Second owner: Smith Co's Appliances and Electronics

After Andre's arrest and Mary's disappearance, Roberta had little left for her. She arranged for the home and the belongings inside to be sold and moved away to be with her siblings. The sale of her belongings was handled in a wholesale method, with like items sold together in bulk. All of the electronics and appliances were sold to a representative of Smith Co. Appliances and Electronics, a small chain of stores that sold used and refurbished items. From there, the radio went quiet for a few years.

It was placed in a large plastic bin with an assortment of other radios and placed in a storage facility to be sorted later. That date never came, and for a time, the radio was forgotten. The items were brought to the warehouse for storage, but also repair and assessment. Electronics were never the focus of the company, as most of the workers there specialized in appliances and they tended to fetch a higher price. The radio was bought in bulk and for such a low price that its lot was deemed a low priority and was soon forgotten and placed on a shelf. Then it was pushed behind another box, and then another, until it was part of a lot deemed too old to even bother recycling. As the years went on, though, it grew impatient.

The warehouse had been in operation for many years at this point. Records show that it had consistent staffing and very little reported by the night guards. This began to change in the spring of 2001. The night guards began reporting strange noises and figures which appeared to be watching the building from the shadows beyond the property. There were no crimes, but a sense of paranoia was seeping into the nightly work.

In late 2001, there was a break-in. A man named Frank Gillus was caught trying to get to the shelf where the radio was stored. When interrogated, he reported that he wasn't sure why, but "there was something valuable in there," which he stated he "needed." During his interrogation, the police noted that Gillus was fidgeting with his handcuffs. They said he pressed them down into his flesh, leaving creases in his skin as he stared down at his wrists. He had prior convictions and was sentenced to three years in prison.

In early 2002, after repeatedly complaining of noises and the feeling of being watched, the senior night guard quit. He said that in the middle of the night, he had nodded off and, after fitful, violent dreams, he awoke to the scream of an animal. After quitting, he took up a sales position at a local car lot and had no further unexplained experiences. During interviews, he stated that "scream" was what he said but it was too generic. It sounded more like the animal was being slaughtered.

By 2004, the security staff turnover rate was high, and no new guard had lasted more than 3 months. Moreover, the day staff was beginning to exhibit signs of unexplained stress. There were growing rumors that the warehouse was haunted and even the day staff reported mysterious figures and mild hallucinations. Further break-in attempts occurred in late 2004 and early 2005 with the owner responding by installing a modern security system. This did little to make the staff feel safer and in mid-2005, another guard quit after being found in the morning opening and emptying boxes in what appeared to be a state of somnambulism (sleepwalking). When awoken, he said he dreamt that his watch was in one of the boxes and was looking for it.

The final event took place in 2006 when Frank Gillus returned to the warehouse. He set off the alarm, but before the police arrived, he shot the nightguard and had begun tearing apart the warehouse. Security cameras show him moving through the facility from box to box, moving closer and closer to the one that did contain the radio. From the footage, one can also make out the smears he left on the shelves and boxes as he progressed. When the police arrived they found Gillis sitting on the floor staring at the radio, silently mutilating himself. He was cutting a circle into his arm.

Frank Gillis died shortly after in a standoff with the police. He did not respond to their instuctions to drop his weapon. The nightguard survived and reported that before the police arrived he could hear the man speaking to someone. He said that Frank repeatedly called out, asking someone where they were. He also said another voice responded, a strange distorted voice, which he heard say "I am here." The police report states there was no one else in the building and that the guard must have been delirious from blood loss.

The autopsy of Frank Gillus revealed an interesting secondary effect of the radio. It either has a minor impact on those it touches from a great distance or it leaves mental scarring of some kind. The smears he left were not just from the wound; the police saw him cut into his arm. Before he entered the warehouse, he had carved dozens more circles into his body. The purpose behind this is unclear. It may have been an act of devotion. What is more interesting is the skill and commitment required to perform his act of self-mutilation. The deep lacerations were perfect circles. Not only were they not the result of a template, as the circles were of various sizes, but they must also have been done with a perfectly steady hand. Either he was in a state where he felt no pain, or pain no longer held any meaning for him.