Strange Things Are Happening - 1. Chapter 1 - Strange Things Are Happening

My name is Colin Thurlow and I just finished attending an IT conference in Jacksonville, Florida. Elated that it was over, I hurried back to the room I’d been staying in, packed up my belongings, and checked out of the hotel. I was eager to get back to my husband, Corey, and our home in Atlanta.

Shortly after I entered Georgia on I-95, I began experiencing trouble with my car. It wasn’t accelerating properly and often just jerked along. I could also feel the engine uncharacteristically vibrating as I held onto the steering wheel and I was concerned that I might do substantial damage to the car if I continued driving to Atlanta. With that in mind, I took the next exit and began looking for a garage where I could get the problem diagnosed and repaired. The nearest city was St. Marys, so I headed there to see if someone could help me. I found a garage without much trouble, but when I told the mechanic what I needed he pointed out a problem.

“We’ve got several cars ahead of you, so it will be a while before anyone can get to your vehicle. You can either leave your car and come back later or you can spend the time in our waiting room.”

“Since I don’t live around here, I’ll have to use your waiting room.”

“Ok and we’ll let you know what we find out just as soon as we get to it.”

I waited at the repair shop until lunchtime, but when I started getting hungry, I asked the person at the counter if there was somewhere close by that I could get something to eat. He told me about a couple of places within walking distance, so I advised him that I’d be back just as soon as I’d filled my stomach.

It wasn’t a long walk to get there, but it was a very warm day, so I was grateful that the place wasn’t any farther away. After ordering my meal, I called Corey to let him know what was up and to tell him that I’d be home later than I’d anticipated. He was ok with this and just told me to drive carefully.

Once I ended the call, I had a fairly leisurely and tasty meal, and then I returned to the repair shop. When I got there, I let the guy at the counter know I was back.

“So, how was your meal?”

“It was good. Have they finished looking at my car yet?”

“Not yet, but they’ll be getting to it soon. We had a backlog of scheduled appointments ahead of you.”

I wasn’t pleased with his response, but I understood. I couldn’t expect to stop in and have my car looked at ahead of those who had made appointments, so I took my seat and continued waiting. About an hour later, the mechanic came out to speak with me.

“Your fuel injectors are badly clogged and that’s what is causing your problem.”

“I thought that might be what was wrong with it, because I was also having some minor problems with the car on my way to Jacksonville. I stopped along the way and added some fuel injector cleaner to the gas tank hoping that would take care of it.”

“Unfortunately, it probably made the situation worse.”

“Why? I thought that was what I was supposed to do.”

“It is, if you do it on a regular basis, but when your fuel injectors are already clogged it just makes the problem worse. The cleaner cleans everything along the line and then all of the debris ends up in your injectors and worsens the situation. That’s what happened in your case, so we’ll have to clean the fuel injectors thoroughly before you can be on your way.”

“How long will that take?”

“It’s already getting late in the afternoon, so we probably won’t finish the process until tomorrow morning.”

“In that case I’m going to have to spend the night, so I’ll need to get some things out of the trunk first.”

“Ok, I’ll take you back to your vehicle so you can get what you need.”

Once there, I grabbed the suitcase I’d taken on this trip, along with the portfolio I’d been given at the conference, and then I asked the mechanic another question.

“Where’s a good place to stay?”

“Normally, I would send you to the Cumberland Inn, but there’s a big religious music festival this weekend and the performers and out of town guests will all be staying there. I’m sure it means the place is booked up, so I’d suggest that you try the Riverview Hotel instead.”

“That sounds fine, so how do I get there?”

After he gave me the directions, I realized how far away it was and chose to call for a ride to get there. I probably could have walked there, but I’m sure it would have seemed a little strange that I was walking down the street while lugging my suitcase behind me. In addition to that, as I said earlier it was a warm afternoon and I’d already worked up quite a sweat just walking to where I ate lunch, so I opted for the choice that would take less of a toll on me personally.

When I reached the hotel, I headed over to the front desk so I could check in, but before I got there I spotted a stray dog walking toward me. It didn’t look vicious and was wagging its tail, so I didn’t panic, and then I heard the desk clerk speak.

“Don’t be afraid of him. That’s Coco our lobby dog and chief greeter. Would you like a room?”

“Yes, I’d like a single for the night,” I said as I reached down and petted Coco.

“Very good, and what prompted you to spend Halloween with us?”

“Damn, I can’t believe I forgot it was Halloween. No, I’m not here due to the holiday, I just need a room because my car is being worked on and won’t be ready until sometime tomorrow morning.”

“Ah, that’s not a problem. Are you familiar with the hotel?”

“Not really.”

“Then let me tell you a bit about it. This place was built in 1916 and since that time many notable people have stayed here. The list includes Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Naval Commander Chester Nimitz, Marjorie Rawlings, and more recently Willard Scott. I’ll assign you to room five.”

“Thank you,” I replied.

I was mildly shocked when he handed me an old fashion key for the room. I guess they’re keeping as many things as possible original in order to protect the building’s historical significance and value.

I went up to the room, let myself in, and looked around. The interior was quite interesting and unique. There was an antique metal framed double bed, as well as an antique wardrobe and vanity with a chair. The room also had two windows that allowed in plenty of natural light to brighten up the place. It’s safe to say that it was unlike any hotel room I’d ever stayed in before, but as unusual as it seemed, I found it quite welcoming.

As soon as I finished inspecting the place, I called Corey to let him know I wouldn’t be getting back until the following day. He was disappointed, but understood, and as soon as the call ended, I closed the horizontal blinds on the windows for some privacy and opened my suitcase so I could take out my shaving kit. I felt I needed to freshen up a bit and change before I did anything else.

After I finished taking a shower, I put on my underwear, grabbed the portfolio I’d received at the conference, and sat down in the rocking chair that was located in the corner of the room. I began jotting down a few notes about things I wanted to do when I got back and I did that until I started getting hungry again. When that happened, I finished getting dressed and headed down to the lobby.

When I’d first checked in, I noticed there was another business connected to the hotel – Seagle’s Café and Saloon. Not only could I go there to get a bite to eat, but I could also get something to drink, and I’m not talking about coffee, tea, or soda. Once I was seated, I noticed there were several families having dinner there as well and the kids were all dressed in their Halloween costumes. I conjectured they were either going trick-or-treating after they finished their meal or the city was holding a parade that the families were going to attend. When I was done eating, I moved over to the bar and downed a few more drinks before heading back to my room for the night.

When I got there, I realized my bladder was about ready to burst from the amount of liquids that I’d consumed, so I headed to the bathroom so I could relieve myself. As I was doing that, I noticed my shaving kit wasn’t where I’d left it earlier and wondered if someone had come into my room while I was away. After I finished urinating, I decided to see if I could locate the missing item. After looking around for several minutes, I discovered it had been packed away in my suitcase, along with the clothes that I’d been wearing when I first arrived here.

I also noticed that the blinds on the windows had been opened, and these discoveries made me wonder if housekeeping had stopped by and packed those things for me and opened the blinds. After thinking about it briefly, I reasoned that the housekeeping staff might have opened the blinds, but I didn’t think they would pack up a guest’s belongings. That would have opened them up to claims of stealing things from the luggage and I assumed that was most likely strictly prohibited, the same as at any of the other hotels I’d stayed at in the past. Although it seemed unlikely and a bit unusual, I considered it might have been a new hire to the housekeeping staff that had done this in an attempt to prove her competence. Since there was nothing missing, I merely put any concerns that I had out of my mind.

As I was closing up the suitcase and considering what I was going to do to pass the time, a door slammed shut and startled me. It must have been the bathroom door, since that was the only other door in the room, but there was no way a breeze could have blown it shut. I didn’t have any idea about how it might have happened, though, and while I was thinking about it I heard music coming from outside. That made me think about the Halloween parade again and I realized it must be about to start. Intrigued, I decided to go down and check it out.

I soon discovered it was a typical small-town parade with the kids dressed in their costumes and eagerly following behind the high school marching band. I also noticed there were some adults dressed in costumes as well and deduced that these individuals must be some of the parents. I assumed they were part of a family group and thought it was nice to see they were doing this as a joint effort with their children.

At the same time, it made me wonder what the members of the religious groups might be thinking about this activity, since there was a religious music festival going on. Many of the stricter religious sects still consider Halloween to be celebrating a pagan ritual, so it made me wonder why they were holding a religious music festival on Halloween weekend. That’s when I realized that All Saints Day was tomorrow and All Souls Day was the day after that, so possibly it was to honor those events instead. However, I wasn’t certain if Protestant churches celebrated those events either.

When the parade ended, the judging of the costumes began and then the prizes were awarded for the best costumes in the various categories. As soon as the festivities concluded, I went back to my room for the rest of the night.

I decided to brush my teeth first and noticed the bathroom door was open, so maybe the door I’d heard slamming shut earlier was in an adjoining room. Mentally setting that aside, I brushed my teeth and put the shaving kit back in my luggage, and then I decided to watch TV for a while before turning in. After checking the cable guide to see what was on, I decided there was nothing I really wanted to watch, so I turned to a cable news channel instead. I thought I should at least see what had been happening while I was away from home, and then I opted to turn in.

The bed proved to be extremely comfortable, and as soon as I closed my eyes I could have sworn I heard whispering. It seemed to be coming from within the room, but since this was an older building it was possible that I was merely hearing guests chatting in the rooms on either side of mine. Since I didn’t plan on eavesdropping on what they were saying, I attempted to mentally block it out and was apparently successful, because I soon fell asleep.

I’m not sure how long I’d been sleeping when I was suddenly and rudely jarred awake. That’s because it felt as if someone had bumped into the foot of the bed and it caused me to hurriedly sit up and look around to see if someone had entered my room. Although I thought I’d locked the door, it was possible that I’d forgotten, but I didn’t see anyone as I glanced around. Since I found no one else there, I was completely baffled. It certainly felt as if someone had banged into the bed, but since I was alone I thought it was possible that I’d merely been dreaming, so I attempted to go back to sleep.

Before I drifted off, however, it felt as if someone had just sat down on the mattress on the other side of the bed. Once again, I sat up to investigate, but I saw no one there. However, there was enough moonlight filtering into the room that allowed me to see a depression on the mattress and I also noticed the bedding was askew in that area. This led me to believe that a person had just been sitting there or could possibly still be there, but how could that be?

After thinking about this for a minute or two, I concluded that I might have sat on the bed previously, although I couldn’t be certain. If not, it occurred to me that I must be imagining things, so I laid down again and attempted to fall asleep. Before I did, however, the TV suddenly came on, of its own accord.

Curious, as well as startled, I got up and walked around the room to make sure no one else was there. After first checking to ensure the door to the room was locked, I looked in the bathroom to make sure there wasn’t someone hiding in there. As I was walking out of that room, the door slammed shut behind me. There was no doubt it was MY bathroom door this time, because I hadn’t shut it on the way out and it was now closed. Thinking someone might be hiding in there, I went back into the bathroom to see if I’d missed anything, but the room was as empty as before.

On my way out, I noticed the rocking chair that I’d sat on earlier in the day was rocking back and forth on its own. I couldn’t see any strings attached to it or any mechanisms that might be causing this action, so I decided to get my smart phone so I could snap a photo of it. I felt I could investigate the photo in greater detail later, when I was more awake. However, I decided to glance at the photo now to make sure I got the image I wanted.

I had used the flash to take the photo, since the room was fairly dark, and as I glanced at the screen I noticed the faint image of a woman sitting in the rocking chair. I wondered why I hadn’t seen her earlier, but then I reasoned that the flash must have reflected off of her and that was what made her visible now. It was very spooky.

Judging from her appearance and the way she was dressed, I estimated she looked to be from the first half of the 20^th century. She also appeared to be in her 60s or 70s and most likely a very prim and proper lady from that time period. This made me conjecture that she must have either been a long-term guest at the hotel or possibly an employee. She may have even worked in the housekeeping department, possibly as the supervisor, and she appeared to be fastidious enough to have been upset by the mess that I’d left in the room earlier. That probably motivated her to pack up my clothes and shaving kit in the suitcase while tidying up the room and making it presentable again. She most likely also opened the blinds on the windows.

As I studied the image further, I noticed that she seemed to be staring in the direction of the bathroom, but the image was too faint for me to make out if her expression was one of concern or fear. Even though I wasn’t certain, something had obviously drawn her attention to that area. Since the bathroom was just out of the frame, I decided to take a photo of that location as well, because I was hoping to find out what she might have been looking at.

After taking a couple of photos of the area around the bathroom, I searched the snapshots for any signs of what the woman in the rocking chair might have been looking at. No matter how long I stared at the images, I saw nothing in the photos that answered this question, so I decided to continue my investigation of the room.

I walked over to check the door to the room again to make certain it was still locked, and once I was convinced that no one could have entered or exited, I looked in the wardrobe and under the bed. I still hadn’t found anyone else in the room, so it appeared that I and the spirit of the old women were the only ones here, unless there were other spirits I couldn’t see. The more I thought about it, I assumed that was probably the case, because the old woman didn’t appear to be the type of person that would go around slamming doors. It was either that or I’d just imagined the other incidents.

The more I thought about it, I concluded there had to be other spirits in the room, because I certainly hadn’t imagined the TV coming on. In fact, it was still on, so I walked over and turned it off. While I was doing that, I noticed the bathroom door was opening and closing on its own again, but it wasn’t slamming shut or banging against the wall as it opened. I couldn’t understand why it was doing this, but since I was still holding my smart phone, I took a couple more photos to see if I would capture anything. When I examined those images, nothing appeared in any of the photos that would explain what was causing the bathroom door to move on its own, so I tried to think of other reasons why this was happening.

Could this possibly be a trick room where things were rigged to move on their own or were ghosts responsible for these activities? I’ve always considered myself a skeptic when it came to the paranormal, but now that I’d seen the old lady in the photo, I couldn’t stop asking myself if spirits were responsible for what had been going on. If not, was it possible that there might be another explanation for everything that had been happening? Try as I might I couldn’t think of anything else that would explain what had been occurring, so the spirits had to be doing it.

I crawled back into bed, but I stayed awake for several more minutes as I thought about the various things that had been taking place until I finally drifted off to sleep. I can’t say how long I’d been asleep before I woke up again, but this time it was because the lights in the room had suddenly come on. I knew that I’d turned them off after I had searched the room for an intruder, because I can’t fall asleep when there are lights on. In fact, it was the lights coming on that woke me up in the first place.

I merely got out of bed and turned off the lights again, but as I was getting into bed the lights began to flicker on and off. I thought there might possibly be a short in the wiring, but when I looked at the light switch I could see it going up and down, which meant someone or something was doing this. Since the hotel was so old, it was possible that multiple ghostly visitors remained in the room and were now doing these things to frighten me.

After I got back into bed, I continued considering this possibility. Needless to say, I found it even more difficult to fall asleep with the lights repeatedly blinking on and off. After a while, however, my weariness overtook me and I made the journey into the Land of Nod. I’m not sure how long I’d been asleep before I woke up once again, but this time it was due to the fact that I was having difficulty breathing. In fact, it actually felt as if someone had his hands wrapped around my throat and was trying to strangle me.

Without thinking about what I was doing, my upper body bolted upright and I sat up in bed gasping for air. If a ghost had been trying to strangle me, my sudden action must have ended its endeavor, but it didn’t matter – I’d had enough. I threw back the bedding, hopped out of bed, and started putting on the same clothes that I’d been wearing earlier.

This action must have angered the spirit that had been trying to choke me, because before I finished dressing I felt a sharp blow from behind as it landed to my right kidney. The spirit must have punched me there in anger, but it was enough to cause me to stop what I was doing as I dealt with the pain. Once I collected myself, I finished getting dressed, grabbed the portfolio and my suitcase, which was already packed, and headed toward the door.

Before I got there, however, the chair that had been setting at the vanity suddenly slid in front of me and temporarily blocked my path forward. Obviously, the spirit didn’t want me to leave. As I moved the chair out of the way, I heard a low, rumbling growl, but I couldn’t tell if it had come from an animal, a human, or if it was demonic. It didn’t matter, though, because it had scared the crap out of me and I wasn’t about to wait around to see what had caused it.

I opened the door and swiftly walked down the hallway as I headed to the lobby. On the way there, I considered everything that had just happened. I was convinced that it wasn’t the old lady who tried to strangle me, because she didn’t look strong enough to do it. That growl certainly hadn’t emanated from her throat either, since it was too low and threatening, so there had to be another spirit or spirits in the room as well.

As I strode up to the front desk, I told the night clerk that I wanted to check out. He looked at me oddly before he spoke.

“It’s only 5:00 a.m. and the complimentary breakfast won’t be served for another hour.”

“I don’t care. I think there’s a ghost or two in the room I was staying in and I don’t wish to remain here any longer.”

“You mean that no one told you about this hotel?”

“Just that it was old and important people had stayed here.”

“And that’s all they told you?”

“Yes! What else should they have told me?”

“That this hotel has a reputation of being haunted. I think the staff must have assumed that everyone checking in yesterday were here because they wanted to see if they would encounter any spirits and have a paranormal experience. Apparently, you weren’t one of them.”

“No, I wasn’t. I didn’t know about any of that information, but there’s no doubt I encountered a spirit or two while I was here. In fact, I think one tried to kill me, so I’m checking out.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, because I’ve never heard any other reports of a ghost attempting to kill someone. In fact, the ghosts have never tried to do any harm to any of the staff or guests. They merely pull harmless pranks on them. What other experiences did you have?”

I quickly recounted everything that had happened to me, at least as many things as I could remember.

“Then one of the other guests must have summoned other spirits into the hotel or opened a portal last night, because no one has ever reported being strangled or hearing growling before. The spirits are typically just playful and do things like turning the lights on and off or opening and closing doors, but nothing that would harm anyone. That’s why some of our guests come here to experience those types of encounters.”

“I experienced a few of those as well.”

“I’m not sure, but it sounds like we’ve either gained a few more spirits or our normal spirits were more active and aggressive than usual, possibly because it was Halloween. Would you like to try another room?”

“No, I just want to leave.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, and since you had such an unpleasant evening and are leaving early, I won’t charge you for your stay.”

“I appreciate that.”

After I checked out, I wondered what I was going to do next, since the repair shop wouldn’t be opening for a few more hours. I considered staying in the hotel lobby until I could pick up my car, but I wanted to get out of that building as quickly as possible.

After leaving there, I walked down the street looking for someplace to grab a bite to eat, but the sign on the door of the only restaurant I found stated that it wasn’t scheduled to open until 6:00. I already knew the repair shop wouldn’t open until 8:00, so I found a place to sit down as I waited for the restaurant to open.

As soon as the doors were unlocked, I went inside and had breakfast, along with several cups of coffee. I felt the coffee might help me stay awake on the ride back to Atlanta, since I hadn’t gotten much sleep the previous night. When I finished my meal, I considered calling for a ride to the repair shop, but then I figured I still had quite a bit of time to kill, so I chose to walk there instead. I’m sure the people who saw me must have thought it odd that I was pulling my suitcase behind me as I walked down the street, but I didn’t care. I merely wanted to get my car and leave this place as quickly as possible.

I had to wait at the repair shop for another hour before my car was ready, and after I paid the bill, I headed home. This was one Halloween that I wouldn’t soon forget and it wasn’t an experience that I wanted to repeat. I also hoped that none of the spirits had attached themselves to me or were following me back to Atlanta, because I never wanted anything to do with them again. I never wanted to spend another night in St. Marys, even if I stayed at another hotel.

THE END