stman
05-27-2010, 12:54 PM
From switched.com
Lazy horror movie creators definitely overuse the haunted gadget routine. Tapping into people's mistrust of technology and their fear of the unknown, directors frequently regurgitate stories involving cursed televisions, radios, movies and cell phones. One of those film themes may be experiencing a mysterious reversal in reality, though, as a Bulgarian mobile firm has reportedly suspended the use of a murderous cell number.
Since 2001, three owners of the deadly digits (0888 888 888) have suffered untimely deaths. The first, Vladimir Grashnov, died of cancer in 2001 at the age of 48. Reputed mob boss Konstantin Dimitrov next received the number, and then an assassin promptly snuffed out the 31-year-old in 2003. Two years later, unknown gunmen gruesomely murdered the next owner, Konstantin Dishliev. While police investigated Dishliev's demise, Mobitel suspended the number, and the firm has apparently now deemed it completely unusable. According to the Telegraph, "Callers now get a recorded message saying the phone is 'outside network coverage.'"
If true, cursed numbers can certainly provide a terrifying new folk tale, but the death-by-digits horror story still pales in comparison to being constantly monitored, scalded and ridiculed by the irritating iPhone ghost of Steve Jobs.
Lazy horror movie creators definitely overuse the haunted gadget routine. Tapping into people's mistrust of technology and their fear of the unknown, directors frequently regurgitate stories involving cursed televisions, radios, movies and cell phones. One of those film themes may be experiencing a mysterious reversal in reality, though, as a Bulgarian mobile firm has reportedly suspended the use of a murderous cell number.
Since 2001, three owners of the deadly digits (0888 888 888) have suffered untimely deaths. The first, Vladimir Grashnov, died of cancer in 2001 at the age of 48. Reputed mob boss Konstantin Dimitrov next received the number, and then an assassin promptly snuffed out the 31-year-old in 2003. Two years later, unknown gunmen gruesomely murdered the next owner, Konstantin Dishliev. While police investigated Dishliev's demise, Mobitel suspended the number, and the firm has apparently now deemed it completely unusable. According to the Telegraph, "Callers now get a recorded message saying the phone is 'outside network coverage.'"
If true, cursed numbers can certainly provide a terrifying new folk tale, but the death-by-digits horror story still pales in comparison to being constantly monitored, scalded and ridiculed by the irritating iPhone ghost of Steve Jobs.