Episode 5
The Night the Signal Was Hijacked
Up nextEp 6: 35 Calls from the WreckageThe documented facts
- On November 22, 1987, during WGN's 9 PM newscast in Chicago, the signal was hijacked for twenty-five seconds of silence.
- Later that night during Doctor Who on WTTW, a figure in a Max Headroom mask took over every screen for ninety seconds.
- The FCC and FBI investigated; engineers confirmed the intrusion took serious equipment and skill.
- No suspect was ever found. In 1992 the statute of limitations expired.
The Draugr does not invent. He documents.
Episode 5 case file
The facts
- On November 22, 1987, during WGN's 9 PM newscast in Chicago, the signal was hijacked for twenty-five seconds of silence.
- Later that night during Doctor Who on WTTW, a figure in a Max Headroom mask took over every screen for ninety seconds.
- The FCC and FBI investigated; engineers confirmed the intrusion took serious equipment and skill.
- No suspect was ever found. In 1992 the statute of limitations expired.
The evidence
- Later that night during Doctor Who on WTTW, a figure in a Max Headroom mask took over every screen for ninety seconds.
- The FCC and FBI investigated; engineers confirmed the intrusion took serious equipment and skill.
- No suspect was ever found. In 1992 the statute of limitations expired.
Sources
- Sources are being gathered for this file. The facts above are documented.
The words, as I spoke them.
Transcript
EP5, "The Night the Signal Was Hijacked" (Max Headroom intrusion, Chicago, Nov 22 1987) True Origins replacement. Draugr narration: dead serious, menacing, punchy. NO character lines, the intruder's garbled audio is narrated, never invented verbatim. Zero victims; the dread is cinematic. Total narration: 145 words.
BEAT 1, HOOK (19 words) Television was hijacked live, and no one could stop it. A masked intruder. Ninety seconds of chaos. Never caught.
BEAT 2 (24 words) November 22nd, 1987. Chicago. At 9 PM, WGN's newscast froze, twenty-five seconds of silence. Someone had seized the signal mid-air. Then it happened again.
BEAT 3 (27 words) During Doctor Who on WTTW, a Max Headroom mask filled every screen in Chicago, ninety seconds. Swearing. Singing. The audio twisted like a dying machine. Then, static.
BEAT 4, OPEN LOOP (29 words) The FCC and the FBI investigated. Engineers proved it took serious equipment and serious skill. In 1992, the statute of limitations expired. My Dreaded, who was wearing the mask?
BEAT 5 (17 words) No suspect. Ever. The greatest broadcast crime in history, and the pirate walked back into the night.
BEAT 6, STITCH DARE + FOLLOW ASK + SIGN-OFF (29 words) Stitch this video if you'd keep watching when your TV starts talking back. Follow for a new true nightmare every day. Sleep with the lights on, if you can.
FACT-CHECK NOTE (pre-production): all facts from the verified brief (Chicago Sun-Times, FCC records). "Swearing. Singing." reflects the documented distorted audio without quoting it, never quote the intrusion audio verbatim, transcripts are disputed.
Dramatized for the telling. The facts above are documented; the narration is the Draugr’s retelling of them.
Wear the nightmare
The Dreaded wear the mark.
Enter the shop
