Live TV, especially in its early years, was a very unsecure platform. From the 80’s to the early 2000’s, while the channels were learning to adapt to new systems, Americans got their hands on more and more tech. As such it’s no shocker that TV interruptions have often made the headlines across the nation.
While most interruptions, if truly any, have no malicious intent and are usually the work of elaborate jokesters or disgruntled consumers, they still creep us out no matter what. It’s that thought of sitting down during the late hours of the night when suddenly, something you don’t expect randomly pops up on screen.
Because we tend to never truly find out what happened however, most tv interruptions have remained a mystery. Here are six of the weirdest broadcast intrusions in U.S. history.
6: The Captain Midnight Incident
Back in 1986, HBO viewers would be shocked by a 12:32 a.m. channel interruption during their late-night shows. The intrusion seemed to read off a set of angry lines, referencing the channel’s price hike at that time.
The man behind the signal was named John R. MacDougall, an electrical engineer angry at the $12.95/month price HBO was charging. This wasn’t his first time connecting to the channel’s satellite, however the first time was very minor and only played during the nighttime, when very few people were watching.
However this case was taken seriously by the channel’s provider Hughes Communication. As such, MacDougall would face prosecution, but he stated he has no regrets.
5: The Art Bell Radio Station Hijacking
One of famous talk show host Art Bell’s 1997 shows was hijacked by a frantic and nervous man claiming to have escaped from Area 51. Area 51 is a mysterious government facility located in Nevada which has been a place of question by many for decades.
At first, Bell receives a call during the show by someone who stated he used to work at the base, and claims that he’s on the run. He tells Bell the government’s chasing him and that he doesn’t have much time left.
However, as he begins to reveal the alleged “secrets” kept Area 51, the station is, somehow, shut down.
To this day it’s unknown what happened, but a man would get on call with the show a few months later claiming to be the same guy and telling Bell that the whole thing was just a hoax. However, many in the public sphere stated that it couldn’t have been the same man.
4: The Southern Television Broadcast Interruption
In 1977 an unknown hacker would interrupt the Southern Television Broadcast Station’s news report with Andrew Gardner for about six minutes, claiming to be an alien representative of an intergalactic association.
The so-called “alien” on the other end claimed to be called Vrillon, and told viewers that they need to remove their weapons of “evil.” The call was a bizarre one, and until today it stands as a hoax.
However, the channel’s staff never even realized that the channel had been interrupted to begin with, and sent out an apology later that day.
3: The Australian Mayday Interruption
Australia would have their own incident back in 2007, when a broadcast of the Canadian series Mayday was interrupted by an audio loop of a man repeatedly stating “Jesus Christ, help us all Lord.”
That’s pretty scary, especially because of how randomly it happened. However, the channel would discover that the audio had come from a videotaped news program. Viewers are still unaware to this day whether or not it was intentional or a glitch.
2: The Montana Zombie Alert
In Montana back in 2013 a blood-curdling, late-night alert was issued during a showing of the popular Steve Wilkos Show talking about dead bodies suddenly rising from the grave. The alert stated:
“Civil authorities in your area have reported that the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the living. Follow the messages onscreen that will be updated as information becomes available. Do not attempt to approach and apprehend these bodies as they are considered extremely dangerous.”
The alert itself has certain elements to it that give away it’s a fake, however I feel like anyone in this situation, sitting on their TV in the dark hours of the night, couldn’t help but begin to panic. New Mexico and Michigan saw the same exact message, making it even scarier.
However, the person behind the alert was, yet again, another hacker who had found a way to gain control of the station’s emergency control systems. He was caught and arrested.
1: The Max Headroom Incident
The Max Headroom incident is arguably the most well-known, and creepiest, live intrusion of all time. It actually happened twice, during the late eighties, in Chicago.
The first time it happened was during a WGN T.V. broadcast on the Chicago Bears. The screen went dark for a few seconds before it glitched to a man in a bizarre studio wearing a mask of the famous Max Headroom digital character.
Later that night WTTW would see a similar hijacking during a showing of Doctor Who. The same man would show up on T.V. yet again, this time ranting about bizarre things, saying Coca Cola slogans, and committing somewhat lude acts.
This went on for almost 90 seconds before cable engineers were able to shut it down. To this day the identity of the hacker is unknown.
