It started off just like any other summer day for a teenager; waking up in the mid-to-late afternoon, stumbling out of bed, finding something to eat in the kitchen, and then finding something to waste my time on. I was on my PS3 on Netflix watching "That 70s Show" when my little sister ran in to me asking if she could play with me. I said sure, and suggested I find something we could both watch together, and she nodded with excitement.
I searched around for a bit looking for a kid-friendly show or movie that I didn't mind to watch until I got to "Phineas and Ferb". My sister and I watch this show together sometimes, and I actually find it quite funny, especially for a show aimed at younger kids.
I selected it, and it automatically played the first episode. My sister and I got through about six episodes, and then she fell asleep on me. I carried her to her room so she could nap without me disturbing her and returned to my room. I plopped down on my bed and grabbed the PS3 controller to select the next episode, because I was honestly enjoying it.
After it had ended, I went back to the screen where you could select which episode you wanted to view, and I saw one at the very bottom of the list. It was just a pound symbol and a question mark like so "#?" which was strange, because on the list it normally showed the number of the episode, the title, and how long the episode was. But there was nothing but the "#?". Out of curiousity, I selected it. Which was something I will regret for the rest of my life.
It started out with the catchy theme song, nothing out of the ordinary. The animation was very poor though, almost as if it were a pilot or something of the sort. But then, the episode itself faded in. Normally, it would chime in with a brief upbeat guitar, but this time there was silence. The camera panned down from pointing up at the sky to Phineas and Ferb sitting under a tree, as the episodes sometimes did. Instead of the normal happy, or at least neutral, expressions on their face, there was a terrifyingly sinister look on Ferb's face, (which creeped me out so badly, I couldn't look for very long) and a look of absolute pain on Phineas'.
They sat in silence for a good minute and a half, and the camera slowly zoomed into Phineas. His face started to warp, and then return to normal. There were tears welling up in his eyes, and he fell over letting out heavy sobs. The audio alternated between fuzzy and normal. The sobs didn't sound cartoon-like at all...they sounded like they were legitimate, as if something truly terrible had happened. They got louder and louder, until it got so unbearable that I had to grab my remote and turn it down.
I continued to watch, though I didn't want to. It was like a car wreck, I just couldn't look away from the screen. For a good bit of time, my eyes met those of Ferb's. I couldn't break the stare, it was as if he was looking INTO me. I felt uneasy, as if I were actually being watched. My stomach was clenching as if it were preparing to empty it's contents. That face...it took under a minute to etch itself into my brain for good.
The stare was finally broken when the camera panned out to where they were both visible. Phineas started screaming "WHY?" while he pounded the ground with his fist over and over again. Ferb remained silent while the sinister look on his face became more and more terrifying.The frame abruptly changed to a shot of Phineas hanging by a noose from the tree. As soon as the frame showed up, there was a terrible screaching sound. His eyes were still half-open and bloodshot, and the rope was slightly swinging back and forth. Ferb was in the exact same spot...unmoved. Ferb started to laugh, but the laugh had no audio, only the screaching was heard. The shot lost color and warped as Ferb continued to laugh.
The episode ended.
I had no idea what I had just watched. There were tears in my eyes because I was so frightened. I went to get my mom to show her, but when I tried to re-play the episode, it acted as if it was going to load, but redirected to the home screen. I tried for easily ten minutes to get it to play, but I had no luck. My mom told me I was being ridiculous, and left. I tried to find it the next day, but the "#?" was nowhere to be found.
It's been 4 weeks now, and I've been having terribly violent nightmares ever since. I've also heard voices, and have been having hallucinations. I've talked to a couple psychologists and counselors, but they all say it's due to stress. I don't believe them. It has something to do with the episode. I don't know why it would have been there, or why I seem to be the only one who has seen it, but it has truly messed me up. I still have Ferb's face in my mind.
If you ever happen to stumble upon this, please...DO NOT VIEW IT. For your own safety, I'm begging you. But if you're naive enough to do so, please contact me.
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