From a Fan to a Flame | Sam Golbach X OC

Chapter 16 | Bobby's tales

Sam, Colby, Amanda, and Victoria stood in front of the hotel's front desk, their curiosity about the paranormal palpable.

"We've heard rumors that this place was haunted. Do you believe in that?" Colby asked, his voice tinged with excitement.

The front desk lady, a new employee at the hotel, shook her head. "I haven't experienced anything myself. I've only been here for about 2 months. But one of the bellmen here, he knows like a ton of stories."

Sam's interest was piqued. "Do you think he would be okay with us asking him some questions?"

The front desk lady smiled warmly. "He'd be happy to! I can call him."

Colby grinned eagerly. "That would be awesome. Thank you very much," he said appreciatively.

The front desk lady nodded and picked up the phone to call the bellman. After a brief conversation, she hung up and turned back to the group. "He'll be here in just a moment," she informed them.

As they waited, anticipation buzzed in the air. They couldn't wait to hear the bellman's stories about the hotel's haunted past.

The atmosphere in the hotel lobby grew palpably tense as Bobby, the seasoned bellman, shared his spine-chilling insights into the hotel's haunted history.

"First off, you're gonna ask me if the hotel is haunted. Yes. I believe in purgatory, I believe in ghosts," Bobby declared, his voice carrying the weight of conviction. "I'm usually the all-night bellman. I've seen doors open on their own, I can see all sorts of strange things go on at night, so I'm pretty much convinced. Plus, a 135-year-old building, there's gotta be a few secrets. Secrets are like hidden ghosts within themselves."

His words hung heavy in the air, and the group exchanged uneasy glances, fully absorbed in Bobby's unsettling tales.

"Real haunted rooms are on the fifth floor," Bobby continued, his voice lowering to a hushed tone. "Back in the 1800s when you worked here, you lived, slept, and ate here. The fifth floor is like a modified attic, that's where they had the employees stay. They've had maids hang themselves up there, mobsters kill themselves up there."

Colby's eyes widened in shock, and he let out a low whistle. "Really? Damn," he muttered under his breath.

Bobby's recounting of the hotel's haunted past sent shivers down everyone's spines. But his next revelation only added to the growing unease.

"And for some reason too, when people do come here, sadly to commit suicide, they're always lured and attracted to the fifth floor," Bobby revealed somberly. "So if you're really looking for a haunted place, that's up there. There's this one hallway that has these striped walls, when you walk through it you just get this real eerie feeling. I don't go unless I have to."

Victoria, seizing the opportunity to inject a bit of mischief into the conversation, pointed a mischievous finger at Sam. "Sam, I dare you to go down there by yourself," she taunted, a playful smirk dancing on her lips.

Sam's eyes widened in apprehension as he swallowed nervously. "Uh, fuck," he muttered, realizing the gravity of the challenge laid before him. The prospect of venturing into the haunted depths of the hotel's fifth floor sent a chill down his spine, but he couldn't back down from the dare now.

As Bobby concluded his chilling tales, the group was left in a state of stunned silence, their minds swirling with the eerie stories they had just heard.

"If you want to hear the Kate Morgan story..." Bobby's voice broke the silence, drawing their attention once again. He proceeded to recount the tragic tale of Kate Morgan, a woman who had met a lonely and mysterious end within the walls of the hotel.

"What happened was, I think it was like 1892," Bobby began, his voice solemn. "There was a lady that walked off her job as a nanny, she came here. She kept saying, 'Did my brother/doctor leave my medicine?' She was wandering the halls, and it involves the night bellman and staff and me being a nightman. It kinda fits me but... then she kept saying, 'Did my husband call?' then she'd revert, 'Did my boyfriend call?' So they're not even really sure that she killed herself, it could've been an estranged husband or a jealous boyfriend kind of concept."

The group listened intently as Bobby continued to unravel the haunting details of Kate Morgan's demise. They couldn't help but feel a sense of sorrow for the tragic fate that had befallen her.

Colby broke the silence with a simple remark. "Weird," he muttered, his voice reflecting the somber mood that hung in the air.

Sam's brow furrowed as he processed the story. "So no one like cared about her at that point," he mused, his voice tinged with disbelief.

Victoria, her emotions still raw from the haunting narrative, couldn't contain her frustration. "Why do I wanna punch dead people because of this story?" she exclaimed, her fists clenched in frustration.

Colby offered a gentle reminder. "Victoria, you can't punch dead people," he said, his tone soothing yet firm.

Victoria sighed heavily, her frustration momentarily abating. "I know, but I just want to smack that father and husband in the face, they're assholes," she admitted, her voice filled with righteous indignation.

Bobby, sensing the need to shift the conversation away from the somber topic, offered to share a more recent scary story. The group eagerly agreed, their curiosity piqued once again.

"A ten-year-old and his father, they came in like 11 o'clock at night," Bobby began, launching into his final tale of the evening. "They went up to the haunted room 3519, and the very moment that the boy gets on the internet and finds out the room is haunted... right when he told his dad, the bathroom light started blinking."

Colby's eyes widened in disbelief. "No way," he exclaimed, his voice filled with awe.

Bobby concluded his stories, leaving the group to digest the eerie tales they had just heard. Sam spoke up, breaking the momentary silence. "Thank you so much," he said sincerely, his words echoing the group's appreciation for Bobby's unsettling yet captivating stories. "We really appreciate it."

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Longest chapter so far!