A woman’s car breaks down while traveling and she ends up staying the night at a motel in a small town. The locals believe the motel is haunted, but the woman is a skeptic who doesn’t believe in the paranormal.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” I screamed as I smacked the steering wheel with both hands.
I’d been driving for about five hours when my exhaust started to smoke really bad. I was able to safely coast to the side of the highway and had to pull up maps on my phone to double check where the hell I was.
After about 10 minutes of looking up towing companies that were near my location, I finally got in touch with one that said they could be here within the hour, and that the tow driver would drop me off at the only motel in their town since it was on the way to the repair shop.
Depending on what the issues were, they should have the car ready to go by sometime early morning. Worst case scenario, I’d be stuck there for a few days while I waited for a car part or something, but I wasn’t really that upset at the thought of it because then I’d be missing a family reunion I wasn’t really excited about anyway. I had a work trip planned for after the reunion was finished, and I was more worried about missing that.
I’d been sitting in the driver’s seat on my phone with the windows down. I turned on the radio to see what was on and it was nothing but local farming news, country and pop stations. I turned it off after scanning through all of the channels three times, and looked over at the cornfield through the passenger window, watching as the cornstalks slightly swayed in the wind.
It would be nice to go over and touch those, I thought. I have nothing better to do.
I got out of the car and walked over to the field. The corn was taller than I was, just like when I was a child, and it took me back to when I’d visit my grandparents. I reached out and grabbed an ear of corn and began peeling back the husk, pushing my nails between the corn kernels to try and get all of the white hair-like strands out of it. I heard a loud, heavy engine coming up over the hill behind me and saw the tow truck when I turned around.
The driver pulled over on the side of the road and slowly backed up to the car. A tall, slender middle aged man stepped out of the truck and walked over with his left hand out.
“Hey, you must be the one they sent me out here for. My name’s Derek.” I took his hand and gave it a shake.
“Yeah, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. My name’s Haley.” I smiled.
He held my hand for a little too long before stepping back and saying, “Alright, well let’s take a look and get this going! You can either sit in the cab up front and wait, or you’re welcome to stand out here and watch the show.” He winked. “If you need something from the car, please grab it now.” I decided to wait in the cab, so I quickly grabbed my purse and phone from my car and hopped in the passenger seat of the tow truck.
I swiped through social media on my phone while Derek worked and he was done after about 30 minutes. He got in the driver’s seat, turned the truck on, and we started our way down the highway.
“So, you’ve got out of state plates. What are you doing all the way out here?” Derek asked while still watching the road.
“Well, I was on my way to visit family for a few days before flying out for a work trip to Colorado. I work in IT and have worked for a bank for a few years, but they’re having some kind of in-person conference and everything will be paid for, so that’ll be fun.”
“Well that sounds exciting and slightly boring. Make sure to order room service or something.” He turned to look at me and winked.
Gonna be a long drive if this man keeps winking at me. Maybe I should ask if something’s wrong with his eye.
“I’ve lived around here my whole life. Towing company is owned by my dad and it’s been a family business for 23 years now. My sister works the phones and said you’d be staying at the motel in town. You happen to have a gun on you?” He looked over at me for a second before looking back at the road.
“Um… no? I don’t own a gun. But I have a taser in my purse.” I felt around for it in my purse and pulled it out to show him. “Should I be concerned that you’re asking me this?”
He gripped the steering wheel tight and sighed before saying, “Well, I just mean, a pretty girl like you probably shouldn’t be alone in this town. It’s small. They aren’t too friendly to many outsiders.”
“Well, that sounds ominous as fuck.” I pursed my lips together and watched the sunset over the cornfields and farmhouses we drove by. “I think I’ll be okay, but thank you for the heads up.”
“Have you happened to look up the motel at all?”
“Actually, I did after talking with your sister on the phone. A two-star motel in the middle of nowhere. I hope I don’t bring home any bedbugs, but then I guess it’ll be nice to not be sleeping alone.” I scoffed.
“Bedbugs will be the least of your worries. There’ve been a handful of assaults and murders there within the last three years. Mostly drug deals gone wrong involving people from out of town. There are also rumors about it being haunted.”
I glanced over at him and laughed, “Ghosts? Give me a break. The drug deals and murders sound intimidating, but I think I’ll be okay. It’s just for the night, anyway.” I sighed as I clutched my purse in my lap.
“Let’s hope you’re right. We’re pulling up now.” Derek said as we passed a town sign that read “Welcome to Mesquite. Population 57.”
I thought maybe Derek was exaggerating when he said the town was small, but I guess he was serious. The downtown area couldn’t have been more than 5 miles wide. We passed a post office, a small general store, and then the motel.
The motel was a typical dated motel in the middle of nowhere, with a rusty vacancy sign out on the street. I’m definitely going to sharing a bed with bedbugs and roaches tonight, I thought.
Derek parked the tow truck near the office entrance and said, “Here we are. I’ll walk you into the lobby.”
“Hey, I actually forgot my suitcase in the trunk of my car. Would you mind grabbing that for me? Sorry.” I asked.
“Yeah, no problem at all. Just wait in here while I grab that.”
I checked my phone while Derek grabbed the suitcase from the car. I had two missed calls from my mother. She’s going to be so worried for me. I’ll just call her in the morning and let her know I’m okay. Honestly don’t feel like listening to her frantic voice right now.
I heard a knock on my window and looked up from my phone to see Derek holding up my suitcase, pointing at the front of the motel. I put my purse over my shoulder and hopped out of the tow truck, following Derek up to the front door.
The office was extremely dated, but looked mostly clean. A petite woman in her 40s sat at the front desk and was listening to 90s pop music and scrolling through her phone.
“Hey Derek!” She smiled and perked up in her seat. “What’s going on with ya?”
“Hey Lola, this gal here needs a room for the night.” He avoided eye contact with her and sat my suitcase up on the floor by the desk.
“Hi, I’m Haley.” I said and smiled.
“Hi Haley.” Lola said with a tinge of jealousy in her voice. “How long you staying? Hopefully just the night?”
“That depends on how fast Derek can fix my car, but yeah, just for the night. For now.” I said.
These two definitely have a history together. The tension is so thick I could punch through it if I wanted to.
“Well, you’re in luck because we just cleaned our best room.” She fake smiled at me. “What payment method will you be using?”
I handed her my credit card and she began typing on her very dated keyboard. After a few minutes, she handed me my card back with a room key with the number 13 on the tag.
“Really, Lola?” Derek scoffed.
“Yes. Really, Derek.” Lola scoffed back.
“Is… there something I should know?” I looked at Derek.
Derek looked at me and said, “Room 13 has had reports of paranormal activity.”
I laughed and said, “Oh, yeah because you guys think ghosts are real around here. Got it.” I rolled my eyes, grabbed my suitcase and smiled at Lola and Derek. “Derek, thanks for the lift and I hope to hear from you tomorrow. Lola, nice to meet you.” I started to walk away before turning around and saying, “Also, whatever happened between you two… just talk it out and quit making it awkward for everyone else around you.”
I walked out of the office, shut the door firmly behind me, and glanced around the motel doors before I finally spotted room 13. I quickly walked over to the door, unlocked it with the key and walked in.
Wow, at least the a/c works well, I thought to myself. I might need to break out my sweatshirt.
I sat my suitcase on the corner chair and checked the mattress for bed bugs but didn’t see any. Thank God. I walked to the bathroom and used the toilet, but as I was leaving the room, the bathroom light above the sink turned off and back on. I looked in the other room and saw that the lamp by the bed was still on, so it couldn’t have been a power outage.
Possibly faulty wiring. This place is pretty old. I shrugged.
I walked back into the room and sat down on the side of the bed and checked my phone. It was 8:25 p.m. and I was feeling drained from the day. I should just go to bed. Maybe I’ll channel surf on the tv before I fall asleep.
I quickly changed my clothes, brushed my teeth, put my phone on the charger, and got into the bed. The sheets smelled like bleach. At least they’re clean, I guess. No blood stains like the last shitty motel I stayed at. I flipped through the channels on the tv, but I decided to just turn it off and set the remote back on the bedside table.
I fell asleep, but I don’t know how long I’d been asleep when I woke up to a strange sound. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that the television was on and it was playing static. I sat up in bed and glanced around the room to see if I could see anything with the glow of the tv, but nothing stood out to me.
What the fuck? I thought to myself. Maybe the tv has a timer on it or something. I reached over to grab the remote from the nightstand but it wasn’t where I remembered leaving it.
Maybe it fell?
I turned the lamp on and looked on the floor around the bed, tore the sheets apart looking in the bed, on the dresser, the floor around the dresser. It wasn’t anywhere. I had to go to the bathroom anyway so I got out of bed and walked to the bathroom to use the toilet.
What the fuck?! Am I going crazy?
I flipped the light on in the bathroom and noticed the tv remote sitting on the sink counter. Could I have possibly done this in my sleep? I’ve never slept walked before, but I really can’t think of any other logical explanation. I grabbed the remote and walked back over by the bed and shut it off. I pulled the tv away from the wall and unplugged the power cord from the outlet in the wall.
There. Now it can’t turn on again.
I went back to the bathroom and sat down on the toilet, and that’s when I heard soft scratching noises that sounded like they were coming from the shower. I finished on the toilet and walked over to the shower.
What if there’s someone in here messing with me? Or what if it’s just a mouse?
I grabbed one end of the shower curtain and quickly jerked it to the other side, ready to face whoever was in here with me, but the shower was empty. I stood still and held my breath to see if the scratching had stopped, but I could still hear it.
Maybe there’s someone in the unit on the other side? But what the fuck would they even be doing? I stepped in the shower and put my ear up to the wall to listen, and that’s when I heard and felt a loud bang against the wall, and it felt like it was right where I pressed my ear to the wall. I screamed as I jumped back and it felt like my heartbeat was in my throat.
Let’s say it was the person in the unit next to me. How could they have known I was against the wall? Am I being watched? I’ve heard horror stories of hidden cameras in hotels before.
“Hey, you’re really fucked up, you know that?!” I yelled and hit the wall back.
I stood quietly waiting for a response, but heard nothing. The scratching had also stopped. I stepped out of the shower and looked up at the exhaust fan for a blinking light of a camera, but I didn’t see anything. I think I should just go back to bed and try to sleep this off. Nothing I can do about this weird shit. I really hope my car’s ready by tomorrow. I walked out of the bathroom and into the main room, leaving the bathroom door open, and double checked that I locked the front door before I got back in bed.
I decided to sleep with the lamp on in case anything else weird happened again, but the light made it difficult to fall back to sleep, and I kept feeling like I was being watched, but I think I was just freaking myself out. I laid awake for about 30 minutes before I finally passed out.
I’m not really sure of the time frame, but it felt like I had only just fallen asleep when I heard a loud slam. I immediately sat up and saw that the bathroom door had been slammed shut. What the fuck?! There’s no way that wind or air did that. I got out of bed and slowly walked over to the bathroom.
The light was still on in there, and a small amount of light was visible on the floor. I knelt down on the floor, my breathing was shaky and uneven, and looked under the door with one eye. I couldn’t see anything other than the bathroom itself.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
I stood up and grabbed the doorhandle, slowly turning it so it wouldn’t make any noise. I yelled as I shoved the door open hard enough that it slammed into the wall, denting the drywall. I looked around the small bathroom and again, nothing. The room itself was empty and felt really cold.
I stood in the bathroom and leaned over the sink while my mind raced.
Maybe I actually am going crazy. I’ve heard of the condition ‘exploding head syndrome’ which is a sleep disorder where people hear a loud noise or explosive crashing sound in their head, but I know that I left the bathroom door open. I know it had to have been slammed shut.
I looked at myself in the mirror for a moment. I’m not getting any sleep tonight. What time is it? I walked out of the bathroom and grabbed my phone and it read 6:30 a.m. Maybe I should just get dressed and start my day anyway. Then my phone rang from a number I didn’t immediately recognize, but I answered it anyway.
“Hello? Haley? It’s Derek. Sorry I’m calling so early, but I finished your car late last night and didn’t want you waiting around longer than you needed to. I actually ended up having the part that you needed, so it’s your lucky day I guess.”
“Hey, I appreciate that. Seriously, thank you, Derek.” I said. Thank fuck, now I don’t have to stay here any longer.
“The tow company is less than a block away from the motel so I’ll meet you in the office and you can swing back and get your stuff.”
“Sounds great, I’ll be there in about 15 minutes.”
I changed clothes, put my hair up in a messy bun, put on my shoes and sunglasses, grabbed my purse, and headed out the door, making sure to lock the door behind me.
It took less than 5 minutes to walk to the towing company, and less than 10 minutes to sign the paperwork and pay. Derek handed me the keys to my car, we said our goodbyes, and I drove back to the motel to grab my things.
When I unlocked the door and opened it, I thought maybe I had gone into the wrong room at first. It was a complete mess with clothes strewn everywhere. Even the blankets on the bed were on the floor, and every single makeup item had been neatly lined up on the bed. I stood with my mouth wide open and shut the door. Who the hell did this?! Was anything stolen??
I started picking up the items and shoving them back into my suitcase. I saved the makeup items for last because it was creepy as hell, but I took pictures on my phone to document it. No one is going to believe that I wasn’t the one who did this.
After picking everything up and loading it into my car, I walked to the office to drop off the key. Lola wasn’t there and there was an older man in his late 60s sitting behind the desk.
“Hello there, everything alright?” He asked politely.
“Yeah… for the most part.” I smiled and handed him the key before rushing out the building and into my car. I took a few deep breaths before looking up directions to where I was headed and I had 3.5 hours of driving left.
The hours felt like days, but I found a small town gas station and bought some shitty coffee and drove with the windows down to help myself stay awake. I finally made it to my mom’s house. I had called her when I knew I was getting close and she was waiting for me on the front porch.
“I can’t believe you didn’t call me back last night!!” She said as she smacked my arm, but then pulled me in for a hug.
“I know, mom. I’m sorry.” I rolled my eyes and hugged her back.
“Come in, I’ve got lunch waiting for you.”
I sat down and ate with my mom while my dad watched tv with the volume turned up to 65. “Isn’t dad supposed to be wearing his hearing aids?” I laughed.
My mom smirked and rolled her eyes. Just then a news anchor came on screen and began talking about a murder that happened at a motel in Mesquite.
“Hey dad, can you turn it up a little more? That’s where I stayed last night.”
He turned the volume up and I could hear the news anchor more clearly, “…police have yet to identify the body of a young woman at the the Moberly Motel in Mesquite, Utah. A maid discovered the body early this morning in unit 12, and while police are limiting the information released at this time, they said the Jane Doe was found laying in the bed face down, surrounded with makeup products. A press conference will be held later today.”
“Haley! You stayed there last night?!” My mom gasped. “Dear god, I’m glad you’re okay!”
I put my hands on my thighs and looked down at the table, not really knowing what to say. I felt sick and my hearing began going in and out.
This meant that I slept in the room next to this woman’s body, and who knows how long she’d been in there. The walls were paper thin, so if the murder had happened while I was there, surely I would’ve heard something. Surely.
But maybe… maybe her spirit was trying to tell me something the whole night? The makeup products on the bed couldn’t have been just a coincidence.
But ghosts aren’t real, right?
Bailey Gaus 