Haunted Hotel - Remake

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

"Relax..." said the Night Man....

"We are Programmed to Receive..."

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A large hotel sits on a silent interstate, often forgotten and hardly traveled upon. On the outside and even on the inside, the hotel appears to be normal. Yet this place harbors a dark secret...

In the fifties, it burnt down, killing most of those staying within its walls. Some people managed to escape but many lost their lives to the fire. The area and the location was forgotten and the old, burnt down hotel was kept a secret.

It's a mystery on how the hotel had been rebuilt. Or why it was rebuilt, though one step inside and it seems like you've traveled back in time to the fifties. You're happily greeted by a friendly desk clerk and the prices are pretty cheap. A bellhop collects your bags and it's rumored the beds are so comfortable and are cleaned everyday.

What people don't know, is this is merely a trap for the living. The souls of those who died desire to live again and haunt this hotel. Many people are swept into its alluring doors, only to find themselves trapped forever, with no means of escape. Women instantly become pregnant because the ghosts desire to be reborn and even a few of the pregnant poltergeists possess women, forcing them to bear their child and take over their bodies.

It's a nightmare, with a strange, wonderful twist. Slowly, after the night ends, new life leaves the hotel. Whether they possess someone or become reborn.

You are weary and come across a beacon of hope along the highway of a forgotten interstate. Though, your peaceful dreams may not be as peaceful as you hope them to be, the moment you step into these doors....

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"You can check out anytime you like..."

"But you can never leave..."

 

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Character Creation

Profile Skeleton:

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Personality:
Why you chose to stay for the night?:
*Possessed?:
Small Bio:
Appearance: (between spoilers or describe. Anime style preferred please)

*Possession*:
Not everyone can get possessed by a ghost. I figure more on the lines of the women than anything else. When you are possessed, the ghosts are from the past, so have fun with it. This isn't spinning heads or puking everywhere either. This is sudden change in appearance, (if you're possessed by a pregnant ghost), and personality. Have fun with this. Give your character a split personality, or have your original character try to fight for control. ^^

For those that desire to be ghosts:

Name:
Age when you died:
Gender when you died:
Personality:
Pregnant?: (Optional)
How many/how far along?: (Optional)
Small Bio:
Desired Mortal to possess: (name of the character you're going to possess/take over their body and control/ect)
Appearance: (think 50's. Or something that isn't modern day. ^^; description or picture if you can find one.)

Players can have a ghost and a mortal if they want to. :3 It's up to them. ^^ Men can be possessed too. Though they can't become pregnant. ^^;

Women are the only ones that can become pregnant with ghosts that choose to be reborn. How many you want is up to the person but try not to go too overboard. ^^;

Love can and will happen too, even if it's a ghost that loves another character when the mortal doesn't. xD lol

Experiment and have fun with this. :3 Just make/post your profiles here.

Also, try to give birth and have families in this rp. The hotel kind of traps people in and they're given big enough rooms to live in/raise children in. You can have a ghost character who died close to birth and then later possess a woman, who instantly grows close to birth and such.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Character Profiles

Humans:

Name: Kanna Kakimari
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Personality: serious, kind, aloof
Why you chose to stay for the night?: She is from Japan and is visiting friends in the US and decided to stay at the hotel on her way there, to break up the long journey.
*Possessed?: yes
Small Bio: Kanna came to Japan to visit some friends and now she finds herself at a strange hotel set in the 1950s. Curious, she decided to explore and see what's going on with this bizarre place.
Appearance: Oni Kanna

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Name: Saffron Catherine Beckett
Age: 25
Gender: female
Personality: sweet - often puts others first and gives thoughtful gifts, a little shy until she gets to know people, creative - enjoys making homemade things (baking, sewing and crafting) or finding solutions to problems with what’s available, gentle - loves animals and children, fun-loving - tries to find fun things to do with people, optimist - tries to find the silver lining in the storm clouds, well mannered, a food lover (cooking and eating it) she loves to try foods from other countries, tolerant and patient (takes a lot to push her over the edge), forgiving, neat (likes things tidy and clean), family oriented, generous with her time and money to help others, loyal to her partner and friends.
Flaws: sometimes she is childish, immature, silly, or innocent/naive and can be self absorbed or selfish sometimes, like we all do. She is a little vain with her appearance as she’s insecure about looking her best and fears ageing. She’s also clumsy (drop things, bump into things etc.), and can be spacey/have her head in the clouds. Sometimes she lacks common sense or good judgement and can be very gullible. She’s a people pleaser and tries not to rock the boat. This means she can be TOO submissive and timid and get pressured into saying yes to things when she means no. She’s a coward when it comes to scary things. Often loses items.
Why you chose to stay for the night?: She was on the way to meet up with her fiance and his family and spend a month getting to know them on their annual family holiday, before she and Jaxon start planning their wedding. Unfortunately, her car had some unexpected, mysterious, mechanical issues and broke down right outside the hotel. Tired after a long day of driving, Saffron decided it wouldn’t hurt to stay the night. She didn’t want to fall asleep at the wheel and crash, after all. But she was in a hurry to reach her beau and his family to meet his parents and siblings in person. Still, it couldn’t be helped. She grabbed her bags and her phone, placing a quick call to Jaxon to let him know where she was staying before going inside.
*Possessed?: Not straight away but it will happen
Small Bio: Saffron grew up with an older sister and younger brother plus her mom and dad. She has had a fairly average school life and got good enough grades and some close friends over the years, especially from the clubs she was in during school. She gets along well with her family and is very close with them. She gets along well with most people. She wasn’t sure what career she wanted to pursue, so tried out different jobs after highschool, ranging from working in a florist and gift shop, to doing hospitality, to pet sitting and babysitting, which eventually led to her doing a certificate 3 course in early childhood care in order to hopefully work in daycare one day as a nursery teacher. She looks up to her older sister a lot, who has married successfully and seems to have the perfect life with her two children and is popular on social media. Her brother meanwhile, is taking over the family business and working with their parents at their plant nursery and garden shop. Saffron is trying to make her place in the world, and she hopes that the man she met at college is going to be the right one, and someone she can have a lasting relationship with. However, she is not sure what’s in store with the mother and father in law, and the sister in law. She has yet to find out. She definitely doesn’t want to be late to the holiday and form a bad impression. And being impregnated by a ghost? No one would believe her!
Appearance: Saffron

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Name: Finn Shepherd
Age: 28
Gender: male
Personality: calm, quiet, laid back, patient, kind, warm, reliable, honest, brave, supportive, creative, art lover and bookworm, eco-friendly, cat lover, a bit introverted, otaku (likes anime, manga, Japan etc.)
Why you chose to stay for the night?: Coming back from a trip where he was promoting his new fantasy novel, Finn was feeling tired and looking for the nearest hotel to break up the long journey home.
*Possessed?: no
Small Bio: Artist, novelist and part time working as a librarian, Finn is content with how his life is going, currently. He has written several novels that became popular and makes a good income from those, as well as doing digital art commissions for people online and working part time in the local public library, usually in the children’s section. He is thinking of trying his hand at writing and illustrating children’s books next, as well as making a comic series online. Finn lives in a two bedroom apartment in the suburbs which he pays rent on every two weeks. He is an only child and has a good relationship with his parents, who have always been supportive of his dreams and interests. He didn’t move out of home till his mid 20s as he would stay and help out around the house, finally moving out once he managed to land a permanent part time job, after completing the certificate for librarian studies. His parents live about a 20 minute drive from him so they keep in touch and visit weekly or vice versa. He is a quiet introvert and keeps to himself but is friendly and nice when people interact with him. He loves the family cats at his parents’ place and wishes to adopt some of his own one day.
Appearance: white hair and silver eyes, light tan skin. Finn


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Ghosts:

Name: Mary Thompson
Age when you died: 21
Gender when you died: female
Personality: prim and proper, outgoing, religious, hardworking, faithful, feminine, domestic, a bit of a Karen, early riser, savvy consumer, loves shopping, materialistic, strong willed, stubborn, mischievous, bossy, cheerful,
Pregnant?: yes
How many/how far along?: 4, 26 weeks
Small Bio: Mary was married to the boy she loved straight out of highschool, at age 19. They tied the knot and she soon became pregnant a year or so later, much to the delight of both sets of grandparents. With regular checkups at the doctor, it was soon discovered that her stomach was big for how far along she was, and it was discovered that she was pregnant with quadruplets - a stunningly rare occurrence. She and her husband had to travel to see a specialist doctor and were staying at the hotel the night it burned down. However, this may have been a blessing in disguise, as now, being a ghost, Mary can use her supernatural powers to extend her babies’ stay in the womb to being full term, something unheard of with quads. The risk of them dying in infancy was high when she was alive, yet it is low now that she is dead. This might be the only way her babies could truly ever be born and live. She wants to take over a woman she deems suitable and raise her children now, despite the world having changed. She hopes they can find a man for the ghost of her husband to take over, so they can leave the hotel together with their possessed mortals and live the 50s American Dream life she always wanted.
Desired Mortal to possess: Saffron Beckett
Appearance: dark brown hair in a shoulder length bob cut, with spiralled curls twining inwards at the ends and a wavy curl going through the bangs at the front and the rest at the back. Two large, white, flower shaped 'diamante starburst' earrings. Light blue eyes. Makeup - foundation for pale skin, red lipstick with lip liner, a rosy blush high on the cheek, full brows with a prominent arch and dark, full lashes from mascara and eyeliner. A soft, white, billowing dress that is plenty loose for her big belly,with a large bow at the front waistline, just atop of the bump and some flat, comfortable golden tan shoes with bows at the front.

(This ghost wants to force her host to dress, live, eat, use a 50s car and make a nursery in the style of the 50s. Saffron is a pushover but does try to fight back, doing better with encouragement from her friends)

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Name: Cleotha Allen
Age when you died: 25
Gender when you died: female
Personality: hardworking, family oriented, humble, kind and caring, good sense of humour, cheerful, careful, romantic, foodie - she loves making and sharing good food with good friends and family, crafter (enjoys making things), music lover, enjoys dancing, neat, generous, good, loves children, loyal, proper
Pregnant?: yes
How many/how far along?: 2, 30 weeks (twins are usually born at 36 weeks but she has ghost powers to use on the human she possesses, so the person can choose to go to 40 weeks, full term)
Small Bio: Cleotha got a job at the hotel after finishing highschool, to help support her family, whom she shares a home with (grandparents, mom and dad, 3 siblings). She met her husband through church and they recently married. He also works full time. They were expecting their first children (twins) and saving money to prepare for their arrival and move into their own home in the neighbourhood, close to the family home. However, Cleotha was at work when the fire broke out, and sadly, she perished while pregnant, in the mysterious blaze, leaving her loved ones behind. Now her ghost is trapped here, forced to continue her job as a housekeeper and maid, unless she can find someone she deems suitable to possess and carry her children, someone who won’t mind having a ghostly companion inhabit their body and mind and will share said body so Cleotha can be a mother to her twins.
Desired Mortal to possess: Kanna’s female OC
Appearance: a beautiful African American woman with a gorgeous figure and a black, bobbed, silken hair style that cutely curls upwards at the ends. Thick, luscious, dark lashes and large, expressive eyes in a warm dark brown, a lovely, genuine, wide smile with perfect teeth. She is always seen wearing a 1950s maid uniform, which is a black short sleeved, knee length dress with a white, ruffled maid apron over the top and a white maid’s cap at the front of her hair. She wears white socks and closed in black shoes that are comfortable and padded for being on her feet for long periods of time. Cleotha


More ghosts are in the works...  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Kanna Kakimari

((I'm just starting out with Saffron. If you want, Kanna can walk into the hotel while she's talking to the bellhop)).



Saffron tried not to worry over things like her car mysteriously breaking down and the fact it was still parked on the side of the road, or the fact that she was going to be a little delayed in her journey to join her beloved fiance. She hoped she didn't cause Jaxon and his family to put their plans on hold while they waited for her to get there.

She hung up her phone as she headed to the nearby hotel, which was within walking distance, thankfully, as Saffron was pulling her heavy luggage behind her. She walked through the car park with the wheels of the bag rattling and up the path to the hotel's front entrance, which had a jutting overhang with down lights and the words The Sanctum Hotel on the front in large, theatrical lettering.

Pushing open the door, Saffron entered and looked around, astonished, tugging her bags in with her. It felt like she had just stepped back in time. "Wow, what is this? A vintage hotel? Cool," she murmured to herself, unsure what era it was, exactly. She would have to look it up on her phone later. For now, she made her way towards the reception desk and spoke to the receptionist there, slipping her phone back into her handbag with her wallet and car keys.

"Excuse me, would you have any rooms available?" Saffron asked, waiting for the well dressed receptionist to look up from her work. The woman seemed dressed to match the decor of the hotel's time period, down to even the smallest details. This impressed Saffron and made her smile. "My car broke down and I need somewhere to stay for the night," she told the woman.

The woman smiled and greeted her, seeming extra pleased to see Saffron there. "Oh, hello there. Welcome to the Sanctum Hotel. Sorry to hear about your vehicle. Yes, we have plenty of rooms available right now. What would you like? We have both single, double and family rooms, as well as other kinds of rooms to offer for every occasion," she offered chipperly, "All rooms have air conditioning, telephones, radios, television sets and room service. Single rooms are $12 per night and doubles are $14. We have rooms to suit all tastes if you would like to look at our full colour photo catalogue, ma'am".

Thinking that sounded good, Saffron opted for it. "That's great. Umm...I'm not too sure yet. Wow, that's cheap! Oh, sure, that would be good, thanks". The blonde haired young woman thanked the receptionist politely, reaching out to open the binder that was placed on the desk's counter, opening the pages to browse the available rooms. Ones that were currently taken had a sticker marking them. "Umm...may I please have this light blue and yellow room? It looks nice. How much would that be?" she inquired. Saffron's Room

Standing up to look at the one Saffron pointed to, the receptionist smiled and nodded. "You may, of course. That's one of our doubles, so it would be $14 a night. Alright, then, I'll go ahead and book you in. Payment is made when checking out so there's no need to pay now. I'll call one of the bellhops to take your bags for you up to the room. We have all new elevators, or you can take the stairs. Your bags should reach your room by the time you get there. It's on the second floor," she said. Then she seemed to remember something and gasped, lightly smacking her palm against her forehead "Oh! Dear me, I forgot. May I have a name for the hotel log?" she asked.

"Saffron. My name is Saffron Catherine Beckett," Saffron answered, watching her write it down in neat calligraphy in the hotel's ledger record of all who stayed there. A bellhop approached, wheeling a golden trolley for luggage and began collecting her bags, loading them onto it. "Good day, miss. Allow me to take your bags for you," he said with a polite smile. Saffron wondered why their prices were so low. Was it to be in keeping with the actual prices of the time? How could they do business like that without going bankrupt? This place certainly was a mystery. "Umm...I was just wondering...I noticed that your hotel seems to have a vintage theme going on. What time period is it?" she asked, a little nervously, blushing and fidgeting on the spot, feeling shy.

The neatly uniformed bellhop flashed perfectly straight, white teeth at her as he spoke "Why, none other than the grand old 1950's ma'am. What a time to be alive, eh?"  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Kanna Kakimari

((Note: only the hotel was frozen in the 50s. The rest of the world outside it is modern day. And wow, I didn't know that about the Godzilla movie, Cool!))


Saffron smiled back. “Oh, ha ha, yes. What an interesting era. I’ll enjoy learning about it during my stay,” she said, loving the unique spin on this particular hotel. She gathered that everything about this place was going to be 50’s style, down to the clothing, food and drinks. She was curious to learn more and try some.

Hearing the door open behind her, Saffron spun on her heel as she watched another young woman walk in while the bellhop wheeled her luggage into the elevator. It seemed odd that it was only the two of them in this big, fancy lobby. And yet, this hotel was located on a lonely and obscure interstate road. Perhaps it was new and not many people knew about it yet. She hoped they would be able to do business okay out here. Where were they going to get their customers?

Nevermind that, though. Saffron couldn’t help but stare at the person that entered after her, forgetting her manners momentarily. The small woman had beautiful, long hair, peculiar red eyes and even her outfit didn’t look like it was from here. And were those horns poking out from her head?! No way.

Saffron blinked and shook her head, wondering if she was seeing things but then heard the girl say she was visiting her friends. Ohhh, that explained it. She was here from overseas. Maybe she was donning cosplay at the moment because they were going to or coming from an anime convention. Those swords did look pretty real, though.

Curious about her and wishing for someone to talk to in this strange place, Saffron decided to approach to see if the girl needed any help. “Um, hello. I heard you say you’re here to visit friends. Do you need any help? I haven’t seen anyone else come in here since I came in ten minutes ago,” she stated, trying to be useful.

“Do you want some company while we wait for your friends to show up?” she offered, trying to be kind. “By the way, my name is Saffron. My car sorta broke down on my way to my fiance, so now, here I am!” she giggled nervously. “W…what’s your name? I really like your cosplay. The horns and swords look so realistic! And are those red eye contacts?”

For some reason, this place felt a little weird to her. Something was off, she just couldn’t put her finger on it. Little did she know that the receptionist, bellhop and other staff she was seeing were all full body, class A apparitions of ghosts trapped in the hotel. They looked as real and solid as ever, so there was really no way to tell right now. But they would find out soon enough when some of the more devious ghosts came out to impregnate or possess them.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Kanna Kakimari

"Kanna...that's an interesting name". Saffron smiled, having never heard many Japanese names. "I guess mine is a little unusual too. My parents named me for my bright blonde hair. Yup, this is all natural!" she said in a half joking manner, grabbing a strand of her hair and bringing it forwards to show the other woman before tossing her hair back. "No dye whatsoever". She knew not many people had this colour naturally. She was kind of proud of that and always tried to take care of her appearance, being a little bit vain.

Listening to Kanna, she smiled, looking curiously at her phone. "Huh, I wonder why they haven't turned up yet. Maybe they couldn't find the road. This is a very out of the way and obscure highway, and the hotel even more so. I didn't even know there was one out here... I'm lucky there was, or I would have had to spend the night in my car, in the dark, waiting for the mechanics to get here. Which is another thing; how much of my holiday savings are they going to eat up due to repairs?" she asked rhetorically with a small groan and a cringe, having already made up a proper budget for both travel, accommodation, snacks and other things. This would bite into her entertainment funds.

At least she didn't have to pay the hotel until she checked out tomorrow morning. "Anyway, that's a cool looking phone. I hope your friends stay in touch. Hopefully they shouldn't be too far away..." she said, trailing off as she looked around the large lobby, which contained several restaurants, a gift shop, cafe, ten pin bowling and more. And yet, strangely, she saw no other guests.

"Looks like there's stuff to do while we wait. I don't mind keeping you company if you want someone to hang out with in the meantime," she said shyly, listening to her explain about her cosplay. "Ah, so they aren't real. Ahehe. Your cosplay is so realistic. It's VERY convincing. You look like...like...well, some sort of Japanese creature?" Saffron said, her tone questioning at the end, since she didn't know what an Oni was. "Wow, Comic-Con, that sounds pretty fun. I've never been to one of those conventions".

Saffron stared at Kanna's phone some more, curious about the design, which she'd also never seen. "What? Really? I didn't expect this place to have any internet, since it kinda breaks the immersion of being in the 50s. Maybe it's from a nearby satellite or radio tower..." she pondered, surprised. Saffron flinched when a ghostly wail came from Kanna's phone. "Ah! ...W-what was that?" she asked nervously, looking at the phone. "Were you watching a scary video or something? Horror game?" she asked, hoping that's all it was. Saffron didn't like scary things and was a total scaredy cat when it came to spooky, scary stuff. "I don't like scary stuff", she frowned.

"A-anyway, it stopped now. Phew. ...I'm gonna take some photos of the lobby. This place is awesome. I wanna show my boyfriend!" she gushed, taking her phone out and beginning to snap pictures. However, when she held the phone over the reception desk, something startled her. In the view of her phone's camera lense, the receptionist lady looked like she was horribly burnt and disfigured for a moment before the camera blurred and glitched out. "Huh?! That's weird...!"

Saffron quickly put her phone back in her purse, shaking off a small chill that ran down her spine and rubbing her eyes. "Ugh...I think I need to rest. I'm seeing things. I should go up to my room to relax. Oh, by the way...Kanna...do you have a room yet? You can book one at the reception desk. They're super cheap! It's amazing...my room is $14 dollars a night! Can you believe that? I have no idea why but I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. I can't wait to go upstairs and see my 50s room in person. They have all different ones to choose from. You can come up to my room to check it out, if you want. Once we get you a place to stay, that is...".  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Kanna Kakimari

((I haven't made the ghosts get the girls pregnant by possessing them, yet. When do you want Cleotha to possess Kanna? Or you prefer me to choose? I'm planning for Saffron to have a nap and dream about Mary talking to her, then waking up with a huge belly of quadruplets! Lol. Oh, btw, do you want me to pick a 50s room for Kanna? Or do you want to do it yourself?))

===============================================

“That wail came from a text message? Weird. Maybe one of your friends was playing a joke on you,” she surmised, confused and starting to feel a little unsettled by the strange events. She followed at a short distance behind Kanna when the other girl went to reception to book her own room. The receptionist looked perfectly normal, nothing out of place.

Saffron watched Kanna pay for her stay and blinked “Odd, the reception lady told me you only have to pay when you check out. I guess it doesn’t hurt to pay up front if you’re only gonna stay one night, though,” she said, wondering what kind of room Kanna got. “What colour room did you get?!” she asked, curious and a bit excited. “We can look at mine and then maybe you can show me yours”.

Taken aback by Kanna staring off at something she couldn’t see and then her question, she shook her head. “What? No, I didn’t see anything…” she answered nervously, not sure if Kanna was pretending to be the character she was cosplaying by pretending to see things from the anime or manga.

“A demon made out of lava, huh? You have a good imagination, Kanna. Maybe you’re tired from travelling, too. I think that’s probably what’s making us see and hear things,” she rationalised with a small shudder. “Did you bring any luggage with you? The bellhop already took mine up to my room. Wanna come up? We can take the elevator or the stairs. Stairs are better for our health, though!”

Making their way upstairs, Saffron used the room key and opened the door to her room, stepping inside and beginning to look around.

“Oh wow! Look at this! Oh my gosh, the old TV, the phone, the radio, the bed…everything’s 50s! It’s completely authentic. This is amazing!” she gushed, beaming while she inspected the brightly coloured room.

“The sandy yellow and the light blue colours kinda reminds me of the beach. Too bad we’re on an interstate highway and not by one of those,” she chuckled.

Seeing her bags neatly placed at the end of her double bed, she began to relax, knowing all her belongings were safely with her. She sat on the side of the bed and sighed, raising her arms up to stretch as she yawned.

“Ahhh…it’s been a long day. So much driving…” she mumbled.

She then looked at Kanna. “Is it just me, or does this place feel kind of weird? It’s giving me an odd vibe. Like, I feel like something’s off, even though I can’t put a finger on what,” she said, frowning lightly as she considered. “Well, I only have to stay here for one night, at least. It’ll be okay. Oh, should we go look at your room, now?” she asked, smiling, hoping that Kanna’s room was nearby her own. “One good thing about my car breaking down is that I met you. So at least I’m not here alone in this odd hotel”.

SAFFRON'S ROOM  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Kanna Kakimari

((Okay. I chose the room for you. It’s blue. One of the nicer photos I could find. And okay, during her shower ^^ Kanna's Room))

Saffron continued to sit on the bed, resting, leaning back on her hands. “Yeah? You too. I’m not sure why. Maybe we’re just disoriented from being thrown back several decades,” Saffron stated, searching for a logical reason. She watched Kanna look something up on her phone, probably the hotel. When the other girl turned the screen around to show her, the blonde woman looked at it, leaning closer. “Hmm,” She bit her lip, scrutinising the fiery creature. “Ohh, okay…that sounds freaky,” she said rather awkwardly, feeling sceptical but somewhat creeped out by Kanna telling her what she saw.

She couldn’t bring herself to believe Kanna. There was no way that fire demon thing could be real. Maybe this girl was delusional. She might be so obsessed with whatever fandoms and video games that she saw them in real life too. Listening as Kanna gave her an explanation of what it was, Saffron fidgeted uncomfortably on the bed, suddenly regretting talking to this woman. She was clearly crazy. Saffron was too tired to deal with this.

However, not knowing how Kanna might react if Saffron upset her, she decided to play along with her game. “Oh. How scary. I don’t like the sound of that. A rage demon that starts fires…yikes. Are you sure that’s what you saw, though? Not just a trick of the light, or…I don’t know, your mind playing tricks on you? I know I’m tired from driving nearly all day. Maybe you are too. Maybe that’s all it is,” she said in a reasoning tone of voice.

Saffron saw Kanna’s gaze meet her own, blinking in astonishment at what the woman said next. Her mouth hung open slightly as she froze, unsure how to respond or what to say. “I…what? How did you know…I never told you what I saw. I thought that was just my phone glitching out...” she said, starting to feel scared. She hadn’t specifically said that she’d seen a burned ghoul sitting where the receptionist was. Someone who had horrid injuries inflicted upon them by dying in a fierce blaze…someone who couldn’t possibly be alive…

Saffron bit her lip, sitting forward and wrapping her arms around herself while frowning, her brow slightly furrowed, another chill trickling down her back with icy fingers.

“Are you trying to s-scare me? I don’t believe in ghosts,” she stated as her voice warbled in fear. This girl was…very strange as well. She seemed to be growing stranger the longer Saffron stayed around her.

When Kanna looked back at her phone and mentioned the place being haunted, Saffron looked distressed for a moment “No way!” she protested, not liking that in the least.

“I-I’m sure people are just making up rumours to make the hotel seem more exciting or something. Ghosts aren’t real,” she repeated, trying to comfort herself, pushing the sight of the charred reception ghost to the back of her mind.

“We’re just tired. And now you’re scaring us both. Why don’t we go look at your room and then go downstairs to one of the restaurants or cafes and get something to eat and drink? I’m kind of a scaredy cat when it comes to spooky things, so please don’t tell me any ghost stories or anything…” she said shakily, not wanting to know what tragedies or horrors might lie in this hotel’s past. She stood up from the bed and grabbed her hotel key, adjusting her handbag on her shoulder. “Come on. Let’s go see your room and stop thinking about scary stuff, okay?”.  

[Kasumi Roseglimmer]

Kanna Kakimari

((That’s okay. I’m also slow at replying because I get sick or tired a lot due to my health issues))

That made Saffron give a small chuckle of disbelief. “Are you sure? You were pretty convincing a second ago. But yeah, ghosts definitely aren’t real!” she stated loudly, as though saying it with assurance made it more true.

“We’re just being paranoid! Ha ha!” Saffron giggled nervously, scratching her head.

“Geez, don’t wind me up like that, Kanna! You’re such a tease, talking about ghosts and fire demons and all that stuff. Silly girl. You like to make mischief and play pranks on others, don’t you? Hmm?” she asked, being silly and playful as she tried to change the mood and lighten the atmosphere of the place.

“Yeah, our phones glitched out, it’s nothing to worry about,” Saffron agreed, not turning her phone off but deciding to charge it properly when she went to bed, in hopes of stopping any more glitches. Good thing she brought the charger in her handbag. She was pointedly ignoring the fact that Kanna had seen the burnt ghost of the receptionist as well. That…had to be some weird coincidence or Kanna just made a good guess. Yeah…

Saffron did feel kinda bad when Kanna wondered again where her friends were. “Maybe they ended up staying at another hotel. Did you get any texts from them?” she questioned, feeling sorry for her. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you company until they turn up,” the kind girl offered, not wanting Kanna to be alone in this huge place. “Uh-huh, there’s lots of those rumours on the internet. I think they’re called urban legends or creepypasta. People make them up for fun”.

When Kanna mentioned taking a shower, Saffron nodded “Actually, that sounds like a good idea. I think I might freshen up as well. I’ll take a quick peek at your room and then head back to mine to freshen up,” she stated, feeling a bit grody from being in the same clothes for a long time. She had a more comfortable set of clothes in her suitcase.

She followed Kanna down the hall and noticed that her room was right beside hers. “Oh wow, your room’s beside mine. What are the chances of that? Ha!” she uttered a short laugh, half bothered and half relieved by the fact. On one hand, Kanna had been acting creepy and saying scary stuff minutes before, yet, on the other, it’d be nice to know there was another human being around the same age nearby if anything weird did happen.

She listened to what Kanna said about being cautious and her smile instantly disappeared, wiped off her face. “Well…yeah,” she agreed, back to being nervous and anxious. She WAS getting odd vibes but she thought it was just her mind’s reaction to being in a new and different environment. Being suddenly back in the 50s threw her off balance. But…it was nice that Kanna was looking out for her too. She decided she'd do the same for her.

“I’ll be careful,” she promised the other girl.

While Kanna looked for her room keys, she saw her notice a painting on the wall. It showed a picture of a pretty housekeeping maid in a prim and proper outfit with a frilly white apron tied over the top, holding a duster and standing beside a small side table with a vase of fresh cut flowers. The maid was a young African American woman. Saffron didn’t see the eyes move. She noticed movement beside her and saw Kanna rubbing her eyes. She was probably tired. Saffron looked at the painting again and smiled

“Yep, there is. I dunno. Looks like one of the hotel staff. By her uniform, I’m guessing she’s a housekeeper. You know, people who clean your room, make your bed, bring you fresh towels and sheets…” she trailed off. “Come on, let’s go inside already. I wanna see what your room looks like!” she reminded her, curious as ever.