I have a scary story.
Okay, a while ago, McDonald's was giving out Finding Nemo toys for prizes. My sister, being younger than me, but still not Happy Meal age, got a Big Kid's Meal. Along with the meal, she got none other than the Nemo plastic prize.
If you pressed the back fin of the toy, it laughed in a very creepy gurgling voice. It sounded somewhat like "UghHAhuhHAhuhhig". You must use your imagination some, because there is no way I can type out a sound that bone-chilling.
Anyhow, we brought it home. The instructions to the toy showed the lucky purchaser all of the fun things that could be done with this fine, gurgling hunk of plastic. My sister, being the bright but very literal young woman that she is, saw one picture that showed the Nemo toy submerged in water.
To the bathroom she went, filled the sink with water, and took Nemo for a little swim. When she was done, she left him on the shelf beside the sink to drip dry.
A few hours after a toy is played with is not the time it should be making noises. Especially when no one is within a five-foot radius.
I was sitting here innocently at the computer, probably spending my time here at this very message board, when I hear a soft, but very distinct:
"UghHAhuhHAhuhhig."
My face went like this
. I resumed my typing, pretending nothing happened.
But wouldn't you know it, the McDonald's toy was just as persistent as the fast food franchise itself. I heard the gurgling laugh again, coming from the bathroom shelf where my sister had left it. I got up from my chair, pretending I wasn't slightly freaked out, and checked on the little toy.
He looked normal. Still grinning haphazardly. It was very unnerving. I poked it. Nothing happened. I pressed the top fin. No sound came out.
I decided to be cautious. I didn't want to take any chances. I picked up the toy, taking care to cover its unblinking eyes (something that real fish and creepy toy talking fish have in common). I brought it to my sister and said, in what I hoped was a good, demanding voice, "This must be thrown away."
She looked confused. "Why?"
I stood up straighter. "It... it laughed at me."
She laughed, obviously taking my terror lightly. "All right," she said. "I'll throw it away."
So by that evening, I had forgotten about the little mishap with the piece of brightly colored plastic. I settled underneath the covers, ready for a nice, long sleep.
"UghHAhuhHAhuhhig."My eyes shot open.
"UghHAhuhHAhuhhig."Nemo had come back to haunt me. He was supposed to be dead! Thrown away! Sent to the big toxic waste dump in the sky!
It couldn't be. I pulled my covers a little closer to my chin.
The sound was muffled this time. It was not like I had heard it before. It sounded like a voice that didn't quite exist in this world. It sounded like... a ghost.
"UghHAhuhHAhuhhig. UghHAhuhHAhuhhig. UghHAhuhHAhuhhig."That was it. I threw off the covers and ran down the stairs. My back felt uncomfortably exposed, like you're being followed by something that you can't see.
I decided to find my dad. He would be sleeping on the couch, in front of the TV, as he often does late at night (as he's probably doing right now, actually). I knew I couldn't have handled this alone. This wasn't just any ghost toy. This was a McDonald's Finding Nemo ghost toy.
I skidded to a halt as I entered the living room. My first, fleeting, irrational thought was that aliens had come to abduct us. Everything was swathed in an eerie glow, white and shifting. Even the glass of the French doors was a sickly milk color. Wavering strains of music bounded off the walls, stinging my ears. My eyes attempted to adjust, but the light was bright compared to the dark sanctity of my room.
"Dad?" I said, but my voice sounded weak.
I ran to the couch. "Dad!" I said louder, shaking him harder than was absolutely necessary. "Dad, wake up!"
"What? Wha?"
"I heard the Finding Nemo toy again, Dad. I... I think it's in my room."
I must have looked very frightened, because he got up immediately. "Let's go look for it," he said, blinking in the light.
I realized that the light wasn't so bright anymore. It wasn't very bright at all, actually. I focused my eyes on the TV set.
A documentary on polar bears. Wouldn't you know it. The creepiest glow I've ever seen in my life was created by a dark room and a nearly white television screen.
Not only that, but the documentary had very bad music.
Anyway, we trekked upstairs, searching for the source of the unearthy garble. We paused and listenened closely. The silence was deafening.
"I don't hear anything," he said.
"But... I heard..." I began, but I was rudely interrupted by a third, much unwelcome voice.
"UghHAhuhHAhuhhig."I nearly screamed.
"UghHAhuhHAhuhhig. UghHAhuhHAhuhhig."My dad looked very puzzled. I probably looked very half-dead of fright.
"It was coming from in here," he said, gesturing to the guest room.
He walked in, and I reluctantly followed. If you've ever had a ghost in your house, you know that the room that contains the ghost is the last place you want to be. I must admit, I was very tense.
"UghHAhuhHAhuhhig.""Aha!" my dad said, throwing aside a massive pile of clean laundry.
My hand clutching my rapidly beating heart, I looked down on the bed. There stood, in the
flesh plastic, the roundest, orangest, most terrifying creature I had ever seen in my life.
The Finding Nemo toy.
***
Hehe, I exaggerated a little, but this story is mostly true. That toy was FREAKY.
It's gone now though. My sister finally consented to actually throwing it away
in the garbage can. So, luckily, I don't think I'll be having anymore encounters with that thing
... I hope.
Proud member of the Prudish Society of America
