I figured I’d continue writing about my experiences working at a haunted hotel. Unlike the previous experience I shared, this one had my life threatened by humans, not spirits.
Before I get to that, I thought I’d explain how I ended up becoming a partner at such an unusual business with Mrs. Coriz. You see, this hotel has been in Mrs. Coriz’s family for generations. And only her family. Until her brother and his wife and kids passed away in a tragic accident. Having no children or other living family members, and not wanting this business to end up in the wrong hands after her death, Mrs. Coriz began interviewing potential partners.
At first, she only posted that she was looking for an open-minded person for a front desk position, no experience necessary. It was quite vague, but I was broke with only a busted car to my name, so I applied.
During the interview, she gradually questioned my thoughts on the supernatural, and I expressed my curiosity. I loved horror movies and always wondered if ghosts, aliens, and cryptids were real. I guess I was the only one who didn’t dismiss or mock the idea, and she hired me.
And boy did I get a lot more than I expected!
We have 133 rooms. In each one, a spirit has made their home. And contrary to what we believe, spirits aren’t dead folk. They’re born from strife. To survive, they feed off fear, so they permanently take the shape of something scary. This works perfectly for us. Each tenant provides a uniquely scary experience that leaves them satisfied, our guests thrilled, and us richer.
At first, I thought they were ordinary tenants, but later I learned this hotel is actually a sanctuary to protect the spirits from vipirits. Vipirits are spirits born of hate, and they feed off spirits, especially the older ones. So, we make sure the spirits are safe here. I don’t know how, exactly, but Mrs. Coriz has foolproof protection keeping vipirits out.
Too bad it doesn’t keep bad humans out.
That day started like any other. After the last guest checked out at 3pm, all the spirits cleaned their rooms and left the guests’ garbage and used sheets and towels in the hall for Mrs. Coriz to collect. She then gave them clean bedding and towels and new toiletries before going downstairs to do the laundry and tidy the lobby.
We only have two washers and two dryers in the back, so by the time my shift started at 7pm, Mrs. Coriz was only a quarter of the way done. She went home, and I didn’t leave the front desk until midnight, checking in excited guests. Afterwards, I put up the “Be back soon! If it’s urgent, call the number below!” sign, grabbed my phone, entered the code to the employee area door, and rushed down the hall in the back to finish the laundry.
Just as I popped a load in the dryer, my phone rang. “This is The Eidolon Hotel, how may I help you?”
“We’re at the front desk,” a man said, sounding hurried. “We need a room immediately.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, sir, we’re fully booked for the next three months,” I said as I started the dryer and jogged back down the hall. “Would you like me to find you a room in a nearby motel?”
“Yes, fine, hurry.”
“Is there an emergency?” I asked, now worried.
“Bathroom,” another voice whispered.
“We need the bathroom,” the man said.
“Oh! We have an outhouse in the back,” I said as I pushed through the employee area door. “I can show y—”
My smile vanished as two dusty men in ski masks shoved me back inside, the broader one smothering my scream beneath his gloved hand as he pinned me to the wall. The other man wrenched my phone away and pointed a gun at my head.
“You lie to me, you’re dead,” he growled in a tense whisper. “Understand?”
I nodded, my wide eyes glued to the muzzle as I trembled against the wall.
“Anyone else back here?”
I shook my head.
He turned to the guy holding me. “Check the place.”
The broader one let me go and ran off, and I recoiled as the other guy grabbed the back of my neck and turned me around, shoving me face-first into the wall and pressing his gun into my spine.
I put my hands up, my voice shaking as I said, “If y-you want—”
I gasped as he dug the gun in deeper and harshly whispered in my ear, “Zip it or you’re dead.”
I pressed my lips together, certain the wall was vibrating with how fast and hard my heart was beating. I was ready to comply with anything they wanted as long as I got out of this alive.
“There’s no one back here,” the broader one said, running back with his own weapon out. “I found their security room. Shows parking and lobby.”
“Perfect.”
I flinched as the gunman pushed me in front of him, his hand still around my neck, his gun still digging into my lower back. I kept my quivering arms up, stumbling as we hurried to the rear desk where blue-toned monitors crackled behind the counter.
I froze as I heard them unbuckling their belts behind me. My already frantic heart went into overdrive, but before my imagination could run wild, one guy yanked my arms behind me and bound them with a belt while the other guy tied my ankles together.
Grabbing my shoulders, the broader guy dragged me to the corner furthest from the door and shoved me to the floor, and I leaned against the wall and pressed my knees to my chest, my pulse stuttering as I looked up at them looming over me.
“Stay there, stay quiet,” the gunman said.
I quickly nodded.
Turning away from me, they removed their masks, and I gasped and looked away. The last thing I needed was for them to kill me because I could identify them.
I could hear their footsteps beside the monitors, the single office chair squeak, their tense whispers … and my cell phone ring.
My breaths raced my heart as my ringing phone got closer and closer, and I flinched when one of the men crouched in front of me.
“There’s an officer at the front desk,” the gunman said. “Answer as if everything is normal.”
“I n-normally go to the f-front if anyone calls,” I hesitantly said, still looking away.
I drew back as his gun came into my field of vision. “Find an excuse if you want to live.”
With my heart running amok, I watched with fretful eyes as my phone slid closer and the call was answered on speaker.
“Th-This is The Eidolon Hotel,” I said, struggling to steady my voice. “H-How may I help you?”
“This is Officer Jones. I’m at the front desk and would like to speak with the attendant.”
“Th-That’s me.”
“Why do you sound nervous?”
My pulse spiked, my panicking mind whirring for a believable explanation as the gunman pressed his weapon against my temple. “I-I’m … I’m uh … I’m … I’m on a g-grocery run. I’m not a-allowed to leave the front desk b-because I’m the only one w-working now b-but a guest needed … uh … p-pads. I’m nervous b-because I don’t want my b-boss to know.”
“How long have you been away?”
“Half an hour,” the gunman whispered in my ear.
“H-Half an hour,” I echoed.
Officer Jones sighed. “Alright, relax, I won’t tell your boss. Just answer me this. If someone were to enter this hotel without you here, what do they have access to?”
“N-Nothing except the lobby and vending machine. You n-need a code to get to the employee area, the guest rooms’ hall, even to get out the f-front door.”
“The front door? Why?”
“This is a h-haunted hotel. People sometimes get so scared they try to run out, wh-which is dangerous.”
“A haunted hotel, huh?”
I gulped at the lingering silence, the cold metal of the muzzle still against my temple.
“Alright, thank you for your time. I’m looking for two men that might be in the area after their car broke down on the highway. One is six foot three, the other five foot eleven, more muscular. They were dressed all in black. If you come across two men that fit the description, please contact me. I’m leaving my card on the counter.”
“Of c-course, officer.”
“And I’ll be needing the front door code.”
“Right, it’s 2-0-0-3-7.”
“Thank you.”
He hung up, and I let out a quivering breath of relief when the gun was pulled away.
“A haunted hotel?” the gunman asked, a smile behind his words.
I nodded, my anxious eyes still turned away.
“Do people fall for it?”
I wasn’t about to explain everything to a criminal while at gunpoint, so I nodded a second time.
He chuckled and stood up beside his partner. “Do you have a car?”
I nodded yet again.
“What is it and where are the keys?”
“It’s the wh-white Honda with no rear bumper. Keys are in the v-visor.”
“Perfect.”
Once I heard their footsteps walk towards the monitors again, I rested my head against my trembling knees, feeling queasy from all the tension. I wasn’t trained for this. These guys were on the run, and from what I could gather, they wanted to take my car and continue their escape. I was glad they weren’t going to target the guests, but there was no guarantee they weren’t going to hurt me, take me, or worse.
The spirits were the only ones who could save me, but they were probably all busy scaring their guests. I looked up at the ceiling, trying with all my might to will a spirit down here, but no one showed up. Maybe I could ask if I could make a phone call. Maybe I could say I had to call my boss or she’d get suspicious, and then I’d call one of the spirits. Maybe Wd. Ruiggac. He was terrifying. Or Wd. Bunny. He was a nightmare personified.
Or maybe I should just stay quiet and compliant and hope these criminals won’t do anything to me.
I sat up when my phone rang again. If it wasn’t the front desk, then it was either Mrs. Coriz or one of the rooms. I could finally get a message out!
The gunman walked over and crouched next to me again. “It says room 107 is calling. Answer normally. You know the drill.”
I tried to ignore the gun as the call was answered on speaker. “Th-This is The Eidolon Hotel, how may I help you?”
“Hey, yeah, uh …” a young lady said as someone giggled in the background. “My sister, uh … thinks our ghost is hot. Is she in your gift shop?”
“Oh, y-yes,” I replied, my heart drumming as I tried to find an inconspicuous way to send a message. “We have a figurine, a p-plushie, and a holographic poster.”
“They have a figurine, a plushie, and a holo poster!” There was more giggling and laughter, and the lady said, “We’ll take all three!”
“That’s great! The g-gift shop is open 11am to 3pm. But if you n-need to check out earlier, let me know and I’ll m-make sure you get your souvenirs.”
“We’re not checking out early, we’re staying here until the last minute!”
After a few more drunken giggles, they hung up, and I ignored the chuckles of the two men as I let out an internal sigh of relief. Wd. Rowena was the spirit in room 107, and she didn’t have a plushie. She didn’t want one. I was sure she’d heard the lady on the phone, and I was sure she’d be down here in either anger or concern.
“You’re running an interesting hustle here,” the gunman said, standing up.
“It’s n-not a hustle, it’s a real haunted hotel,” I said, hoping to stall them until Wd. Rowena showed up.
They laughed, and the gunman asked, “So, how many ghosts are haunting the place?”
“133.”
“How about we make it 134?”
My eyes widened and I couldn’t help but look up at him, and I gasped at the sight of the gun aimed at my skull.
“No! Please,” I pleaded, cowering against the wall. “I did everything you wanted!”
“You’ve also seen our faces and heard our voices.”
“I w-won’t tell anyone! I also have a terrible memory!”
They chuckled, and two eerie chuckles joined them. Now the men were the ones gasping as they turned to face the door, where twin little girls in long fleece nighties were floating, their big eyes completely white.
My heart leapt with overjoyed relief. Wd. Rowena must have asked Wd. Tamara and Wd. Samara to be a distraction.
“You’ve been bad boys,” the girls said in unison, their echoing voices filling the room, their grins highlighting their tiny, pin-like teeth.
The men stumbled back and aimed their guns at the twins, but before they could shoot, a silver blur tore the counter away from the wall and rammed it into them, pinning them against the wall and sending their weapons flying. The silver blur was now still, revealing Wd. Rowena in all her demonic glory, her horns grazing the ceiling, her wings curving around the room, her tail whipping back and forth, her fangs bared, her claws buried in the counter’s wood as she pressed it into the criminals.
She may have chosen to look like a succubus, but the only emotion she was eliciting from these men was fear, and I knew she was enjoying their screams as much as I was.
“Are you okay?” Wd. Tamara and Wd. Samara asked, floating over to me.
“I am now, thanks to you two and Wd. Rowena,” I said, still trembling despite my smile. “Can one of you untie me while the other finds my phone? There’s an officer I need to call.”
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6
-—-