Trapped in Room 217

by Thomas Kingsley Troupe

  Her brother walked into the bathroom and Jayla followed behind him. She looked around, and sure enough, the towels were nicely folded and hung back on the racks. Neither of them had done that, as they were used to throwing their towels into a hamper back home. They never thought to hang them back up.

  “Easy,” Jayla said. “The maid did it.”

  “Elizabeth?” Dion asked. “The ghost maid?”

  “No,” Jayla said, but then hesitated. “Probably the real housekeeping staff that works here now. Maybe they did it while we were in the tunnels this morning.”

  Dion shook his head.

  “Then why didn’t they make our bed?”

  Jayla turned. The bed was just as messy as it had been when they’d left earlier in the morning. If housekeeping had come in to tidy up the room, wouldn’t they have made their bed too?

  “I don’t know,” Jayla mumbled more to herself than her little brother. She remembered how her shoes had been straightened and lined up against the wall.

  Had that been Elizabeth? Was she straightening their room for them by hanging the towels up? Did she not know that her job was done here at The Stanley Hotel?

  “It’s her, isn’t it?” Dion asked. “She’s doing her chores like she still works here. How creepy is that?”

  Jayla went over and touched the towels. They were still damp from when they’d showered hours earlier, but they were nicely folded and hung as if they were fresh and clean, right off the housekeeping cart.

  “I think you’re right,” Jayla admitted. “I think she straightened my shoes when we first got here too. I thought maybe I was going crazy.”

  Dion trembled in an overexaggerated shiver.

  “I just got the chills,” he said, hopping up and down in the middle of the bathroom. “And we’ve got to be here the rest of the week? This is bananas!”

  As they headed out of the bathroom, there was a loud knock, inches from where they stood.

  Both Jayla and Dion screamed.

  Chapter 7

  Caught on Camera

  “Housekeeping,” a voice from out in the hallway said. It took Jayla a moment to catch her breath and to slow her racing heartbeat down. After a second, she realized that the real maid was there to make their beds and hang new towels for them.

  The other maid beat you to it, Jayla thought.

  “Hi,” Jayla called through the door. “Can you come back a little later?”

  “Yes ma’am,” the woman replied.

  “I almost had a heart attack,” Dion whispered, collapsing into an over-dramatic pile on the floor. “Dang.”

  Jayla let out a deep breath and nodded in agreement. They were getting a little too anxious about the whole ghost situation. And, based on what she found on the internet, they might very well be some of the only people on the planet who hadn’t known The Stanley was haunted.

  “We need to take it easy, I think,” Jayla said. “Obviously, this Elizabeth isn’t looking to hurt us.”

  “I think you’re right,” Dion said. “I think she just wants to tidy up the room a bit. I guess that’s what housekeeping or chambermaids do, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah,” Jayla said. “And maybe we’re messier guests than she’s used to.”

  Dion was quiet for a moment. Jayla could see her little brother was thinking something pretty deep by the way he was moving his mouth back and forth a bit.

  “Still,” he finally said. “I feel kind of bad for her.”

  “Why?” Jayla replied. “It sounded like she liked working here, even after the accident.”

  “Yeah, but she’s stuck here,” Dion said. “Like she can’t go wherever she’s supposed to next.”

  Jayla hadn’t thought of it that way. Maybe there was something keeping Elizabeth connected to Room 217. Maybe she was haunting the room for some reason.

  “I don’t know,” Dion said. “I wish we could help her move on or whatever.”

  Jayla thought about what she’d learned so far and everything that had happened since.

  “Well,” she said. “Maybe we can.”

  __________________

  They spent the rest of the afternoon in the room, watching TV and doing homework. When their dad finally came back, he looked exhausted and dirty from working in the mud and sludge all day.

  “Those trails are so messed up,” he said. “I’m not sure how we’re going to get it all done in a week.”

  Jayla and Dion looked at each other and raised their eyebrows at the same time. Neither of them seemed like they’d want to spend another week at The Stanley. Dad let them know he was going to take a quick shower and they’d go and find something to eat. After he closed the door, he called back to them.

  “Did you guys straighten up the bathroom? Nice!”

  Not quite, Dad, Jayla thought.

  After getting cleaned up, their dad took them back out into Estes Park to try and find somewhere to eat. They decided as good as the pizza place was the night before, none of them wanted that again.

  “We should try this restaurant a guy on the landscaping team suggested,” Dad said. “Mexican food. Supposed to be the best in town.”

  “Do they have tacos?” Dion asked.

  “It would be ridiculous if they didn’t,” Dad replied.

  They got a table and placed their orders. As they waited for their food, Dion elbowed Jayla. She shot a look at her little brother and he nodded toward their dad, who was already looking at the dessert menu.

  Dion cleared his throat, getting their dad’s attention.

  “Fine,” Jayla said. “So, Dad . . . do you know anything about The Stanley Hotel?”

  Dad looked up from the dessert menu. He had a puzzled look on his face.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well,” Jayla continued, “maybe you didn’t know this and maybe you did and didn’t want to say anything, but . . .”

  “Just say it, Jay,” Dion said.

  “The place is haunted,” Jayla said. “For real.”

  “Get out of here,” Dad said and smiled. “That paranormal stuff isn’t real. You know better.”

  “I thought I did,” Jayla said. “Until I saw a ghost maid in our room last night.”

  “What?” Her dad looked genuinely surprised. He started to laugh. “You guys are kidding, right?”

  “I saw it too, Dad,” Dion said. Dion had a serious look on his face that meant he wasn’t messing around.

  After a handful more “you’re kidding me” and a couple of “I don’t believe it,” Jayla explained everything that had happened to them. She even admitted that they’d been lost in the tunnels below the hotel. To seal the deal, she brought up the web pages she’d found with stories about their “world-famous” Room 217.

  “I don’t think you meant to do it, Dad, but we’re staying in the most haunted hotel room in the United States,” Jayla finished.

  “For a whole week,” Dion added.

  Dad sat back in his chair and blew air out of his cheeks. He almost seemed startled when the waiter brought everyone’s food a moment later.

  “How could you not know this place was haunted?” Jayla asked. “It’s supposed to be world-famous!”

  “Did you know it was haunted?” Dad asked.

  “Well, no,” Jayla admitted.

  “I don’t watch those paranormal shows,” Dad said before taking a sip of his soda. “I like action movies and home improvement channels.”

  “Yeah,” Dion groaned. “We know.”

  “Look, guys, I don’t know what to do,” Dad replied. “I mean, we’re kind of stuck.”

  Just like someone else we know, Jayla thought.

  “I don’t think she wants to hurt us,” Jayla said. “The ghosts in the basement are another story, but I think Elizabeth is just trying to do her job.”
<
br />   “Elizabeth?” Dad said, holding a forkful of enchilada in front of his face. “You’re on a first-name basis with this ghost lady?”

  “Yeah, that’s her name,” Dion said. “And we want to help her.”

  “Okaaaaay,” Dad replied. “I was pretty sure you wanted me to try and find us somewhere else to stay. Or send you home to spend the week with your Uncle Jason or something.”

  “No, no,” Jayla said. “As creepy as it is, neither of us feels threatened. We just feel sorry for her.”

  “We’re going to try and figure out how to help Elizabeth out,” Dion said.

  Somehow, Jayla thought. Some way.

  __________________

  “Do you think you’ll be able to sleep?” Dion whispered as he climbed into bed next to his sister. It was later that night, and even with the new information about the ghost maid, their dad was already asleep.

  “I’m going to try and stay up as late as I can,” Jayla said. She unplugged her phone, happy to see that it was at one hundred percent again. “I want to see if Elizabeth comes back.”

  “I’m not tired at all,” Dion whispered. “I’ll stay up with you.”

  Thirty minutes later, Dion was out cold.

  Jayla kept the lamp on for a bit, then decided she’d have better luck if it was out. She leaned over and turned the light off.

  She slid down deeper into the covers, holding her phone underneath the blankets and using her other hand to adjust the pillows. Though she had no idea if or when Elizabeth would show up, she thought pretending to sleep might help make her appear sooner.

  It didn’t.

  Thirty minutes stretched into an hour, and an hour turned into three. Jayla lost track of time and her eyes started to feel heavier by the minute.

  C’mon, Jayla thought. Don’t you need to check on the room?

  She wondered if maybe she really was losing her mind. Did she actually WANT the ghost maid to show up in their room?

  After another twenty minutes or so, Jayla’s eyes slid closed as sleep took her over. No sooner had she slipped into the first few minutes of sleep when a cold wave washed over the room. The frigid air woke Jayla, and for a moment, she wasn’t sure if she was just imagining it or if it meant Elizabeth was close.

  She’s coming!

  Jayla opened her eyes and slipped her head underneath the blankets. She quickly opened the camera app on her phone and slid the mode to VIDEO. With a quick press of the red button on screen, her phone started to record.

  She took a deep breath and poked her head back out above the covers, aiming the phone toward the bathroom door. Sure enough, she had a visitor. With trembling hands, Jayla held the camera on the ghostly maid.

  Elizabeth was dressed just as she was the night before, in her old-time maid’s uniform. Though Jayla could see that the ghost had a face, it was almost opaque and difficult to make out details. She looked at the wall as she had before. The ghost paused a moment, and something inside Jayla clicked.

  She was lighting the wall lamp . . . or at least where it used to be!

  Jayla watched through her phone, keeping her eyes partially closed to make it seem like she was sleeping. She didn’t know if the maid even cared, but as odd as it sounded, Jayla didn’t want to scare the ghost away.

  After a moment, Elizabeth turned and walked back along Jayla’s side of the bed. She paused and crouched down like she did the night before. Jayla remembered being terrified that the ghost maid was going to slip underneath their bed. Feeling a bit braver this time and wanting to keep the ghost in the frame for the video, she squirmed over to the edge of the bed. She lined up the lens so that she could see what Elizabeth was doing.

  The maid was feeling around on the ground for something. After a moment, her pale, translucent fingers closed, almost as if she picked something up. A second later, she stood, brushed her apron off, then walked through the wall, disappearing from Room 217.

  For twenty seconds more, Jayla kept the phone pointed at the wall where the ghost had gone before stopping the recording.

  She reached over and turned on the light. She was shaking, partly from fright, partly from excitement.

  It sort of makes sense! Jayla thought.

  She looked up at the wall where there might have been a gas lamp. Though it had likely been removed a long time ago, to Elizabeth it was still there.

  Jayla realized that turning the lamp off was part of the puzzle. Maybe Elizabeth didn’t think she needed to show up unless there needed to be light in the room! There was a good chance she wouldn’t show up at all if the lamp was still on.

  “Why light the room if it’s already lit?” Jayla whispered. “She’s just doing her job.”

  She looked at her phone to make sure the new video file she created was there. It was. She wasn’t sure she was ready to watch it right away, and instead, carefully slipped out of bed.

  When her bare feet touched the floor, Jayla noticed how cold it was. She stepped closer to the window, noticing that the carpet wasn’t nearly as chilly. Only where Elizabeth had walked could she feel the cold spots.

  Thinking that was another mystery to solve later, Jayla looked down at the floor where Elizabeth had crouched down. The bed cast a slight shadow over the area, but Jayla put her hand where she thought the maid had. It was definitely cold, just like the rest of the ghost path, but there was nothing there. She even used her flashlight on her phone to see if illuminating the area made any sort of difference. It didn’t.

  What did she pick up?

  Jayla pressed her fingers down on the carpet, wondering if there was something underneath it. She couldn’t feel anything, but that didn’t mean something wasn’t there. Obviously, the carpet had been changed a bunch of times since Elizabeth had worked at The Stanley. She wasn’t even sure if they had carpet back then. Maybe there were just area rugs or fancy wood floors like in other parts of the building.

  Regardless, something caught Elizabeth’s attention and made her stop, night after night.

  Jayla knew she had to find out what it was.

  Chapter 8

  Hello Lucy

  When Jayla woke up the next morning, her dad was on his way out the door. He saw her stir and paused.

  “Sorry,” he whispered. “I was hoping I wouldn’t wake you.”

  “It’s okay,” Jayla mumbled, wiping sleep from her eyes. Dion was still sound asleep next to her.

  “Did your ghost friend come back last night?” Dad asked.

  Jayla nodded. “I got her on my phone,” she whispered.

  He came over to the side of the bed, following the same path Elizabeth had hours earlier. When Jayla picked up her phone, she was surprised to find it was completely dead.

  “Let me charge it real quick,” Jayla said, confused.

  She’d charged it completely the night before in preparation for her encounter with the ghostly maid. But, like it had in the tunnels below the hotel, it seemed to have drained rapidly. Could it have been the ghost?

  “I’d love to stay and watch what you caught, but I can’t, Jay,” Dad said. “I’m running late as it is. I’ll take a look when I get back, okay?”

  He kissed her on the top of her head and walked as quietly back to the door as he could in his heavy work boots. He opened the door and paused again.

  “I left you guys some money by the TV,” he whispered. “Thought maybe you and Dion could take an official tour of the place or something.”

  “Okay,” she whispered, “Thanks, Dad.”

  Jayla smiled at him as he left, closing the door lightly behind him. Then she hopped out of bed to get ready for the day.

  Dion stirred as she dug for clothes in her suitcase. A moment later, her little brother was awake, staring at the ceiling and blinking periodically.

  “We survived another night,” Dion said.

 
; “You didn’t think we would?” Jayla asked, confused.

  “Who knows with this place?” Dion yawned and slid out of bed. “I don’t think Elizabeth would hurt us, but—”

  “But what,” Jayla interrupted. “Reuben even said there’s no way she’d do something like that.”

  “That’s true,” Dion said and then stopped halfway to the bathroom. He groaned. “Oh shoot. I was supposed to stay up with you last night, wasn’t I?”

  Jayla nodded. “You conked out pretty quickly.”

  Dion was about to speak when Jayla cut him off.

  “And yes,” she said. “I got it.”

  Dion nodded. “Cool.”

  By the time he was done in the bathroom, Jayla was dressed and waiting for him. She held up the money Dad had left them.

  “What are we doing today?” Dion asked.

  Jayla shot him a mischievous smile. “Feel like taking the tour?”

  __________________

  Jayla and Dion headed downstairs to the lobby. The front desk clerk pointed them toward the tour desk where they found a young woman in her mid-twenties sitting behind the counter. She looked up from her phone and quickly tucked it into her back pocket. Pinned to her black shirt was a Stanley Hotel nametag that said Natalie.

  “Hi,” Natalie said. “Can I help you?”

  “Yes,” Jayla said. “We’re hoping we can take the tour.”

  “I’m sorry, the ten o’clock tour has already left,” the woman said. “The next one isn’t until noon.”

  “What about the haunted tour?” Jayla asked. “Can we go on that one?”

  Natalie smiled and shook her head.

  “We only offer the Night Spirit tour, which is . . .” Natalie began.

  “. . . at night,” Dion finished, reading a sign on the counter. “Plus, you have to be ten or older to go on it. I wouldn’t be able to.”

  “Yeah,” Natalie said. “I’m sorry, guys.”

  “Being young stinks,” Dion muttered.