Luigi's Mansion/Luigi's Curse

Austin was rummaging through his old house in search of items held close to him during his childhood. He found his Nintendo GameCube and began to reminisce about all the fun games that he used to have for it. He recalled that his favorite game was Luigi's Mansion. Eager to find the game and play it again, he searched for it until nightfall. Many games were found, but it was just his luck that he didn't find the one he wanted.

He went back home and plugged his GameCube up to see if it even powered up. It did, and not until he booted up the main screen that the GameCube plays if no disc is inserted did he realize that he actually had his old memory card in the front of it. Because he was longing to play the game, he checked to see if his save file of Luigi's Mansion was still there. It was, but not under the name of the game. Instead, it read, "Goodnight" which was what it played when you died in the game. The icon of the game was still there and completely normal, so he didn't think any more about it. He went to bed and woke up the next day with an even stronger urge to play the game. He went to the local game store and asked for Luigi's Mansion, but they did not have it in stock. He had the same results as every other store he checked, and it began to anger him. He then resorted to what every other person with the internet does when they want something, checked eBay. Oddly enough, there was but one person selling the game. He had posted pictures of the disc and it looked like it was in perfect condition, with a few minor scratches on the back. Austin decided to buy it, and it arrived at his house several days later.

Filled with anticipation to relive his childhood, he tore open the envelop and got the game out. He flipped it over to look at the back, and the scratches didn't seem to be in the same position they were in on the picture. Upon closer inspection, he almost thought the scratches made out a word. "Goodnight" Ignoring this, he put in the game and began to play it. The regular main menu screen opened up, but he realized that there was only one save file instead of three like normal. The save file was up to area 4, which implied that he had either beaten the game or was close to it. Something odd caught his eye before he selected the game. The Boo counter that told him how many Boos he had caught said 50/50, but the Boo's body was gone. Only the red eyes were left, which usually only appeared on King Boo. He selected the game, only to be killed immediately. "Goodnight" said the game in almost a whisper. It was odd, especially because the game had never read it aloud before, or at least not that he remembered. There was a power surge, and he had to reboot his GameCube. Out of curiosity, he checked the memory card for the save file again. The icon of Luigi had a horrified face that almost looked as if he was melting. Once again it still read, "goodnight." He went back to the game and selected the only save file once more. He was immediately spawned into the final boss battle, which again never happened. No matter what, Luigi is always supposed to spawn in the main room. Bowser fell from the sky like usual, but something was different.

He was more demonic-looking, with longer and sharper horns, and his yellowish skin was now a dark red. Bowser let out a scream and the battle began. No matter what Austin did, he was unable to evade any of Bowser's attacks. He died almost instantly, and again the game read "Goodnight" in a slightly lower-pitched voice. It was clear this time, and no longer a whisper. Again his power surged. He hoped that it didn't happen again, because usually if the power surges three times, it goes out. He booted the game back up and checked the memory card. Luigi's neck was all that was shown, and the game save file read "Cursed" As much as he didn't want to, he booted up the game once more. The boo counter now had strange characters instead of numbers. Instead of 50/50, it was more like Þ/¤. The red eyes were now gone, and in its place was bowser's head. Bloodied and eyes sunk deep into the sockets. Austin clicked the file and began to play. It was normal this time.

He spawned in the main room and checked his map. All of the places were unlocked, but one room was dark red with the words "Goodnight" on it. Words never appeared on the map, so out of curiosity he began to go there. On the very top floor, he opened the door. The walls were red, with blood splatters everywhere. Portraits of demonic ghosts were everyone, and one was rattling. It was the portrait of the evilest looking bowser that Austin had ever seen. He sucked it up using the Poltergust-3000, and immediately Luigi's health shrank to 0. The game SCREAMED "GOODNIGHT" The power went completely out at his house, but his TV was left on. A frightening image was shown. It was him, except his face was melting and dripping down his body... he screamed and was instantly knocked to the ground. Someone was standing over him, but he couldn't see as everything was a blur. "Goodnight, Austin...." it said, and Austin was knocked lifeless, slamming against the wall.

Neighbors claim to have heard a loud, almost alien-sounding scream. Almost as if someone had edited it using an unnecessary amount of reverb. One neighbor was outside on his afternoon jog and he actually saw the lights go out in Austin's house. His story goes like this. "The lights went completely out, and then a flash of green shown through the windows. I heard Austin scream in panic, and then a thump! I went up to his house to see if I could help because it sounded like he was in danger. As I turned the doorknob, it was almost as if someone whispered "goodnight" to me. I walked in, and no one was there. Only a very small disk which looked to be a video game. It was green and had the name. "Luigi's Curse" I began to explore around, and that is where I found Austin, lifeless. A look of horror was frozen on his face. A scar on his forehead, that almost resembled a dinosaur of some sort. I called 911, and he was announced dead on the spot."

Professionals and Doctors claim that Austin died of a heart attack. Maybe it was, and maybe it wasn't. I guess it is really up to you to decide. One puzzling factor though was that scar on his forehead. No one seemed to remember him having it, but it was sure there now. His family decided that he should be cremated, and his ashes kept. As he was being cremated, however, the person noticed that it was almost as if his skin from his head had turned to liquid, and was dripping down his sides. From the crackling fire, it was almost as if he heard "Goodnight".