Just My Imagination?

… the walls breathe …

I heard them. I awoke at 2:30 in the morning at the historic Woodbine Hotel. I should have been able to sleep. The bed is quite comfortable, the temperature in the room was fine, I’d had a soak in the jacuzzi tub in my room before bed and I was feeling very relaxed.

But, I heard this old hotel sigh. It almost sounded human in its misery. I lay awake and listened to the night sounds.

In the distance, perhaps on the other side of the hotel, I heard a rumble. I’m sure it was the sound of an air conditioner turning on or off. A crackle of the walls split the night, as the house “settled.”

Then, I heard the rhythmic creak of the floorboards — as if someone were walking. It was close outside my room, so I assumed that another traveler was having trouble sleeping, too. However the light outside my room is activated by motion. When it comes on, it shines through the crack above my door. It never came on, although I would estimate that the unseen walker should have been in range.

I did not hear the door of a room open. I did not hear the steps retreat. I did not dare to leave the safety of the bedcovers to open the door and peer into the hall. In fact, I hardly dared to breathe.

Some “ghost hunter” I am. But, hey, I didn’t want to get caught in my “pajamas.”

I just pulled the covers tightly to me, as if that was some protection if spirits did walk, and shivered in the darkness … listening. The walls of my room seemed to breathe slowly in and out, with intermittent sighs thrown into the mix.

I huddled for perhaps five minutes, although it seemed like hours. Then, the “spell” of the night was broken.

In a neighboring room, I heard the occupant pass gas. Giggling, I rolled over and went to sleep.

Was it just my imagination? I don’t know, but tonight I’ll be listening again, and I’ll be ready. Right now, I hear bacon frying in the kitchen so I’m going to dash down and get some of it before I go tell stories to children. Maybe a ghost story, or two will be thrown into the mix.

For more on this ghost story, here is Another Verse To The Ghost Story At The Woodbine.

Related posts:

1. Resistance. Part Three of The Ghostly Adventures At The Woodbine.
2. Another Verse To The Ghost Story At The Woodbine
3. Haunted Eureka
4. Ghost Hunt at The Driskill Hotel. Part 2.
5. Luxurious Accommodations. Only The Good Friday

Tagged as: Ghostly--Mostly, Madisonville, My Neck Of The Woods, Texas Travel