10 Scary Video Game Urban Legends Everyone Believed Were True

10. Homicidal Arcade Machine Berzerk

"Homicidal Arcade Machine Berzerk" may sound like a cheesy anime series, but it's actually an early example of video games reaching the newspapers for all the wrong reasons. '80s arcade game Berzerk was blamed for not one, not two, but three deaths, all of which supposedly occurred at the same arcade centre.

As reported by Retrovolve, two gamers (Peter Burkowski and Jeff Dailey) were reported to have had fatal heart attacks shortly after playing Berzerk at Friar Tuck's Game Room in Illinois. While Jeff Dailey's death was never confirmed, the unfortunate Peter Burkowski definitely did die after playing the game. Burkowski was found to have a weakened heart in his autopsy, and the excitement induced by the game became seen as a possible cause of death.

Berzerk's legacy didn't end there, however. Years later, a fatal stabbing during a brawl occurred just outside the doors of Friar Tuck's. The rumoured cause of the fight? A quarter that had been placed inside the Berzerk machine.

While the truths behind the deaths may owe more to coincidence and hearsay than fact, Berzerk's connection to the trio of fatalities at that ill-fated arcade centre have ensured its place in videogame folklore forever.