As of September 1st, 2011, television antennae have been decommissioned and removed from use in most North American homes replaced with the convenience of cable/satellite television. They said it was for "convenience" and that nobody used antennae anymore. This is not the reason why.
There were many urban legends about how you tweaked the antennae or "rabbit ears" enough that the picture became so distorted you could see nothing but static. But if you looked closely and long enough, you could see a picture. It was unclear what the picture was but many people said it was the face of Jesus... or something else.
March 4th, 2008. A man was found dead in his home sitting limply in his chair with the TV left on. The channel was tuned to nothing but static. Police diagnosed it as a brain aneurysm... but the body was not examined.
May 23rd, 2009. Two children were found in their apartment building lying sprawled in front of the TV, again, tuned to a distorted picture of nothing but static. There were scratch marks on their arms, legs and faces. The police filed that as a scuffle gotten out of hand. But there was no blood found on their fingernails or hands.
Months later, February 10th, 2010. A woman was found dead in her basement in front of the TV which was strangely tuned again to static. She died of blood loss that was leaking out of her mouth.
June 19th, 2010. A suicide was reported to police that a woman hung herself and was found by her husband. And with the TV... tuned to a distorted channel.
After on there were no unusual deaths reported for almost a year. Then a murder came about that baffled police.
Saturday, April 16th, 2011. Alan Atwater of Ohio called the local sheriffs station to report an incident.
- Operator: "9-1-1 what's your emergency?"
- Atwater: "I'd like to report a terrible accident in my house, my wife and three children are dead."
- Operator: "Can you explain what happened?"
- Atwater: "It told me to..."
- Operator: "Excuse me sir?"
- Atwater: "It was in the TV... the static."
- Operator: "Sir, how are your wife and children dead?"
- Atwater: "Gunshot wound..."
- Atwater: "That fucking thing told me to do it... and I believed it!"
- Operator: "Sir, Im going to need you to calm down and tell me what happened."
- Atwater: "I'm getting ready to kill myself right now."
- Operator: "Sir please, calm down...and tell me what happened."
- Atwater: "I killed them... it's my fault."
- Operator: "Sir, please... wha-" *Atwater hangs up*
Atwater admitted to killing his family by shooting them and then turned the gun on himself after hanging up. Police were sent to his house. They found two of the three children on the floor dead with the youngest still in bed. His wife was found dead on the floor as well. Police also found the TV to be turned on to a static channel. 5 months later, it was announced that people across North America were to switch to cable or satellite television or they would get no signal through rabbit ears.
Televison antennae are hard to find these days but if you still have them, or managed to find a pair, hook them up, turn on the TV and tell me... what do you see in the static?