The Haunted Printer
It was a Tuesday afternoon when Jason first noticed something odd about the office printer. It wasn’t that it was malfunctioning—it had been doing that for years—but today, it was acting up in a way that made Jason wonder if maybe, just maybe, the thing was haunted.
He walked into the break room, where the printer sat, quietly humming like a creepy old machine that knew more than it let on. Jason had already tried printing a report three times, and each time, the printer refused to cooperate. It spat out blank pages, made strange beeping noises, and, worst of all, the display screen blinked at him with an eerie rhythm, like it was trying to communicate in Morse code.
"Not today, Satan," Jason muttered, pressing the print button one more time. He watched, almost in disbelief, as the printer made a loud clunking noise and then whirred to life.
A few moments later, the printer spat out... a page with a single word on it: BOO.
Jason froze.
His heart skipped a beat. He stared at the paper, then glanced around the break room. No one was there. The printer was still humming softly.
"Okay... that’s weird," he muttered. He turned to leave, but the printer made another clunking noise, followed by another sheet of paper that slid out onto the tray. Jason hesitated before picking it up.
This time, the paper read: "I SEE YOU."
Jason’s eyebrows shot up. His first thought was that this had to be a prank. But who would do something like that? He had barely spoken to anyone today, and there was no one nearby who would have sent this weird, ominous message.
The printer whirred again, and Jason’s eyes widened as a third page slid out. He picked it up slowly. It was a picture of a stick figure, drawn in a sloppy, childlike manner, standing next to a pumpkin. In the bottom corner, in bold, crooked letters, it read: “I’m COMING FOR YOU."
Jason dropped the paper like it had burned him. He stared at the printer.
“Okay, no way,” he muttered. He backed away from the printer, half expecting it to start spitting out chainsaws or some other horror movie nonsense.
He turned and walked out of the break room, but as he did, he felt a chill run down his spine. It couldn’t be. There had to be some logical explanation. It had to be someone messing with him.
But when he passed by Sarah from HR, she was looking at the printer with wide eyes, holding her coffee cup like a lifeline.
“Did you see that?” she asked, pointing toward the break room. “The printer just… printed something strange!”
Jason stared at her. “Wait, you saw it too?”
“Of course I did,” Sarah said, almost in a whisper. “It printed a drawing of a pumpkin. A creepy pumpkin. That’s not normal!”
"Okay, so it’s not just me," Jason said. He quickly gathered his courage. “I’m going back in. We need to figure out who’s behind this before it escalates into a full-on horror movie plot.”
With a deep breath, Jason walked back into the break room. He slowly approached the printer, as if it might leap out at him. Just as he was about to press the “Cancel” button to stop the madness, the printer beeped one last time and spat out another sheet of paper.
This time, it read: “You CAN’T ESCAPE.”
Jason slammed his hand down on the “Cancel” button. Nothing happened. The printer kept printing.
“Alright, that’s enough!” he shouted, turning to Sarah, who had followed him back into the room. “We need to get IT support in here. This printer is possessed or something!”
But before Sarah could respond, the printer made one last dramatic whirr, and the display screen flashed. Jason stared at it, his blood running cold, as the words “JUST KIDDING!” appeared.
Jason blinked.
Then, the printer spat out one last page. This one wasn’t ominous or threatening. In fact, it was almost… cheerful.
The page read: “HAPPY HALLOWEEN, JASON! SORRY FOR THE SCARE. LOVE, THE IT TEAM.”
Jason’s shoulders slumped with relief, and then he started laughing.
“It’s the IT team,” he said, turning to Sarah. “They must’ve set it up as a prank.”
Sarah raised an eyebrow. “I mean, it was pretty good. But next time, maybe warn us before the printer starts drawing creepy pumpkins.”
Just then, Mike from IT walked in, looking entirely too smug for someone who had just successfully terrified half the office.
“Hey, I heard the printer was having some fun,” he said with a grin. “Was it a good scare?”
Jason pointed at him, trying not to laugh. “You got me good. Seriously, though, next time, don’t turn the printer into a haunted house attraction.”
Mike chuckled. “No promises. We’ve been working on some new ‘features’ for the printer. Might want to double-check your print jobs from now on.”
Jason shook his head, laughing. "Alright, you win. But you owe me a coffee for that."
Mike raised his hands in mock surrender. “Fair enough. I’ll buy you a coffee. But don’t forget to print out your next Halloween costume. The printer’s got some new tricks up its sleeve."
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