CASTLEVANIA.EXE

If you're curious about what happened to me while playing a game that left me traumatized, sit down, because the story is serious.

It was an ordinary day, and I was at home doing nothing, just watching TV. Suddenly, a nostalgic idea came to me: "Why not play some old games to pass the time?" I thought it would be great. I went to my closet and got my old, dusty Nintendo. After installing the console on the TV, I chose one of the games that marked my childhood: Castlevania.

But, to my frustration, the cartridge didn't work. I tried everything — I blew on it, cleaned the connectors, moved the cables — but nothing worked. So I decided to turn to the internet. I searched on several sites until I found a copy on eBay. The price was great: only 10 reais. It seemed like my lucky day. I made the purchase and, six weeks later, the cartridge arrived.

Full of anticipation, I turned on the video game and inserted the cartridge. But before I did, I noticed something strange: the cartridge had no label. In the eBay photo, it appeared complete, with the original label. Despite this, I ignored the detail, eager to play.

When the game loaded, something was wrong. The title screen was different. The castle in the background was gray, almost lifeless. The bat that should have been flying near the title was on the ground, dead. The letters of the title were dripping blood, and a low, agonized voice could be heard in the background, as if someone was in pain.

I thought it might be a hacked version, like those I had seen on YouTube. I pressed Start and the game began. The opening scene, with the vampire hunter entering the gate, seemed normal. But when I entered the castle, everything changed.

The ground was soaked in blood. Mutilated bodies covered the path. The classic enemies and even the candles from which you can pick up items were missing. Even so, I kept playing. When I went through the first door, I noticed something even stranger: the stairs were broken, making it impossible to go down.

Suddenly, I noticed that it was possible to walk through the walls. I continued on my way until I reached another area, which seemed to have returned to normal. The enemies were there, as were the candles. It wasn’t until I reached the boss that things got really scary.

The giant bat was emitting female screams. They were horrible, high-pitched screams, like someone being tortured. I felt a chill run down my spine. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t look back. During the battle, I noticed that when I attacked the enemy, I lost health. And when he attacked me, he lost health. With no other alternative, I let the boss attack me. When he died, a red sphere appeared on the screen.

I went to pick it up, as I always did, but then something unbelievable happened. A woman appeared on the screen. She was standing there, staring at me — not at my character, but directly at me. Her smile was grotesque, disturbing.

Terrified, I tried to turn off the video game, but it wouldn’t turn off. I pulled the power cord out of the socket, but the TV was still on. The woman, now taking up the entire screen, was staring at me. Suddenly, a new battle began, this time against her. I don't know why, but I decided to keep playing. When I managed to defeat her, a message appeared:

"Congratulations, you won. It seems we're even... But don't be fooled, I'll never be defeated. Let me show you something, Guilherme."

At that moment, my heart almost stopped. How did she know my name?

Two options appeared on the screen: YES and NO. With no choice, I selected YES. What I saw next was terrifying: my character was dead, headless, while a GAME OVER screen covered in blood flashed. Soon after, the TV turned off by itself and started to emit smoke. She had burned out.

I pulled the cartridge out of the console and, without thinking twice, set it on fire. Ever since that day, I've been paranoid. What was in that cartridge? Was it something supernatural? A trapped spirit? I don't know.

I can only give you one piece of advice: never buy games for less than 15 reais. It could be a cursed game.