Heather's POV
Hey y'all, my name is Heather and I'm 24 years old. My two best friends are Lori and Christine. We met while going to college in California. Lori is a year younger than I am and Christine is two years older than me. We met in a class about folklore and legends in California. Apparently we all thought it would be a fun class to take, just to give us a little bit of a break from our required classes for our majors. We have all since graduated college and now we are all living in a house in southern California as we try to figure out what we want to do with our post college lives. I am an author, writing about my real experiences and adventures that would be fun to go on myself. My audience of my books are for anyone who wants to read them. Christine owns a small boutique for maternity wear and baby clothing. Lori is a small musician in our town, she plays at local cafes and getting her name out there. We all enjoy what we do but none of us have lost that curiosity for adventures when it comes to urban exploring and finding if myths and legends are real or if they really are just myths and legends.
One of the most well-known legends we learned while in this class was the legend of this haunted hotel in southern California. It's called The White Lady hotel. The legend goes as follows:
"Legend of The White Lady's Hotel. Back in the 1800's a hotel was built in southern California, in the middle of nowhere because the owner wanted guests to experience unlike any other hotel stay. She wanted guests to feel at peace, to take a getaway from their busy daily lives and just enjoy a relaxing vacation. Her name has never been revealed to anyone, but she always wore a white dress, hence the name of the hotel. She wanted her hotel to reflect who she was and also make it inviting for guests who needed a break from their lives. Her hotel is the biggest hotel in southern California and it is all one building, with winding hallways and grand staircases all around. But the part when they unnerving part of the legend starts is everyone who has tried to find this hotel and explore it and prove that it exists, is never seen again. It's like they vanished without a trace. Footprints leading to an empty field. Their cars are seen lining the road the hotel is supposed to be located on. No one who has ventured to prove this legend real, has ever come back to tell the story."
When we heard this legend, we all looked at each other and thought "we need to be the first ones to find this hotel and come back to tell people it is real." Flash forward a few years later, the girls and I are finally gearing up to go on this adventure to find The White Lady's Hotel. We get our van decked out for our little road trip and pack our polaroid cameras and video cameras so we can get evidence of this legend.
"Hey girls are you ready?" I call out in the house for my friends.
"Yep, I'm ready" says Lori.
"Me too!" yells Christine from inside the house.
"Alright then, let's get this party started! How are you guys feeling about this?" I say.
"A little hesitant, but mostly excited! I just want to find out what happened to everyone else who has gone exploring in hopes of finding this mysterious hotel" Lori says, a bit shaken.
"Lori, it's going to be ok, you have me and Heather here with you. We'll look out for you and for each other" Christine reassures Lori, while I'm nodding agreeing with her.
"Alright, then I'm ready to go!" Lori says excitedly.
According to the legend, the hotel is said to be located on a deserted road called Dahlia Highway. I'm driving while Christine is helping me with the directions. Lori is sitting right behind us picking out the music on the radio. We drive for about 2 hours before we have to get some gas in our van and pick up some snacks for the rest of the way there. We have about 3 more hours to go before we reach Dahlia Highway. This time around, Lori takes the drivers seat while Chrisitine is still helping with directions. I take out my video camera and start recording the scenery as we drive by. For the most part, all we are driving through is "middle of nowhere" lands and the roads are all flat. Once and awhile we come across a gas station, but they are few and far between. Finally, we meet the intersection on where Dahlia Highway is supposed to be, but there is nothing there. There is an intersection, but there is no Dahlia Highway.
"Hey Christine, did we miss something? Did we take a wrong turn a while back? There is nothing here" Lori says, concerned and confused.
"No, we followed all the right directions and everything, but you're right, there is nothing here" Christine responds equally as confused.
I decide to chime in and say "How about we park our car on the side of the road and get out and look around to see if we can find anything?"
The girls seem to agree with that idea and so that's what we did. We parked the van on the side of the road where there had been previous tire tracks, as if a car or truck ran off the side of the road. The girls and I don't think much of it because there are no other vehicles around here except for ours. We grabbed our various cameras and snacks and flashlights and begin to hike to where the coordinates are supposed to be for the hotel, but again there is nothing there. We start walking away defeated when we hear someone beckoning us to come back.
"Did you guys hear that?" I ask my friends, a little worried and slightly spooked.
"Yea, I did" Lori adds.
"Me too!" Christine says.
"Let's go investigate" Lori starts running towards where the sound came from.
"Hey! Lori! Wait up" Me and Christine yell at the same time.
Christine's POV
Me and Heather start running after our friend as she runs off trying to find the source of the sound we just heard. Out of nowhere it seems like we just ran through a forcefield into another dimension. Suddenly we bump into someone. It's Lori.
"Woah!" I exclaim as I run into Lori.
"Sorry guys, I stopped because I was stunned at what I saw in front of me" Lori says shaking. She points in front of all three of us. There it is. It's the White Lady's Hotel. It's enamouring. This was not what I was imagining when we were told about this hotel. It looks like time has stood still since this hotel was built. All three of us just stare in awe at this hotel in front of us. I go to take a picture of the building when we're snapped out of our trance by someone calls out to us.
"Ladies, welcome to the White Lady Hotel" A woman wearing white stands at the top of the stairs leading up to the front doors of the hotel.
"Oh my goodness you guys, it's the owner of the hotel" This time I'm the one shaking.
"My name is..." before the owner can finish her thought, a loud noise that sounds like someone is shrieking reigns over us.
"What. Was. That?!" All of us exclaim, while we are covering our ears.
"That was what has been keeping this hotel secret for all these years. Only people who believe in this legend are able to pass through the forcefield that keeps this hotel safe" explains the owner.
"And we are some of those people that made it through this forcefield?" Heather asks, intrigued.
"Yes, there are others waiting for you inside, would you care to join me?" the owner asks.
All of us look at each other, trying to decide our fate. We came here to experience the legend, so we all agree we are going to follow The Lady in White into her extravagant hotel and home. When we follow The Lady in White up the stairs, we are led into such an elegant atrium, it is like we are taking back to the 1800s. We stand there in awe just taking everything in.
"How have you been able to keep this hotel running, if many people cannot find it?" Heather asks The Lady in White.
"It is kept up by the people who do find it. You have heard about the tales of people who venture out here trying to find my hotel, and you never hear from them again," she pauses to catch her breath, "They haven't disappeared, they haven't died, they have been here the whole time."
"Woah, can we meet the other people who have managed to find you?" Lori asks excitedly.
"Of course, follow me!" She takes Lori's hand and leads her into the kitchen in which she sees a familiar face.
YOU ARE READING
Just a Legend
Gizem / Gerilim"You can check out anytime you like but you can never leave" - Hotel California by The Eagles I've actually wanted to write a story based on this line for awhile now and why not do it about a haunted hotel ? Incorporating some aspects of "The Haun...
