It was the year 1996 and the television commercials showed the recent Nintendo
64 with its flagship game: Mario 64. Bob, 35 years old, was a lover of video game consoles,
it was his passion since he was a child. He couldn't wait to get his hands on the new release,
even though the console hadn't even gone on sale in stores yet.
However, this night could be very special. In his city, a television program had organized an event
in which a Nintendo 64 with the Mario game would be raffled. It was one of the few consoles that
the company had distributed to various sectors to create expectation for future customers.
Bob had registered online and had managed to participate in the event.
He arrived at the chain's facilities 2 hours early, and he wasn’t the only one,
because there was a large group of children and teenagers at the door. During the wait, he felt
somewhat irritated and indignant at the reaction of the other participants. Almost everyone looked
at him as if they were facing an alien. “Aren't you too old for this?” a boy of fifteen or sixteen
dared to say to him; "At your age I would already have children and a wife", he heard another
whisper behind his back... Bob just bit his tongue so as not to risk being expelled before entering.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you were waiting for
has finally arrived!" Said the presenter opening his program. After which, a contest began in which
the ability and knowledge that the participants had in relation to various games were tested.
Finally, after a tough competition, there were five finalists, among whom was Bob and
the daughter of the show's producer: a girl of about fourteen, redheaded and chubby,
with big horn-rimmed glasses... Bob didn't know who her father was, that he had rigged almost
everything for her to win. In the last part of the contest, there were five sections and the
participants had to choose one at random. Behind each block, there was always a prize. And that's
when Bob noticed that the presenter always showed a number from 1 to 5 with his right hand to the
red-haired girl. She was doing it downwards, and his movements seemed somewhat spontaneous,
but it hadn’t gone unnoticed by Bob, who realized that he was telling the girl what theme to choose.
When the girl won, Bob lost control and said everything he saw out loud. The audience was
silent looking at him, but they all laughed out loud when the presenter told him in a fake
joking tone: “Come on, man, it's just a game! You will have the opportunity to buy your own
console later. I'm sure you can buy it yourself and you won't have to ask your parents for it."
Bob got even angrier with those words, so the presenter approached him, turning his back to the
audience, and covering his microphone said: "Hey, I think you're right, you deserved that console,
but I have another one, don’t worry. I just have to ask them to bring it to me
so wait for me outside and I'll bring it to you”. Patiently, Bob waited in the street until 11:30
p.m. It was already very late and he saw that they were closing all the facilities.
So, he approached the gate guard and told him what happened on the show. The man told him he was
sorry, but he couldn't let him in. Just at that moment, the presenter with other guards passed
by the side of the door. Bob shouted at him from the door claiming the promised prize, however,
he sneered at him and said that he was impressed that he had fallen for such a simple lie and trap.
Bob realized that the presenter had only told him this to keep him off the set and avoid a scandal
on air. He lost control and began to insult him, but the presenter ordered his guards to
take him away from there and threatened him with a severe beating if he dared to appear there again.
For a long time, no one ever heard from Bob again, until they hosted a costume contest on the same
show. Taking advantage of the occasion to remind the presenter what made him suffer the night of
the contest, Bob dressed up as Mario. However, his suit was torn and covered in blood and dirt.
He had also painted his face, simulating bruises and wounds. During the program, at a time when the
presenter was speaking, Bob stood behind him, putting him in a very uncomfortable situation.
Since the show was broadcast live, the presenter pretended to be in a good mood and said,
“Look, our friend Mario seems to be very excited about our costume contest.
Let's see, Mr. Plumber, tell us what encourages you to get in front of the cameras tonight?
Bob was silent for a few seconds, causing the presenter more discomfort, and then,
in a soft voice, he said: "Tonight I'm going to kill you and your family." In that instant,
he recognized the man's voice and goosebumps rose. The presenter was going to use the humorous tone,
as he always did, to make the audience laugh at Bob's words. But suddenly, all the lights
inexplicably went out for 10 seconds. And when everything lit up again, Bob was no longer there.
Frightened by the threats, the presenter asked some guards to go to his house to check that his
family was okay. Arriving home, he greeted his daughter with a kiss on the forehead.
The young woman, who had seen the program, was worried, but her father assured her that
no one would harm her. He had hired a couple of chain guards to watch the house that night.
A couple of hours after he fell asleep, the presenter woke up agitated when he heard a loud
noise. When he entered the room, he couldn't believe it: the furniture and the television
were smashed, the guards were dead, and on the wall was written in blood and large letters:
‹‹It's me, Mario!››. Those were the words that the character said in the Mario 64 game.
The man rubbed his eyes, trying to believe that it was all a dream, but everything was the same.
Face pale, he ran back to his room. In his bed, was the head of his wife, and the body was on the
floor. The presenter was crying and screaming on his knees, with his face in his hands.
Unfortunately, the worst part of the nightmare was yet to come...
“Daaad!” his daughter yelled. The man ran to the girl's room and found her dying on the floor,
with her chest open and the Nintendo 64 embedded. Next to her was Bob in his
bloody Mario costume, carrying a huge dagger. In those moments, terror outweighed anger,
and the presenter ran. People say that Bob chased him into a ravine,
and that the presenter fell there, breaking his leg and finally being killed by his pursuer.
The last that was heard of Bob, was that the police entered his
house and found a Nintendo 64 turned on, and a Mario that, inexplicably,
returned to die on the screen, over and over again with the background melody.