You think ghosts and goblins are scary? Please. Show me an overheated A/V receiver or an outrageously priced video cable, and I'll show you the true face of terror. Read on for five tales of home-theater horror—and how (in some cases, at least) to avoid them.

The A/V cabinet that cooks components!
Gather round, and hear a tale that's sure to make your blood run cold. There was once a young couple who bought a gorgeous new TV cabinet from Pottery Barn, one with glass doors so they could see their receiver, DVD player, TiVo, and Xbox glittering inside. They loved their new cabinet, but inside, it was a hellish nightmare—the poorly ventilated cabinet was slowly cooking all their components to death! Read more...

Attack of the $100 HDMI cable!
You won't sleep a wink after this terrifying bedtime story. Once upon a time, a pair of innocent movie fanatics saved all their pennies for a mammoth HDTV. They walked into [insert big-name electronics retailer here], cracked open their precious piggy bank, and pointed to the 50-inch flat-screen monster they'd been pining after. The polo-shirted salesman nodded and began ringing them up—but not before he suggested (nay, insisted) that they'd need a $100 HDMI cable for the best picture quality. Little did our friends know that they'd crossed over into...the Overpriced A/V-Cable Zone. Read more...

The case of the missing Blu-ray/HD DVD discs!
Afraid of horror stories without a happy ending? Then clap your ears shut right now. Still listening? OK, then: one day not all that long ago, a tech geek finally threw caution to the wind and bought a [Blu-ray/HD DVD] player. So he's all excited, but he wants some movies to go with his new HD deck, right? So he dashes to [insert big-name electronics retailer here] and heads right for the DVD aisles. After looking and looking, he finally finds…a single, four-foot section of HD discs. He asks the clerk, who leads him right back to the same puny selection of movies—and that's when the ice-cold fingers of fear began running up and down his spine. Read more...

Tale of the cruel, cruel TiVo!
Once upon a time, an ultra-busy family of four finally sat down to watch the season finale of…oh, let's say "The Office." This cute little family's been so busy with PTA meetings and softball games that they're only now sitting down to watch the final "Office" episode on their DVR, you see. Anyway, they're watching the show and it's really good, and it looks like Pam and Jim might finally kiss, when all of a sudden, the picture freezes and a message pops up on the screen: "Would you like to keep or delete this show?" The kids cry out in horror, and tears well in their parents' eyes, as they realize all at once—the evil TiVo stopped recording too early! Read more...

The Red Ring of Death!
Make sure the kids are sound asleep before reading this shocking tale. One fine afternoon, a couple of young gamers are happily blasting away the bad guys in Halo 3 when, without warning, the picture seizes up. Puzzled, the kids turn their Xbox 360 console off and then on again, but within minutes the picture freezes again. Worry begins to crease their respective brows as they reboot the 360 once more, only this time, they're greeted by a sight makes them both yelp in fear: a blood-red ring flashing on the front of the box. The dreaded Red Ring of Death has arrived. Read more...

Have any more tales of home-theater horror? Let's hear 'em!