 My name is Mark and I run a small YouTube channel where I buy old appliances, fix them up and sell them at a profit. I run it with my wife Jane to supplement my income and even though I only have a few thousand subscribers it is a very rewarding experience. I'm a repairman by trade and Jane is a sanitation worker so we see things discarded all the time. You'd be surprised how little hassle tolerance people have, they're so quick to discard anything and everything. Doing things up and seeing people get inspired by my work has been what's gotten me through these hard times or at least it was until recently. It was our first time buying something from out of state. We'd heard about a large sale that was just a couple hours drive where we could get a whole hall of appliances for cheap. It was the owners of a combined restaurant, bed and breakfast who were selling off pretty much everything as the building was being torn down. They weren't going out of business or anything but they figured they'd get rid of some of their older stuff in the move. Mostly refrigerators and dishwashers but also a sink or two. I'm an amateur plumber at best but you shouldn't underestimate the price you can get for a fancy sink. We drove up with the trailer and started elbowing our way forward. There were at least two other crews there along with a dozen cars from curious passersby. We'd gotten there just before 10am but a lot of the yard was already picked clean. The kitchen stuff was already gone. What remained were mostly washers and radiators. Sure there were plenty of furniture and knickknacks but that wasn't what we were there for. As one of the other crews got away with the last industrial sized freezer I found myself looking over the washing machines. Most of them were really new and in perfect working order but there was one who stood out. It had a small note attached to it simply reading useless and a smiley face. It was a pretty standard machine probably from the early 2010s but it was completely black. The plastic had been shipped and the front hatch was completely broken off. Jane checked it out. It was perfect for the channel. The owner practically gave it away. Apparently the thing came with a building and was already broken. They hadn't cared enough to just throw it out so they put it in storage. The thing hadn't worked for over a decade so I figured I'd have a lot to do. Still it looks sleek and after fixing it up and adding some detail work we could probably make a nice profit. The color underneath the grime was stunning. Solid black. Beautiful. We also got some smaller appliances for cheap. A cyan colored six slice toaster. A retro style microwave and a blender. Had we known there'd be so few things left we would have skipped the trailer. We hosed off the washing machine, loaded it up and put the rest of the small appliances in the back of our car. When we got home I did a quick check up on the washer. I usually do a pre-recording check just to see if it is something I think I'll be able to fix. Most of the damage seemed superficial and I figured I could fix the hatch with a few 3D printed spare pieces. Jane figured she could do anything about the color and add some fancy details. In the right room it can almost be beautiful. But appliance part art deco centerpiece. I spent a week fixing up one of the toasters for a shorter video while we prepped the work for the washer. I was having a busy week at my day job and was fully booked Tuesday to Thursday so I didn't have much time to spend on the channel. Fixing up the six slicer was a good middle ground and it turned out great. We decided to keep it but figured we could probably get at least 90 to 120 bucks for it. As I signed off the final recording with a usual like and subscribe stick and got to the editing I was suddenly excited to get started on my next big project. I had a good feeling about the black washing machine. We could make something good out of it. Jane helped me finish the editing on the six slicer and we got back to work. We started filming the following week. I did the thing where I pretended the washer was donated to us from a fan and that I'd never seen it before. Then we opened it up and check the interior. I hadn't actually checked the inside that closely before and I noticed some glaring issues. There was a lot of gunk clogged up in the inner pipes and the inlet connections were rusted straight through. The agitator was a bit loose and there were cracks in the outer hub seal but the water pump was flawless. I was afraid we'd have to order some special replacement parts but we got away cheap. I had most of it in stock or could get it from the hardware store. This thing would be a cakewalk. Over the following days I made a list of what needed to be fixed and we filmed it in short burst sessions. We usually just make sort of a montage with some insights along the way for commentary. We talk more about the process rather than the details but this time we made an extra effort. The whole video would probably clock in at about 25 to 30 minutes. Step by step we fixed it up and the 3D printed replacement parts for the front hatch fit great. The lock worked fine and there were no leaks in the outer hub or the inlet connections. I got away with using the replacement parts I already had so we finished it in about three days. Jane was trying her best to find a color that matched the original black but she was having some trouble. We couldn't find what color it was from the manufacturer as this model wasn't sold anymore. It was a Canadian brand from Newfoundland and I couldn't help but wonder what kind of trip this washer had taken to end up in the back woods of Michigan. I fixed up the chipped plastic edges with a lot of heat and a lot of sandpaper and I noticed that the black color seemed to get more intense the deeper I worked the plastic. I showed it to Jane and she was just as confused as I was. We decided that instead of repainting it we would just go over the plastic thoroughly with sandpaper and more heat. It was surprisingly easy to work with and the layer underneath was just solid jet black. Jane worked on adding some art deco style flourishes with gold spray while I fixed it up with some LED lights for the buttons. We prepared for the first test run. We set up two cameras and put one of my old t-shirts in the washer. I put it on a low temperature quick wash and we immediately noticed something was wrong. The first thing was the noise. It made a low rumbling noise like there was a strong electric current running through it. Every fourth second I could hear a gulping sound like the water was coming in waves. It was a weird sound to hear from a washer almost like it was regurgitating the water. The biggest problem came soon afterwards. The water was completely black like ink. The program ran longer than expected and when it finished washing my t-shirt it was completely black. Not even gray or some other miscoloration but completely ink black. We filmed the entire thing and it made for a pretty decent scene. My surprise was genuine. We ran a second test thinking we got the gunk out of the pipes even though I could have sworn I already had. We ran it again, this time using one of my boxers as a test subject. Jane made a joke about them needing a wash anyway as we watched the washer fill up. Same gulping noises, same rumbling, and the same inky black water. My boxers were rendered completely black. I spent the next two days trying to find the problem and running various off-camera tests. Every time I'd get the same result. Then the black water came. I tore the thing apart looking for the cause but I couldn't find anything. By this point, even if there was something clogging the pipes it should have washed out. The weird thing I noticed about the machine was when I checked the water coming out of it. It wasn't black. There was nothing wrong with it. It was just black while still in the machine. I was at a complete loss for words. There was something that filtered the water coming in making it black and something that filtered it going out making it regular again. It didn't make sense. There was nothing in the machine that could have caused that kind of effect. I even checked the tubes again but there was nothing. While running test 14 I put in an old pair of jeans only to realize my old wallet was still in there. There was nothing in there except an outdated ID and some membership cards but still I didn't want anything to get stuck in the washer. We waited for the program to run its course and unsurprisingly the jeans were rendered completely black. Impressively so. That's when I checked the wallet. All my old cards. Black. This is when I figured something wasn't right. Jane and I decided to pause the recording while we figured this out. Over the following days I tried replacing several parts only to get the exact same result. Gulping noise, black water, the whole shebang. I also noticed that the spray painted details that Jane added slowly started to peel off with every wash as if the color itself was rejecting it. We tried adding it as plastic decals, paint, spray, but it all just withered and fell off. My LEDs just stopped working. I noticed the washer ran really hot when used, like really hot. The plastic was so hot that I could press my hand against it and see the plastic bend to the outlines of my hand. The metal parts in the back were hot enough to fry an egg. Still, it didn't use that much power. It didn't make sense. We measured the power used during the low intensity program and it was surprisingly low. Lower than most eco settings on modern washers. I mean, if it wasn't for turning clothes black, it cleaned them really well. By now I was having a hard time understanding what was going on. One night while Jane was cleaning up the dishes, I was fiddling around with one of the black cards I've gotten from the washer. The black had soaked into the plastic. It wasn't just a coat of paint. An idea struck me and I went to my computer. The card had an RFID chip and I wanted to see if it still worked. I got my reader and blipped the card against it. My computer screen instantly blacked out. It wasn't just the screen though. The entire computer turned itself off. It started to smell like burned plastic and I stepped away. A few seconds later, a black oo started pouring out of the DVD tray. The graphics card fan was going crazy, making a high-pitched noise like it was going to explode. Jane freaked out and got the fire extinguisher. I was just frozen. That computer sent me back almost $2,000 and now it was just sitting there, fuming. My files were backed up on an external drive, but I wouldn't be able to render or edit my videos for a while. I didn't even know what to say to my followers on Twitter. The whole situation was absurd. I just stood there with the black card in my hand as Jane drowned the computer in foam. Jane and I had a long talk. I wanted to get rid of the washer and just not think about it anymore, but Jane figured this could be a break to something bigger. We decided to try things out and keep filming our attempts. Instead of giving up, we doubled down. First, we checked out the manufacturer and sent a few emails. Apparently they'd never sold a black version of this model of washing machine. It was supposed to be eggshell white. And if you were mint green, they'd never sold the black one, though. The customer service people were happy to help us out. They seemed a bit curious themselves and they asked for a serial number. They told me where to find it. Once I knew where it was, it was easy to spot. It was eight. Just eight. That was the serial number. Just an eight. I had to send a picture to the customer service rep just to prove I wasn't joking. They had a really hard time believing me. They'd never seen anything like it. Meanwhile, Jane was trying to wash different things. Blankets, pillow sheets, they all turned into a solid unified black color. Complete coverage as a joke. She tried putting in a teddy bear. It didn't just turn black. All small plastic parts of it did as well. The eyes who were small white plastic beads originally were completely black. Even the stitching and when checked the fluff, every single part of the teddy turned completely midnight black. The eyes didn't even reflect the light anymore. Exasperated, Jane put the teddy away and threw in one of her old flip phones. I tried to stop her, but she was getting frustrated. There has to be some sense to this. She said some purpose. We stood next to it during the whole program, gulping noises, rumbling black water. Once the hatch clicked open, we picked up the old phone. It was surprisingly intact, solid black all the way through, but the screen still worked. All icons were nameless, along with a background. Jane shook her head. Apparently the phone hadn't been charged for years. It shouldn't work, but it did. Later that night, just past 2am, I was woken up by a strange sound. It sounded like some sort of bell, but as if run through an underwater filter. It was clear, but haunting. Jane woke up just as I got up. She asked me what the hell was making that noise, and I didn't have a good answer. There were black footprints in the hallway. The teddy bear was gone, and my wardrobe stood wide open. Every single black t-shirt, my black jeans, my black boxers, it was all gone. Pillows, sheets, blankets, everything, gone. The footprints were leading me straight to the washer. The sound was coming from the old flip phone, lying on the bathroom tiles right next to the washer's hatch, a drowning ring signal. I bent down to pick it up, but recoiled, something inside the hatch was moving. I stumbled my way out of the bathroom, and fell backwards. My eyes were fixed on the hatch. It opened. A black hand reached out towards the phone, and pulled it into the washer with a snap. The hatch shut, and clicked. Jane rushed out with a flashlight. The hatch was lit up. It was empty, empty, but there was still something there. I knew it. Something was staring straight into me, and it was angry. We'd threatened it, trying to repair it away. This was a way of showing that it was ready to defend itself. I could still hear the wailing bell noise from the phone echoing through the pipes. The next morning, we threw the damn thing away. Jane wanted to destroy it, but I couldn't work up the courage. We got rid of it, and hurried back home. The black footprints were still imprinted in the floor, and we had cleaning to do. Once we got back home, I started scrubbing the floors when Jane called me over. At the end of the bed was the black teddy bear, resting comfortably. I don't know what this is, or what it means. Is this a warning, or a peace offering? Should I get the washer back? I'm at a loss, and Jane is starting to have panic attacks. The footprints just won't go away. Sometimes, I swear I can still hear that drowning bell. It's still there.