on some kind of prize wheel and there are 3 contestants per episode. I’ll try and upload the recordings sometime tomorrow. 

29-07-2006  //  05:18 PM  // pathways95
re: UNMARKED TAPES FOUND IN STORAGE
The box isn’t marked with anything, no label or writing. The only thing inside is the tapes, none of them came in sleeves they were all loose in there. There’s nothing else on the tapes other than the chunks and each episode chunk has completely different contestants in it so I assume they’re different episodes but it could be a show where they change out the guests every round (I can’t think of any shows that do this though so it seems unlikely)? I asked my manager about the box when I found them and she said she’d never seen it before and told me to either throw them out or take them home. She assumed they were some old person’s personal recordings that they’d donated years ago. I managed to find a second box of similar looking tapes buried further back in the cupboard today so I’m going to go through them tonight and I’ll post updates if I find anything. 

29-07-2006  //  05:18 PM  // pathways95
re: UNMARKED TAPES FOUND IN STORAGE
[videofile001.MP4]
[videofile002.MP4]
[videofile003.MP4]
Here’s the videos of what’s on the first three tapes. 

29-07-2006  //  07:07 PM  // pathways95
re: UNMARKED TAPES FOUND IN STORAGE
[videofile001.AVI]
[videofile002.AVI]
[videofile003.AVI]
Sorry about that, second times the charm!

02-08-2006  //  05:24 PM  // pathways95
re: UNMARKED TAPES FOUND IN STORAGE
I found TWO WHOLE BOXES today everyone!! I’ve been through them all a couple of times. I still can’t figure out anything about the show’s structure or how the points and rounds work. But I think all the challenges have some kind of physical element to them. Like on this one tape, the contestants had to answer trivia while the audience threw these foam balls at them. One of them fell off right as they were about to give their answer to the final question because they got hit right in the stomach. It was really funny.

Here’s the videos of all the tapes with something on:
[videofile001.AVI]
[videofile002.AVI]
[videofile003.AVI]
[videofile004.AVI]
[videofile005.AVI]
[videofile006.AVI]
[videofile007.AVI]
[videofile008.AVI]
[videofile009.AVI]
[videofile010.AVI]
[videofile011.AVI]
[videofile012.AVI]
[videofile013.AVI]
[videofile014.AVI]

03-08-2006  //  04:08 AM  // pathways95
re: UNMARKED TAPES FOUND IN STORAGE
[imagefile004.PNG]
[imagefile005.PNG]
[imagefile006.PNG]
[imagefile007.PNG]
[imagefile008.PNG]
[imagefile009.PNG]
[imagefile010.PNG]
[imagefile011.PNG]
[imagefile012.PNG]
[imagefile013.PNG]
[imagefile014.PNG]
[imagefile015.PNG]
[imagefile016.PNG]
[imagefile017.PNG]
[imagefile018.PNG]
[imagefile019.PNG]
[imagefile020.PNG]
[imagefile021.PNG]

03-08-2006  //  05:20 PM  // pathways95
re: UNMARKED TAPES FOUND IN STORAGE
Found EVEN MORE tapes in my manager’s desk today. They were just loose in one of the drawers. I think they might know something about what they are so I’m going to show them one during my shift tomorrow. I haven’t had the chance to watch them yet but I’ll upload photos of anything useful again once I have. 

04-08-2006  //  08:20 AM  // pathways95
re: UNMARKED TAPES FOUND IN STORAGE
I’m really sorry about whatever was wrong with that earlier image but I have BIG news!! One of the tapes from my manager’s desk is a FULL EPISODE OF THE SHOW!! It’s basically a task based show where each round the contestants have a new challenge to complete that gets picked by the show wheel.  I’m a big fan of specialist spotlight which is essentially the premise of mastermind but the contestants have to answer the question whilst musical chairs style trying to stay in a spotlight. It gets very frantic and in the episode I watched there was a lot of falling over that kept happening since everyone was in heels.  It doesn’t seem that anyone really wins a prize but I don’t think that really matters. Everyone seems to be having fun. I certainly was.

[image removed by moderators]
[image removed by moderators]
[image removed by moderators]

06-08-2006  //  08:21 AM  // pathways95
re: UNMARKED TAPES FOUND IN STORAGE
I got fired yesterday. I showed my manager the full episode tape while we were on break and they started freaking out. Saying that I was disgusting for showing them that and I should be reported to the police. It took a while before they stopped dry heaving. They asked me where I got it from and I told them I found it in their desk the other day and there were other tapes like it I found in the storage cupboard. They called me a liar. I’m NOT a liar. They told me to clear out my locker and get out. That they never wanted to see my face around the store again. I tried to ask them what was so bad about the tape. Tell them it was just a game show, but they wouldn’t stop screaming at me to leave. 

I’ve just been at home since then, watching the tapes. Over and over and oVer and over and OVer and over and over and over and over and over and ovEr and over and over and over and OVER AND OVER and over and OVer and over and over and over and over 4nd over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and 0ver 4ND over and over and oVer and over and Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and OVer and over and OVER and over and over and over and over and ovEr and over and over and ov3r and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and OVER and over and over AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and 0V3R and over and over AND 0V3R and over again.

06-08-2006  //  09:14 AM  // pathways95
re: UNMARKED TAPES FOUND IN STORAGE
There used to be something inside me, organs pumping blood and moving nutrients around. If you cut me open, you’d see my veins entwined with muscle, my nerves crawling in every corner of this container. I used to be a person with thoughts and ideas swirling round my mind. I used to feel things. Tears would tumble from eyes at sad movies, cackling laughter would pour out of me after being told a bad joke, rage would flood every part of me during arguments. I grew up and all my insides started to rot. If you cut me open now all you’d see is black mold. I’m stagnant, a hollowed-out shell. But when I’m sat in front of the TV, watching them, I swear I can feel my blood moving again. 

[image removed by moderators]

Michael Colk is a 20-something-year-old horror creative, editor, publisher, and founder of Paw&Claw Ink. His fiction explores themes of queerness and nostalgia, delving into what it means to be in a body you don’t want and the horror that creates.