I started at a local restaurant a few months back and just took up cleaning after close for a little extra money. A few days into my new duties I noticed a door behind one of the refrigerators, I did not really think anything of it at the time as this was an old house (built around the late 1800’s) that was remodeled to be home to a mom-and-pop restaurant. Now when I first started a few of the other employees told me a few stories; how chairs would slide out by themselves, or the faucets would turn on out of the blue.
Nothing out of the ordinary ever happened until about a month in after taking the closing duty over. My phone was low on battery before work one day, so I left it at home. I took it to listen to music while I swept, mopped, and cleaned up. As I moved from room to room sweeping, I kept hearing the slight sound of a chair sliding an inch or so across the floor. However every time I stopped to listen it stopped, too. I was just hearing things I thought. I shrugged it off and continued my routine.
That is until I came to Smoking 2 which was the room that connected to where the tucked away door was located. When I entered the room, I noticed that one of the chairs was slightly pulled out. I thought it was odd, but I really didn’t think anything of it at that time. I continued my nightly routine on the opposite side of the room where the chair was, I would have to pull it out anyway so why I push it back in I thought.
On this side of the room there was an old set of wooden framed glass doors. I had my head down at the minding my work when suddenly I felt like I was being watched from the other side of doors. My eyes darted upward and trained on them, there was nothing there. I chuckled and turned around walking towards the other side of Smoking 2 when the chair that had been pulled from the table tipped over startling me a bit.
“What the fuck was that…” I whispered as I took a medium step backwards. I stood there for a moment and scanned the room trying to think of a logical reason for the chair to just fall over.
I shrugged it off after a minute of being dumbfounded and picked it up scooting it slightly in. I walked past it into the waitress station, where the “hidden” door was, to grab the dustpan. See, the door isn’t too visible unless you’re looking directly at it. I mean there is a refrigerator in front of it and I am ever hardly over there except to put dishes away, so it doesn’t exactly stick out like a sore thumb.
When I passed the fridge, I heard what sounded like a doorknob jiggling. I stopped and froze for a moment looking to the direction it came from which wasn’t the front or back door; it was directly to my left. A cold chill ran down my spine as I gulped as this door literally led to nowhere. There is just a wall on the other side of it. I craned my head in its direction and pointed my eyes to the doorknob. Nothing. I was imagining shit I thought just the mind playing tricks on me was all. I chuckled and began to take a step into Smoking 2 when the doorknob rattled again.
My head turned as fast as it could, and I saw it. The old doorknob was moving by itself! The color left my skin, and I dropped the broom and dustpan as it turned completely the door slowly opening inward. This wasn’t possible I thought, the door couldn’t have moved more than an inch that direction with the wall pressed against it; but there it was! Opening in its entirety, revealing a blanket of darkness within its depths. Then the bellowing voice came… I will never forget initially hearing that voice.
Ever…
I have to stop writing now because I feel it’s getting closer to me. I have to keep moving or else…
Hopefully I will be able to continue to tell you my tale in the near future…