The year was 2011 in early November, and my class and I had just finished spending a few fun days at a nearby research facility as part of our school program.
It was time to go home.
But first, we had one last treat on our plate - we were going to go to a supermarket, buy some food, and spend the night at a motel, and the next day we were going to go on a cave tour.
We were on Vancouver Island - it was already snowing by then, surprisingly. The snow fell in pretty, silver flakes down from the inky skies, illuminated in the dark night.
Stopping at a local Safeway, everyone scrambled out with their allotted spending money to buy ingredients for dinner that night, and breakfast and lunch the following day, as according to their roommates.
Me and Mango were together in a room with three other girls, who will go by the name of Mizu, Minnie, and Roly.
We went our separate ways - me and Mango knowing that i had secretly brought along several packets of Mr. Noodles, so we went snack-shopping for breakfast and lunch; what Mango bought i no longer remember, but i remember getting a sports drink for breakfast and a Lunchable for lunch, and of course, lots of sweets ;)
Mizu, Minnie, and Roly went their own way to get their own foods.
We met up back on our schoolbus and we sped off towards the motel we were going to stay at for the night, and we received our room number eagerly and went scrampering off to find it.
Now, it wasn't a bad motel - a little bit run down, a little bit dark, not what i'm used to. The building appeared to be arranged in a squarish U-shape, and we were on the second floor. There was a balcony.
The teachers told us that aside from a couple, the manager informed them that there was nobody else staying the night, but regardless, to keep quiet and be respectful. (not that we couldn't be - the schoolteachers were known for taping the students' door to make sure there are no secret midnight expeditions that will bring harm to the school's reputation. #rollseyes )
Anyway, Mango, Mizu, Minnie, Roly and I went to our room, creaking open the door and peeking in.
It wasn't a bad room in general.
It was a drab colour and the lighting was dark. There were two beds, a TV, a mirror, a small bathroom, and a kitchen as well, so we couldn't really complain.
Known for being both paranoid and a huge scaredy cat, the room made me uncomfortable, but i knew that it'd be okay.
My friends were there.
I could at least take a quick shower and sleep a few hours. (at the time i still had insomnia so it was difficult to fall asleep and i'd often wake up in the middle of the night).
As due to group fear we turned the TV around and put the mirror on the floor, negotiating that Roly would sleep on the ground while Mango and I, and Mizu and Minnie, would share the beds.
Eventually as we settled down and prepared to cook dinner, the teachers came knocking on the door and asked us to switch rooms with the boys next door, since there were two of them and five of us.
We agreed eagerly (a bigger room!) and set out to the next room.
And indeed, it was bigger - there was a main room, wide open space, a small closet area, a small bathroom, and even another bedroom. two TV's this time instead of one, and another mirror on the wall.
The same drab colours and dark lighting greeted us.
My roommates seemed glad to get a new, bigger room, but a chill ran through me.
I didn't like this room.
I'm not sure if it was the wide open space or the room itself, but i felt uneasy even standing on the other side of the threshold. I didn't want to go in.
But regardless, i had to.
I smiled uneasily at my friends who stopped to see what was wrong with me, and followed them in.
The teachers closed the door behind us, with a slam that made me jump, and then we quickly settled, putting our suitcases down, and pulling out all the ingredients we needed for dinner.
Casual conversation commences - all the average girl talk, about dinner, about boys, about school.
Although we are all sitting in the sitting area with Mizu and Minnie making dinner (Roly went to take a shower, Mango and I were just sitting there), i still had the same uneasy feeling.
Somewhere along the line, me and Mango (although primarily me) became really paranoid, so we took the mirror off the wall, and put it on the ground. and then we wheeled the TV into the other room. and we flipped all the chairs so that they were facedown on the ground.
Mind you, this was right before bedtime.
And then for reasons unknown, Roly decides to whine at Mango to sleep in the other room with her, so i'm in the outer room by myself, in my own bed. (of course, Mizu and Minnie were there too, but they were sharing a bed).
by this point i knew i wasn't getting a wink of sleep that night.
(and for the matter, Roly coercing Mango into sharing with her seemed to backfire in the long run. Awhile back Mango rolled her eyes and condescendingly talked about 'that time that she bunked with Roly')
Anyway, we flick the lights off (with the exception of the one in the bathroom) and i borrow a phone charger from Mizu, since i know i won't be sleeping and there is surprisingly WiFi.
Everyone cuddles up, and go to sleep.
The room is plunged into silence and darkness, save for the sound of me rolling around, unable to sleep, and the glow of my iPod screen.
Late into the night (around 1:30), i start blinking off, exhausted, the week's worth of exploring, fangirling, and physical activity finally catch up to me. But my imagination is going wild, and i'm starting to hallucinate (or strongly imagine) dark shapes in the room, shadows flitting across the walls, so i can't sleep.
I painfully nap in intervals of "sleep 2 minutes" and "wake 5 minutes," all while being fearful that if i turned my head the wrong way a face would appear at the side of my bed.
Time passes painfully slowly, and sometime at 3:00, as i am finally, finally, drifting off to sleep, i hear footsteps outside my bedroom door.
I wake up, eyes wide, and look towards the source of the footsteps, but since the curtains are drawn shut, i cannot see who is making all those irritating sounds.
The footsteps escalate into the sounds of a lot of people running past my window, continuously, not stopping.
I'm tempted to open the window curtains to see who is disturbing us, but clearly it isn't loud enough to wake up my roommates, and besides, i was scared of seeing something i didn't want to see. There wasn't anyone at the motel, we were told. so who could it be? not our students, at least i didn't think so - the school would be mad if it were.
The footsteps show no sign of letting up, so i just try to ignore them. Slowly, they fade away as i fade into unconciousness.
I'm woken up again by the same sound of footsteps, this time seeming to run in the opposite direction.
I ignore it.
Sleep for a few minutes.
The next time i get up, i look blearily at my iPod. it's 4:30.
I decided that i'll play games on my iPod until 5:00, then i'm waking up, and do so.
next morning we get dressed, no one seems to notice anything amiss. we pack our things and eat our breakfast, casual conversation once again littering the air, and then we finally open the door to a blanket of fresh, fluffy snow, and pick our way down to our meeting spot.
(lucky i wore boots - no wet socks for me!)
Mango and i return to our usual seating (together), Mizu and Minnie go their ways, and Roly sits near Mango and me.
Nobody said anything more of that motel.
Seems that i was the only one as freaked out as i was.
To date, i'm still scared thinking of it.
It may not seem like much when talking of it, but in that moment, i was scared out of my wits.
Who was making those sounds? why?
Was the entire night's fears a byproduct of our telling scary stories to each other, or would it have happened even if it didn't?
Maybe it was just that my nerves were still riled up from the previous night - seeing that i had run screaming through the forest with Mango on my arm, to get to our cabin. Slamming through the doors to barrel into Ke. (one of my many past and current crushes).
Mango said it was the thrill of the situation - that i wanted to be rescued by Ke. (i agree but nonetheless)
But i say that no, that's not it.
It was …
just a very strange motel experience.
Hi all! So it's Tuesday and here's my post! <3
I was talking about ghosts and reading horror stories last night and i thought to share this one. It's not as cohesive as a lot of other stories i have of creepy encounters, but it was the most baffling.
I hope you enjoyed it - I'll probably have more of these up in the future :)
I do love scary things, after all, especially scary stories! whoo! <3
So stay with me, onegai~! <3
~DoReMi~
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