Dead Air at 476 MHz

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A young woman curled in an armchair stares at an old TV showing a figure in the snow
2:13am. Nobody switched it on.

This is not a test

She only agreed to mind the house for a week. Grandad’s place still smells of pipe smoke and old carpet, and the big wooden TV in the corner hasn’t been moved since the funeral. Nobody has the heart to.

The first night, it comes on by itself after the anthem. Colour bars, then snow, then a field she half recognises. Someone is standing in it.

Dead Air at 476 MHz is my first proper go at analog horror: the genre of lost broadcasts, emergency warnings that make no sense and VHS tapes you really shouldn’t have played. Warbling tape synths, cold piano, broadcast tones and a whispered vocal that doesn’t stay calm for long.

Emergency broadcast screen reading This is not a test, do not look at the moon
The warning that only plays after closedown.
She walks down a dark hallway towards a glowing TV, phone light raised
The second TV, at the end of the hall. It was facing the wall when she arrived.
VHS still of a tall thin figure standing in a snowy field at night
If you see the man in the field, do not wave.
Seen from behind her head, a young woman watches an old wooden TV where a faint top-hatted figure hides in the static
Closer.
Seen from behind, a barefoot young woman crouches in front of an old wooden TV where a faint top-hatted figure hides in the static
Closer still.
A barefoot young woman crouches in front of an old TV, squinting at a faint figure in the static.
Stay tuned.

Listen

Listen on Suno: Dead Air at 476 MHz

Alternative version: there’s a second take with a different feel, and I couldn’t choose between them. Hear the alternative take on Suno

Headphones, lights off. If you hear your name, don’t answer.

Which version do you prefer? Tell me in the comments.

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