With the amount of scary stories on the internet lately, you can never tell what’s true and what isn’t. People seem to talk about video games being cursed, blood, and hyper realistic death, and ever more blood. Oh man, it’s frustrating. After reading all that, I thought I’d be ready for anything…

I thought I would, anyway.

It was summer 2012, can’t remember the exact date. I was going about my daily activates of chores in the house and making random videos and whatnot. I had bought a 3DS a few weeks ago and had been waiting for shipment. It was a new one on Amazon and I had quickly bought it when I finally had the money.

Finally, on that day, it arrived. Not waiting any longer, I opened it up, turned it on, ignoring the AR cards and instruction booklets. I went through the usual set-up of setting my name, the day, time, internet settings, and all that. I played around with the AR cards for a bit, but not having any games that came with the system, I quickly got bored and put it away. I went to sleep.

It was the next morning that I got a strange feeling in my gut. At first I thought I was sick and decided I’d turn on my 3DS, playing a few DS games I had before I bought the thing. I laid in bed simply playing, not much more. After a bit, I got bored of that until I noticed a strange symbol where I believed the Friends button was. It was an X. Nothing more. I ignored it, figuring it wasn’t anything strange and that it just meant I had no friend codes on it at the time.

It was an hour or so later, hard to measure time when you feel nauseous, that that same X began flashing as if I were supposed to check a notification. It was a friend request, something completely foreign to a 3DS and Friend Code exchange in real life was the only way to actually make friends on the system. I knew it didn’t exist and figured that my package had been opened and possibly hacked in some way before I got it.

I again ignored it, trying to exit the friends menu, but couldn’t. I just sighed and closed the 3DS. That’s when it screeched. I was startled, I opened the lid and attempted to turn off the system with no luck. There were two options on the screen: Accept and Accept. I didn’t understand what was happening but wanted the screeching to end, so I tapped the button on the left with my finger. The screeching ended, I had a new friend card in the list.

It’s friend code was 0000-0000-0000 and the Mii like a silhouette was just a grayed out figure. At this point I was thinking “Yeah, definitely hacked.” I left the Friends menu successfully this time, assuming that the new friend card was just a hack and nothing more, nothing to worry about. Until it started sending me messages. “What? 3DS doesn’t have a message system in the friend’s menu… what is this?” My exact thoughts.

I looked at the message: “I know you”. That was it. I figured whoever hacked it was trying to scare me. So, again, I ignored it. Right, I did a ton of ignoring here. That was the biggest mistake.

For days the same messages kept coming. I hated it, and realized there was a reply button in the corner of the message. I decided to humor this hacker and replied with “Who are you?” The reply came as quickly as I put down the send button. “I am no one you know, but I know you.” Ok, yeah, that’s where I got scared. I realized this couldn’t be human, possibly machine, but not human.

I replied again: “How do you know me? What are you?” I got this immediately: “You bought this, my portal, my soul.” Egh… ok, that strange enough: “You didn’t answer my second question. What are you?” At this point it felt like I was talking to a chat bot. I got no reply this time. The friend card disappeared and that was all. Until weeks later.

I had started school again and didn’t have much time to play my 3DS because of such. But, when I had time, I’d play online games with friends and sometimes just go to their house to play a local wireless game. That’s when he spread.

Everyone I played online with got the same friend request and everyone they played online with did too. Thankfully the circle was small, leaving only 10 people with this “virus”. The card also returned to my menu, along with a new button: Send Message. I decided to ask this mystery thing a few questions. “Seriously, what are you doing? What are you? How did you make it to my friend’s systems?” I got a quick reply once again: “I am what most call a virus, I like making friends.” At this point I began to think of a hacker again. With such quick replies? Didn’t seem possible.

That’s when the creepy things REALLY began. I got home one day to find my 3DS opened and running a video that someone had recorded. I looked at it, with terror. It was a looping video of… me. I was apparently getting stabbed, but no blood, just constant stabbing. The one stabbing me was simply a shadowy figure, much like the Mii of the friend card. I picked up the 3DS and deleted the video.

I asked my friend, Justin, if he’d seen a video like that. On the other end, there was only silence, then one word: “Hung”. I heard a click and he hung up. I tried to call back, but no response. I feared the worst and ran to his house a few blocks away. The nightmare had been born. He was hanging and not by his own accord, by the looks of it. I flipped my cell out and called 911 as quickly as possible.

No signal. But, someone still picked up. I heard a deep voice saying something I could not understand at all except “Death” somewhere in there. I was frozen. This was really happening, Justin hung, me left to deal with his body and that phone call…

I put my friend on his bed, covered him with a blanket and went off to find his 3DS. I knew there would be a secret waiting for me. I was right. There was a video, just like mine, but of Justin. He was being strangulated and hung up from the ceiling, by none other than the shadowy figure.
Whatever this thing was, it was out to get me. I knew it would kill my friends too. I quickly rushed to another friend’s house, Jen. I told her that Justin was dead and she was obviously in shock, having been his girlfriend for a long time now. She had gotten a 3DS so they could play together but hadn’t touched the thing in a week or so. Quickly, I myself grabbed it and saw what I had been afraid of. Another gruesome death at the hands of a shadowy figure.

Jen was getting a different death, a drowning. I was beginning to get worried and told her not to get near anything with water. She seemed to understand why after I showed her the looping video of her death.

I still didn’t know what was going on, I seemed to be running on pure adrenaline at this point and quickly ran to another friend’s house. Too late. He was dead, holding his 3DS with what appeared to be a gunshot wound in his forehead, but, no blood. I didn’t understand until I saw his 3DS screen. Another video of what befell him. I couldn’t take it anymore, all my friend’s were dying and I had no control over it.

I ran home, hopeless. I opened my 3DS and attempted to confront the “friend”. “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?” I wrote. “Why not? It’s fun.” was the immediate response. I shuddered. “When are you planning to kill me?” I wrote again. “As soon as you’ve had enough suffering!” was the reply. I stopped being brave and quickly became scared. I burst into tears. I didn’t understand why I was the center of this. Why did he want me to see all my friends die before killing me? Why…?

I threw down my 3DS, it didn’t even get a scratch. There was another message from him. “You are scared of me aren’t you? There’s nothing to be afraid of. I’m going to make it quick after I get to you.” I ran out of the room. I didn’t want to see anymore of this. I went back to Jen’s house… No… Why?

She was drowned… in her sink. Her head had been held into the water just long enough for her to flood her lungs and die. I was helpless… Defeated even. I went to every other friend, finding their gruesome deaths too late for me to stop. With every one I saw, I cried. I went to a police station to report all of this, I was done trying to fight it.

They didn’t believe me, not one word I said. I was sent home. I looked at the floor where I had thrown the 3DS. Another message was waiting. “Sell it and you’ll be free” I didn’t know what it meant at first, but realized… I’d be allowed to live if I sold the 3DS. I knew that was what I had to do. I sold it to a pawn shop right away, box, console, everything.

A year later, I got home from work to find a friend request on my Wii U…