I had never believed in ghosts before. Not until I had gone on a trip to England
Perhaps I should tell you what happened.
It was my summer vacation. I had finally earned enough money to fly to England
My flight was perfect. I rarely flew anywhere, because it cost so much, and because I really disliked flying. But this flight was wonderful. No turbulence, no irritating passengers; I didn’t even feel slightly sick, not even once.
As soon as the plane landed, I found my luggage and got a taxi to take me to the hotel nearest to the airport. I had made reservations there a couple of days before I had left home.
On the hotel website, there hadn’t been any picture of the building, which surprised me a little. But I couldn’t be picky. The flight had cost me a lot of money, so I couldn’t afford to stay at some fancy, expensive hotel.
As the taxi driver made a turn, I finally saw the hotel. It made me gasp and I stared at it as we drove down the long, winding driveway.
The hotel was unlike any hotel I had ever seen before. It had tall, dark towers that rose up into the swiftly darkening sky. Some of the large windows had a soft yellow light coming from them; but more of the windows were dark, and rather foreboding. In front of the hotel was a large garden, but all the plants were either dead or dying. In front of the garden was a black iron fence that seemed to run all around the place. The large gate was standing open. In short, the hotel was actually a castle. A dark, intimidating castle.
“This is the hotel Dormio?” I asked the driver as he drove past the large gates. Large gargoyles glared down at me from the fence and I shivered under their gaze.
The driver nodded. “A very famous place, actually. Or at least, it was about fifty years ago. But then the owner died and it fell into a bit of a…well, not so good state, as you can see. The new owner has been working very hard to make it what it once was, but it’ll take a long time before it’s even close to what it once was.”
“I see.” I said, and though I was a somewhat scared, I was also a little excited. As a writer, this place might give me just the inspiration that I needed. My writing had gotten somewhat dry of late, and I just needed something to pull me through.
“I heard that it even has its’ own ghosts.” Said the driver. I chuckled. “Oh, I’m sure it does.”
He parked in front of the large front door and waited while I got my suitcase. “Thank you.” I said, handing him his money. He smiled as he took it, but then his face grew grim. “Be careful, alright miss? I was serious about the ghosts.”
I smiled. “I’m sure you were. But rest assured, no ghosts can harm me, because I don’t think they’re real.”
He shook his head and I closed the door. I watched him turn the car around and then drive back down the long driveway, until he was out of sight.
I sighed and turned around, picking up my suitcase. I walked up the large marble stairs and opened the door.
Walking inside, I walked towards the front desk and waited for someone to come out, so I could register. But no one came. I looked around, hoping to see someone, anyone. But there didn’t seem to be anyone. I looked at my watch and sighed. I hit the little bell several times, but no one came.
“Hello?” I called out, hoping it would do the trick. But no one came.
This is ridiculous. I thought. Why, I should just turn around and find some other hotel to stay at.
But of course I couldn’t do that. I barely had enough money as it was, and there would be no refund if I left here.
While I stood there at the desk, wondering what on earth to do, I suddenly got the feeling that I was being watched. I whirled around, but there was no one there. I frowned, chiding myself for being so silly, when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye, by my right. I looked there but saw nothing. Then there was this faint noise, like a child giggling.
It’s just one of the guests. Of course there are other people around here, with their children and such. Why am I so nervous today?
Finally, someone came through one of the many doors and walked towards the front desk. Relieved, I was about to speak but stopped short when I got a better look at the person.
It was a very old lady. She had white hair that was tied up in a very severe bun, which made her face look sharper than what was normal. She had silver piercing eyes that seemed to see everything. As she walked, I noticed that she had a bit of limp, though it appeared she was trying to hide it. Her lips were locked in a permanent position of displeasure, as though everything was wrong. Who knows, maybe in her world everything was wrong.
As she walked towards me, she brushed away invisible dirt from her long, black dress. It was very old fashioned looking and did not flatter her in the least. Her walk was brisk and purposeful, however, giving her an air of being in charge.
“Hello there.” She said in a soft, sophisticated British accent. “You must be the girl who reserved a room here several days ago. I didn’t expect you to be so young.”
As she looked me over, I got the feeling I was like an insect, under a large microscope. It wasn’t a very nice feeling.
“Uh, yeah, my name’s Amanda Roberts.”
She sniffed and looked down at the desk, searching for something. She finally pulled out a folder and ruffled through it, finally pulling out a piece of paper. “My name is Mable. You’ll be in room…forty-seven.” It seemed as though she shuddered, but then her face became normal again. “That’s on the second floor, on the right from the main stairs. Here is your key. I trust you will not lose it.” She said as she handed me a very old fashioned key. She looked at me as though I were going to lose it the second she turned away.
I tried to smile, to reassure her. “I won’t lose it, I promise.”
She raised an eyebrow as if I were incapable of this, but she merely said “Breakfast and dinner are provided. Breakfast is at nine and dinner is at seven. All other information will be in your room. Any questions?”
“Yeah, just one. Are there many guests with children here? You see, I’m a writer and it would be nice if it weren’t too loud.”
She sniffed again and said “I detest children. There aren’t any here.”
I was surprised. “Really?”
She leaned a little closer to me and said “Do I look like I would make up silly stories simply to amuse the likes of you?”
I quickly shook my head and she pulled back, her face now in a grimace-smile. “Good.”
With that, she turned on her heel and walked back to the door that she had come out of. She opened it, took one last look at me, and then went inside, slamming the door.
I looked down at the key in my hand and then picked up my suitcase. I walked over to the main stairs and started walking up, looking at all the paintings and statues as I did. There were a good many of them, but most were very old and falling apart.
When I got to the top of the stairs, I turned right and started walking down the hallway, looking at the numbers on the doors until I came to room forty-seven. Sticking the key into the very old looking lock, I gave it a twist and door opened with a loud creak. I walked in and looked for a light switch.
But I simply couldn’t find one. I searched all along the walls with my fingers, until I crashed into the bed and groaned in pain. It was much too dark outside now for the window to be any help. I slowly limped over to the door again and looked out, hoping to see another guest and ask if they knew where the light switch was.
“You won’t find one.” Said the voice of a little girl. I whirled around and gasped. Standing in front of me, in the middle of my room, was a girl who seemed to be about seven or eight. She was wearing a very old fashioned white dress, one that was covered with ribbons, bows and lace. She had on white shoes, with little heels on them. Her hair was done up into two pigtails, tied with dark ribbons. Her skin was very pale, as though she’d never gone outside before. She smiled at me impishly.
“I won’t find what?” I asked as I continued to stare at her. She giggled and I noticed that she was carrying a very old porcelain doll that had half of its’ face missing. I shivered a little.
“A light switch.” She said with a grin. I tried to remain calm, but she was seriously starting to freak me out.
“O-oh? And why not?”
She swayed on her toes, back and forth. “Because there isn’t one. Not in this room. There never has been. But there is a lamp. I’m Felicity, by the way.” She said as she pointed behind her, to a desk that I hadn’t seen before. There was an old lamp sitting on it.
I rolled my eyes. “It would be my room that has no lights.” I muttered as I walked towards the lamp and lit it with one of the matches I found beside it. It actually shed a lot of light, which I was grateful for. I turned around, saying “What else should I know about this room?”
But she wasn’t there. I looked around, wondering if she was hiding somewhere in the room, but there was no where to hide. I frowned. This is ridiculous. A child couldn’t have left so quietly, especially one wearing those shoes. Besides, Mable said there weren’t any children around here! What’s going on?
I shook my head, trying to clear my mind of it all. Maybe I’m just jet lagged. I started to unpack and then I lay down on the creaky old bed, blowing out the lamp.
It had started to rain and it pattered against the large window. I shivered from the cold that it brought and burrowed into the blanket. But I was still cold. In fact, I was freezing now. I sneezed and tried to wrap the blanket around myself, hoping it would help.
I must have dozed off, because there was suddenly a flash of lightning and then a clap of thunder. I sat up, looking around. I could have sworn I had heard something else during the thunder.
Yes, there it was again. It was like…I strained to hear it…footsteps. Shoes against a wooden floor. I frowned and looked around, but I still saw nothing unusual. I looked at the floor and gasped.
There was no wooden floor. The floor was covered by thick carpet. Getting up and pulling the blanket around myself like a shawl, I walked to the door and opened it. The hall was covered in the same carpeting. I walked down the hallway and saw that the stairs were the same.
I ran back to my room as another flash of lightning appeared. My teeth were chattering together as I sat down on the bed. Something was wrong, I could just feel it.
“I can seeeee youuuuuu.” Whispered a voice. I jumped up, eyes wide with fright.
“Who’s there?” I whispered back, feeling very frightened and wishing I were back home.
More footsteps, and then I saw a tall, skinny dark figure appear in the far corner of my room. It seemed to be a man, all dressed in black. His hair was black, he wore black gloves, a black suit and black shoes. Only his face was pale, as pale as snow.
He looked up and I tried not to scream. He had no eyes. Instead, there were only empty eye sockets, filled with a burning blackness that seemed to draw me in.
“Leave!” He hissed at me, walking closer.
“Go away!” I said, shivering violently. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him, no matter how hard I tried. “Please, leave me alone!”
He grinned, a menacing grin that showed all his teeth. “Never.” He whispered, still coming closer.
“Leave me alone!!” I screamed, finally hiding my face in the blanket.
I heard a giggle and then little feet. “Oh, leave her. She’s wasn’t mean to me, after all. Not like the old lady.” It was the voice of the little girl from earlier. I looked up and saw her standing in front of the man. She was looking up at him, smiling and clutching her broken doll. She giggled some more as she turned to look at me.
“This is my room, you see. That’s why daddy doesn’t want you here.”
“What?” I whispered, trying to understand what was happening. Maybe I was dreaming. Maybe I had just been so tired that my subconscious was feeding me very silly dreams. I mean…this couldn’t be real, could it?
“We are very real.” Said the tall figure, still grinning at me with his death grin at me. I wanted to scream but the scream seemed to be lodged in my throat. The little girl danced in place, giggling. “I'll let you stay in my room tonight. But only tonight.”
I was very weak as the tall man started to simply dissolve into nothing. All that seemed to remain were the black eye sockets, forever staring. I wanted to cry but I couldn’t even do that. “Please…” I whispered, but I wasn’t even sure what I was asking for.
The little girl giggled more, louder this time. “Would you like to see something?”
I shook my head no, just wishing this were all over. She scowled and stomped her foot. “Well if you want to be allowed to stay in my room tonight, then I’m going to show you anyway.”
Unable to look away from her, I was filled with horror as she unbuttoned the top most button on her dress, and showed me her throat. In contrast with her white skin, there was a long, horizontal red line across her throat. As I watched, it started gushing blood and it all ran down the front of her white dress. She laughed even more at the look on my face. I felt positively sick as she started bleeding all over, and then her skin seemed to melt away as well.
Now, standing before me, was a little skeleton, still wearing the white dress. I noticed that one of the black ribbons from the dress seemed to be missing, which I thought was rather odd. But then I looked back at her face, a mere skull, grinning the grin of death.
“You’ll never guess who did it!” Said the skull, the teeth knocking together. And then she simply disappeared.
I sat there for what must have been hours, shaking and mentally wailing. But I couldn’t make a sound, I was so frightened. I finally lay down and hid inside the blanket, until I fell asleep.
Several birds were singing when I opened my eyes again. I looked around and saw that the sun was streaming through the window. There wasn’t even a hint of the storm from last night.
I got up and stretched. It must have been a dream. Just my over active imagination at work.
I got dressed and was about to go down to breakfast when I tripped over a small rug that was resting on the carpet. My tripping over it had caused the rug to move a little, and I thought I saw something underneath. Pulling the rug away, I gasped.
There, on the carpet, was a dark red stain of some sort. I found that I was shaking again, but I tried to stop. I quickly covered the stain with the rug and stood up, trying to compose myself.
Grape juice or something like that. Of course. I reassured myself as I walked downstairs to the dining hall. Nothing more, nothing less. It couldn’t be…blood.
Before I could go into the dining hall, however, Mable came out of nowhere and scared me. “Girl. I must speak with you.”
“Um…okay then.”
She walked closer and said “One of the guests in room forty-six has said that she smelled something like gas last night. I’m sure there’s a gas leak in your room, or somewhere near there, so you’ll have to move to another room.”
“A gas leak?”
She nodded, and as she did, I noticed something that I hadn’t before. Around her throat, Mable wore a choker made of black ribbon. I frowned, sure that the ribbon looked familiar to me.
Felicity’s dress. It was one of her ribbons.
“You’ll never guess who did it!” I felt sick as I stared at the ribbon.
Mable made a little noise with her throat and said “Well, that was all I wanted to say.”
She turned to go, but I caught her arm and asked her “Who was Felicity?”
Something flashed in her eyes, but then it was gone. “Who?” She asked, sounding entirely sincere. I shook my head and said “Never mind. But…I don’t think I'll be staying another night.”
She looked at me for a moment, and then started to grin in a way that reminded me of the tall man. “That’s probably best.”
End
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