"Haunted" Model 554

Bartonpipes · February 25, 2015, 03:30:44 PM

Okay, I'm not making fun of anyone's beliefs here, but come on....

"Black Western Electric Rotary Telephone A/B 554 August, 1968 The receiver has a sticker from Nelson's Funeral Home so I'm not keeping this because I believe in entities that haunt objects (haunting).. The telephone has scuff marks but no cracks or breaks. I tested the telephone and it works."

Why would you even say this, especially if a potential buyer beleived the same thing?

Here's the link to the auction. http://tiny.cc/83qmux

WEBellSystemChristian · February 25, 2015, 03:35:55 PM

Wow!

You should always be honest, but not that honest!

paul-f · February 25, 2015, 04:38:07 PM

It seems to me that a phone with advertising for a funeral home was most likely not installed in the funeral home, but at a prospective client's location.

These ad strips are nice to have, as they glow in the dark and help you find the receiver.

I often wondered about the payback for the funeral homes on these ads. How often does someone passs away in the home? "Where did I put that number for the funeral home?"

jsowers · February 25, 2015, 04:46:13 PM

I've seen many cases where sellers assume the advertising means it actually came from a funeral home or a dairy. Very twisted logic. If I needed the number of a funeral home, I'd look in the directory.

The haunted aspect reminds me of this other black 554 I saw earlier this week...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151595478441

To quote the seller:

When I moved in my house this creepy phone was hanging up still. I set up a new phone system in the Web house and without hooking this up this phone would ring. I found out that a man named mr murphy died in this house and that was his phone in the basement. I dont believe in ghosts but if anyone does this might be your phone. This is a vintage bell wall phone but its a little more to the daring. Good luck

andre_janew · February 25, 2015, 05:01:22 PM

Each of those phones has one bid on them. This is a good thing. The last thing this forum needs are creepy haunted zombie telephones! Yeech!

..... · February 25, 2015, 05:08:06 PM

I bought this phone off eBay about a year ago. The description said it came from a funeral home and the director was a Mason. It has Mason disk in it. Does it mean that this phone is keeping Haunted Secrets from me?

TelePlay · February 25, 2015, 05:58:45 PM

And then there is this post with an interesting attached pdf in that topic first started about 4 years ago, the post in which the seller is very "forthcoming" in their "embellishment" of a phone that was said to have existed somewhere, sometime in the past . . .

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=4629.msg59189#msg59189

Phonesrfun · February 25, 2015, 06:06:58 PM

Don't forget the one who started all this rotary dial business. None other than Almon Strowger, the funeral guy who was paranoid that the town's operator was sending business to the competition!

On a side note, I rent a house that once had a double murder. I've been there seven years and have had no visitations yet. I do get a piece of junk mail for the deceased every once in a while. No mysterious phones ringing other than the ones I intend to ring, which sometimes are many.

Boo!

NorthernElectric · February 25, 2015, 07:15:21 PM

Quote from: Bartonpipes on February 25, 2015, 03:30:44 PMWhy would you even say this, especially if a potential buyer beleived the same thing?

Perhaps it's the seller's idea of a clever marketing angle. We're all talking about it aren't we? I'm thinking that black is probably the most common color for these but now 7 people who replied to this post before me have probably looked at the auction when they might have otherwise scrolled right on by it on eBay.

TelePlay · February 25, 2015, 08:03:39 PM

The dial rings were quite popular in the day ( http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=4135.msg53918#msg53918 ) and I would suspect economically beneficial for the funeral home/whatever else business passing them out.

. . . and then there is this posted image, an anachronism now, which while not being phone related other than the phone number always made me smile when finding it while searching the forum for something else . . .

Phonesrfun · February 25, 2015, 08:05:35 PM

You just never know when you will need a funeral home in the middle of the night!

unbeldi · February 25, 2015, 08:06:59 PM

Quote from: TelePlay on February 25, 2015, 08:03:39 PM
The dial rings were quite popular in the day ( http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=4135.msg53918#msg53918 ) and I would suspect economically beneficial for the funeral home/whatever else business passing them out.

Yeah... these come in handy when you really need to get rid of a body quickly. Best to keep that number handy.

News:

"Haunted" Model 554

unbeldi