The Hunted Wifi

Ghost Story

By Sagor RoyPublished 10 months ago • 3 min read

Haunted Wi-Fi, ghostly roommate, and one rule: never change the network name.

When Jay found the apartment listing, it seemed too good to be true. A spacious downtown studio with hardwood floors, vintage brick walls, and a rent far below market value? He should’ve known something was up. But desperate times call for cheap leases, so he signed without asking too many questions.

As he moved in, the landlord handed him the key and muttered something strange:

"Wi-Fi is already established. Keep the name the same. Jay looked up. "Forgive me?" “Just… trust me,” the landlord said, already halfway down the hallway.

Jay shrugged it off. He discovered that the network's name was "TheWailingOne_666" when he entered. Although the connection was quick and the signal was strong, he decided to ignore the strange name for the time being. For a few days, everything was normal. Until it wasn’t.

It started with small things, like his phone randomly rebooting, his smart speaker saying, "I'm not talking to you right now," and his television occasionally emitting static even when it was turned off. After that, he got bored and decided to give the Wi-Fi a more amusing name. He had done it everywhere he had lived. Why not right now? he thought.

He settled on "PrettyFlyForAWiFi" after looking at meme-worthy Wi-Fi names. He hit save while chuckling at his own genius. That night, the temperature dropped suddenly. Like invisible syrup, the air thickened in the room. Jay tried to ignore it by wrapping himself in a hoodie. The lights then began to flicker. The Teletubbies intro theme was played when the television turned on by itself. In reverse.

His smart speaker whispered, “You’ve made a terrible mistake, Jay.”

A translucent figure then appeared in the living room's center with a gust of wind from inside the apartment. A man in pajamas and a hoodie appeared to be holding a cup of ghostly coffee. “Seriously? Pretty Fly For a WiFi? That’s the best you could come up with?” the ghost said , sounding more annoyed than evil.

Jay yelled, fell over his couch, and ran backwards. “W-What are you?!”

The spirit exhaled. I was an IT expert. devoted my life to solving problems while enjoying a bagel as I passed away. Turns out, toasters and USB hubs don’t mix. Since then, haunted this network. Jay looked up. "So... are you haunting the Wi-Fi?" “Yes. Additionally, I value branding. My masterpiece was TheWailingOne_666, that name! Dark, enigmatic, and hints of doom. Like a suburban dad with a router, you just renamed it. Jay couldn't help but giggle with anxiety. “So… what now? You gonna haunt me forever?”

“Not if you fix the name,” the ghost said, floating a few inches above the floor like a judgmental cloud.

Jay made a concession. “What if… we go with GhostProtocol_666? I get a pun, you get a creepy vibe. The ghost hovered silently for a few seconds. "...That actually isn't bad." They at least tried to shake it off. The ghost's hand was cut through by Jay. From that day on, Jay and the ghost, who casually introduced himself as Trevor, became reluctant roommates. Trevor spent most of his time in the router, but he would occasionally come out to comment on Jay's Spotify playlists or alter his recommendations for Netflix. Trevor pulled pranks from time to time, like making Jay's voice assistant only respond in pirate slang or changing Jay's phone background every morning to Nicolas Cage's face. To annoy Jay on a Zoom date, Trevor once redirected all of Jay's Google searches to "How to date a ghost." However, it wasn't all bad. Trevor made Jay's laggy gaming nights a thing of the past by speeding up the network and blocking ads. Jay, the living tenant, and Trevor, the ethereal IT consultant with an excessive amount of free time and a penchant for mischief, developed into an odd duo over time. The only regulation? Never again change the Wi-Fi's name. And Jay didn’t.

Until his cousin came to visit, when he changed it to "LANnisterAlways Pays His Debts." They have not yet located his cousin.

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psychological supernatural

About the Creator

Sagor Roy

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