Here are the facts : I have a friend named James . And he 's a true friend , although we 've yet to meet in person . He lives in Illinois , and I hail from the scenic and relatively toothless state of Virginia . We know each other via Facebook and by mutual interest . We share our work , vent our shared frustrations - help each other out as we can . Not long ago , he got in touch with me , emailed me a detailed account of his encounter with something that he claimed took on the shape of another friend of his , some guy by the name of Robert . He said it came from a park called ' Forest Glen ' , and that it hounded him at all hours of the night . Then , about a week later , he followed up the first email with another : ' Marcus , I 'm sending this to you in sections from a password - protected Email . That way it can 't be edited , it cannot be changed . Only the facts will remain . The police have been no help , as I 've explained . No one believes me , but I know the truth . There 's something out there . ' As he promised , James sent three others , day by day , so that his personal thoughts could not be tampered with . I thought he had lost it , truth be told . And I was worried about him . That being said , coward that I am , I remained silent about it . James had been my friend for a long time . I wasn 't about to tell him that his paranoid delusions had gotten out of control . With every email James sent , however , my opinion of his mental state began to shift . I 'm finding it increasingly difficult to dismiss his rantings as mere fabrications from a broken mind . To make it more coherent , I 've consolidated every email James sent to me into one transcript . The following is his complete account of everything that happened to him on the days after his first encounter with that terrible monster . Take heed and fair warning , I expect you won 't like what you find within his words . I certainly didn 't . Every time I called someone , every time I tried to get help , he would disappear . But he would always return . I was scared , Marcus . I was so god damned scared . I knew it couldn 't last though . Day in and day out I was forced to barricade myself in my house , listening to that thing beg for me to let him in . I hadn 't even been to work in two weeks . In fact , I hadn 't had any human contact in that time . Robert , the real Robert , had called me several times . I 'm sure he was worried about me , but I didn 't answer . What could I say , how could I explain what was going on ? Thanks to the month of vacation time I 'd saved , I wasn 't worried about leaving my home . I just called my boss and told him that I had an emergency with family from out of town . He told me to take as much time as I needed . Last night , I finally got the courage to face him . I decided I would not be a victim . Instead of hiding inside with a knife clutched to my chest , I waited on my front porch . A stiff drink in my hand , I sat down in a lawn chair on the deck . My other hand was placed above the blade that sat in my lap . I waited and I drank . The scotch went down more smoothly as the hours ticked past , as I 'm sure you can imagine . It 's funny , I 'm not a straight liquor sort of person , not under regular circumstances … but I 'm getting way off topic . So , I was waiting , right ? Drunk as all hell by the end of it . My street is not a busy street . There 's no outlet at the end , and I 'm the very last house on the left , so there 's no reason for cars to come all the way down to my home . That being said , nothing came by to keep my inebriated - self occupied . It wasn 't long before I just simply fell asleep . I awoke with a start and stood quickly . Both the knife in my lap and the glass tumbler that was in my hand fell to the wood of the deck . I looked around my front yard and all around the deck , but there was no sign of that Robert imposter . Call me crazy , but I walked all around my house and then went inside to search every room . My head was splitting from a hangover , but I pressed on , searching every corner of the house . He wasn 't there . To my surprise , he hadn 't come to terrorize me the night before , but why ? I sat in my living room considering that very thing . Was it because I stood my ground ? Because I simply got fed up and decided I wouldn 't be afraid anymore ? That was the only conclusion I came to . Robert . I had to go see Robert . I had to try to explain to him everything that had happened . He was going to think I was crazy , but he and his family wouldn 't be safe unless they knew . When I approached the front stoop of the house where Robert stood the first thing he did was embrace me . I didn 't want to let go . It was the first time I 'd spoken to another living human being in weeks . It was a good , warm feeling . Christ , I wanted to cry . " So , what 's been going on ? " he asked . " I 've been trying to get a hold of you forever . " He crossed his arms . That 's when I went into my story . I told him everything I 've told you . How I went out into the woods , following someone who couldn 't be him , someone who was watching us in the forest ever since we were younger . Then I described how I ran and made it home , how the police were no help in keeping that thing away . Finally , I ended with how I 'd decided to stand up to the creature , but he was nowhere to be found the night before . I expected Robert to stop me during my tale , to call me insane and tell me I needed to get out before I scared the kids , but he didn 't . Instead , he simply nodded as I spoke , listening to every word of my story . His face never changed , his expression never wavered . Never once did he give me an indication that he didn 't believe what I was saying . The same concerned expression he wore at the beginning of the story , he still had by the end . He was a good friend . " Holy shit , James , what are you going to do ? " he asked . " Well , I don 't know exactly . I just knew I had to come here and warn you before anything happened . These few weeks have been a nightmare . Honestly , it just feels good to be with someone and tell them , you know ? " I smiled . I wasn 't their real uncle , of course . Robert and I had been friends for so long , that 's just what they knew me as . In that moment , I turned to look out into the back yard , where I expected the drive to be empty , but it wasn 't . I stood from my seat at the table and turned to look him dead in the eye . For the second time I found myself in that terrifying situation . Only this time I didn 't run in panic and instead , took a moment to examine the beast wearing my friend 's skin . Studying Robert 's expression , the way he held himself , the way he spoke . Holy shit . His face became hard , and I kept my eyes locked onto his . For the briefest of seconds , I saw a hot flash of anger in those eyes . It Knew I knew . " Uncle James ! Are you leaving ? ! " Alexa said , her bright blonde curls bouncing as she ran to me . I looked down at her and stared at her bright blue eyes . Right then and there I wanted to take her and her sister . Stow them in my car and simply drive away , but I didn 't . Looking up at the front door of the house , I saw Robert standing there , as I knew he would be . His arms were crossed , and his eyes were narrowed , watching me closely . Instead , I knelt and embraced her tightly . When Katie ran over I pulled her close as well . Then I leaned back and looked sincerely at both of them . I am ashamed to say , I did nothing . Of course , I worried about them . I worried about Cheree too . My heart ached at the thought of what has or might happen to her . Not to mention , I had no idea what happened to Robert . I was so , so scared Marcus . What could I do ? What would you have done ? I slid into my car , and I cried the whole way home as I drove . I feel so alone . What is that thing 's plan ? Why is it doing this ? I 've resolved to go back there , to that place . I believe that 's where I 'll find my answers . I need to move quickly , I don 't know what will happen to Alexa and Katie if I don 't . Maybe I can find proof , maybe I can find something the police haven 't . Marcus I 've been such a fool . Everything has come crashing down on me . I 've failed Katie , I 've failed Alexa , I 've failed Cheree , and I 've failed Robert . I was such a fucking coward before . I should have done something much sooner . I made it out to Forest Glen about a quarter after four . I parked on the side of the road about a mile from the park and hit the hazard lights . That way if anyone drove by I could just say the car had broken down and I 'd been looking for help . I 'd expected to run into some resistance . Police tape or maybe a patrol or something , hell I didn 't know . All I knew is that I didn 't want to get caught before I 'd made it to the trail . The trail I 'd told you about before , the one that thing tried to lead me down . I jogged from the road to the park entrance . Before I 'd left the house , I 'd made sure to bring a good - sized pocket knife , and as I jogged I kept touching my back - right jean - pocket where I could feel its shape . It made me feel a little more secure about going into those woods . Surprisingly , I saw no police tape when I 'd made it to the park entrance . There was no patrolman posted either , at least , none that I could see . From then on , I walked slowly toward the trail . I stayed close to the tree line , ready to duck into the woods if anyone drove by , and if need be I could run out into the road if anything came out of the woods . It felt like I was walking for hours , stopping often to listen for anything that might indicate someone 's approach . I heard nothing at all , and I mean nothing . I remember distinctly the sounds of wildlife the last time I had visited the park . Now , as I crept along the road , all was silent . Not even the buzzing of insects could be heard as I went . At last , I reached the entrance of the trail that had been the cause of my nightmares for past several days . I pulled the knife from my pocket and flicked it open , holding it low . I walked throughout the trail as slowly as I had when I walked the road . The fear I felt was great , but the urgency I felt was greater , so I pressed on . At any moment , I was ready to lash out with my weapon , and holding it tightly gave me the strength to keep going . Even that far into the wooded area of the park , I heard no sounds . Robert had told me they closed Forest Glen , but I saw no sign of that . Other than the absolute quiet , there was nothing to indicate the park had been closed . No keep out signs , no police tape , nothing . Soon I reached the stream and still I pressed on . As I reached the point of the trail where I 'd first realized something was wrong and ran from Robert , I wavered . When we were out there , the Robert imposter told me that he had wanted to show me a bridge that I 'd remembered from when we were kids . Below , the water was crystal clear , I remembered that , but that wasn 't what frightened me . When we were on the phone , the real Robert told me that people had died from drowning . My suspicion was that they had found the bodies under the very bridge the Robert imposter had wanted to show me so badly . I shivered and , not for the first time on that trail , I tightened the grip on my knife and pressed on . Finally , the rotted wood of the bridge was in sight , and I froze . My eyes narrowed , and I strained them hard as I scanned the woods around me , looking for Robert to be waiting behind one of the trees , ready to pounce at any moment . After a couple minutes of waiting and seeing nothing , I took a deep breath and walked toward the sound of running water . The smell hit me hard . I reached the high bank of the stream down below , and before I could even look over it , I gagged a vomited as the rotten stench of decaying flesh hit my nostrils . I wiped my face with my sleeve and covered my mouth and nose as I looked over the side , placing one foot on the bridge for balance . The wood was wet , and my foot slipped , and I fell to the grass on my hands and knees . My knife fell over the side , and I watched as it tumbled down and landed on a corpse . It 's so strange how in moments of absolute shock , a person can do irrational things . When I looked down into that water , the shock I felt along with the memory of Robert 's claim , made me laugh , and I laughed loudly . The stream was deep for a stream , but for a person it was shallow , and a body could not easily be carried by its water . Let alone dozens . In absolute horror , I looked up and down the stream as my mind tried to process exactly how many there were . I couldn 't even venture a guess , but there were too many to count . In the throng of bloated and decaying corpses , there were many I could make out and recognize . There was the guy who owned the laundromat in town , and a woman that I knew was a cashier at the gas station , and there were so many more that I knew . I had been cooped up in the house for days sure , but I hadn 't seen any of these people go missing on the news , and Robert made no mention of any of them . These bodies had been there for weeks judging by the state of their corpses . It didn 't make sense . Then , I saw the two bodies that made me finally understand . They were lying on top of a few other bodies , almost directly next to the corpse that my knife had landed on . Their hands were joined together , as if they had been put on display for me to see . They stared back up and my red and crying face through milky - white eyes . They had not died recently , the pale - white shroud of death had been long set into their cheeks . Even if they had begun to decay , they were sisters . There was no way I could mistake that curly blonde hair . I fell to my knees and I screamed down at them in anguish . I cried and bawled and begged for it not to be real . I screamed their names to the sky and I howled for their forgiveness , but I knew forgiveness would not come . I knew this was real . Alexa and Katie were not there when I promised them both I would be back to see them , they looked like them , sure , but it wasn 't them . Defeated , I walked all the way out of the park and to my car . I was slow and deliberate . Nothing was coming for me , I knew that too . They wanted me to see it , what they had done . The state of the girl 's bodies , the way they were presented , it sent a clear message . I was truly alone . I drove all the way back here , and I 'm telling you all this now Marcus , because you have to know . Do not come to Illinois . Stay away and stay safe . When I first began , I told you there was something in Forest Glen , but Marcus , I was dead wrong . There wasn 't just something . No , not at all . That should have been the end of it , the final part of James 's story . And that would have been bad enough . For three days , I 've been trying to reach him . For three days , I 've been paralyzed by indecision , crippled by dread and doubt . What would a normal person do ? What would a friend do ? Call the cops ? Get my friend incarcerated while people who won 't understand the background try to dig up the " truth , " whatever that is ? Drive out there ? If it 's true - and the more I think about it , the more that possibility grows in my mind - then how the hell does the whole world not already know about this ? And then my rational half reasserts itself , and I think , has my friend lost his god - damned mind ? That 's got to be it . By now , someone 's clued in on his issues and he 's already getting help . Seems reasonable , right ? And then , this . Another email . God help me . I don 't know what to think anymore . And I sure as hell don 't know what to do . Dear Marcus . Please disregard my previous correspondence . I was simply out of my mind . I hadn 't been taking any of my medication and I concocted a story to gain attention . As I said , I was wrong when I said there was something in that place . There 's nothing in Forest Glen , I promise . There 's nothing in Forest Glen , I promise . There 's nothing in Forest Glen , I promise . THERE ' S NOTHING IN FOREST GLEN , I PROMISE . I heavily protested going to stay with my Aunt Rita for seven days while Mom and Dad went to Vegas . It was the summer , and as a thirteen - year - old girl I could think of a million better things to do out in the country where we lived , than being stuck in town in an apartment building with my boring Aunt . It didn 't help that I was home - schooled , so I didn 't have many friends in town . " It 's only for the week Jamie , your father and I have been saving for a long time to have some time to ourselves . Besides , you never get to see your Aunt Rita . " Mom said over breakfast a few days before she was sending me away so she didn 't have to deal with me . I know that 's not really how she felt . My parents worked hard , they deserved their vacation , but teenagers tend to not think of anyone but themselves . " Not to mention that Rita works third shift . You 'd be out here all alone , and what if something happened ? " At least in town , help would be just moments away . " My Dad chimed in . When finally , the day came to ship me off at my Aunt 's , I was in extremely low spirits . I sulked the entire twenty - five - minute drive into town . My demeanor didn 't change when we walked up to the apartment complex and Aunt Rita was standing outside waving excitedly . She gushed about how big I 'd gotten since she last seen me , and chatted with my parents a bit before they gave me hugs and kisses and left in the family car . As she said , Rita 's apartment was small . The entrance opened up into the living - room , which was furnished with a leather couch and matching recliner . A pristine coffee table sat in front of the couch , and just a few feet away a wide screen T . V . hung on the far wall . There was a sliding - glass door with its curtain drawn on the west wall of the room that led out onto a small terrace , and to the right of the door sat a good - sized fish tank with a multitude of colorful fish inside . " If you don 't mind sleeping on the couch , it 's a pull - out , but if you 'd like you can take my bedroom and I can sleep out here . It 's up to you . " Rita said . " The couch is perfectly fine . " I said . I didn 't lie either . I wasn 't a spoiled kid , I didn 't mind sleeping on a pull - out . What I minded was being stuck in an apartment building . " Alright dear , well I didn 't get much sleep and I have to leave here at twelve for work , so I 'm going to get some rest . There 's snacks in the cabinets , have whatever you 'd like from the fridge as well , I stocked up when I found out you 'd be staying with me . I don 't watch much T . V . any more so I don 't really remember what all I have but feel free to watch it whenever , I sleep like a rock , it won 't bother me at all . " With that , Rita smiled and made her way into the bedroom , and shut the door . I dropped my bag on the floor next to the couch and made my way over to the sliding glass door . I tried to slide it open , but it caught before it moved an inch and wouldn 't move any further . I looked down and saw that a piece of wood was wedged between the door and the frame that prevented anyone from outside getting the door open too far . I now know this is a common thing for most sliding glass doors , but it was new to me then . I removed the wood , opened the door , and stepped out onto the terrace . I looked down at the street below and watched cars pass lazily by . The township of Paris wasn 't a ' happening ' town back then , and it still isn 't today . It 's a pretty quiet place as far as towns go . I happened to glance to the right at two boys riding their bicycles a couple of blocks away , heading in the direction of the complex , when I saw her . She was standing at the end of one of the streets nearest the apartment building . Holding a blue balloon , wearing yellow polka dotted - clothes , she stood out like a sore thumb on the street . There was no mistake . by looking at her giant shoes and tie - dye wig , it was clear she was a clown . I hate clowns . She stood there on the street corner , not moving an inch as cars passed by . The boys on the bikes were coming near her location , and I watched to see what would happen . When they got to her though , they just went around her , as if she wasn 't there . Minutes went by and she still stood like a statue on the sidewalk . It was such an odd scene . I couldn 't help but wonder what exactly she was doing there . Then it happened . The clown 's head snapped around , turning and staring in the direction of the apartment complex . It was sudden and immediate . I was entranced , wondering what would happen next . I could hear the sounds of lawns being mowed and the pounding of hammers from workers somewhere nearby as I waited . My heart began to thud rapidly , as a realization slowly came over me like a tired wave washing over a shore . She wasn 't just staring in my direction , she was staring right at me . I couldn 't see her clearly given the distance between us , but there was no doubt . She was looking right up at me . There was sudden movement , as the woman dressed in full clown attire began walking toward the complex . My face grew hot and I turned away . Making my way back inside quickly , I replaced the block of wood that kept the door from opening too far , and then hurried over to the couch . I scooped up the remote from the coffee table and turned on the T . V . , simply trying to ignore what had happened . I was more than a little scared . After a moment or two passed I became a little brave , and I walked back to the sliding glass door to peek out down onto the street . The clown was nowhere to be found . There was a sudden knocking at the door and I jumped . I spun around and began to call out , but I stopped . That wasn 't my home , I had no idea how often Aunt Rita received guests , so I decided to walk over and stare through the peep - hole first . It occurred to me as I was nearly to the door , the awful thought that I 'm sure would have crossed any child 's mind after what I had seen . It 's the clown . You needed a key to get into the building . Unless the clown - lady was a tenant in the same building , there was no way she could have been knocking at that door . I was a rational kid , and I knew that my fears were silly and most likely , unfounded . The lady on the street was probably just planning on going in the direction of the complex anyway , seeing me was just a coincidence . Most likely , she was a performer that did children 's parties or something and one of her clients was on this street . I reached the door , and I put my eye against the keyhole . On the other side , staring back at me , was an empty hallway . I breathed a sigh of relief and turned around , walking over to the couch , forgetting for a moment that someone must have knocked on the door . There was a shift of movement , and my head snapped toward the sliding glass door . Sudden chills crawled up and down my spine like spiders . There , tied to the railing of the terrace , was a blue balloon with a large red ' M ' drawn on it . It bobbed and weaved in the breeze , an unassuming object of most children 's adoration , but the result of my own horrified and gaping expression . I was terrified and I didn 't know what to do . If I called out and woke up Rita , I would have to explain the series of events that led to me being scared of a balloon . I JUST got there , and I hadn 't seen Rita in years . I was uncertain by how she would react . I didn 't call out . Instead , I walked over to the glass and pulled the curtain closed , concealing my vision from that awful sight . I hurried away from the door quickly and I stepped into the dining area of the small apartment . My breathing was heavy and shallow as I tried to think of what to do . Being young in a scary situation can be a cruel prison . Sometimes simply being unsure of the consequences of your actions can cripple your resolve . I rested my hands on the dining table and I tried to calm myself , but my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the sliding glass door being opened . I turned , shocked and fearful as the tell - tale sound of the wood sliding in its frame caused me to whimper . Then , I heard the door get caught on the block of wood I 'd put back in its place on the inside of the frame . Relief washed over me . The sickeningly silken female voice floated into the apartment from just feet away . The voice made me cringe and wince and I felt sick to my stomach the moment I heard it . It was the lady clown 's , of that , I had no doubt . She was still shaking me . I pushed her away gently and got slowly to my feet , rubbing the back of my head . There was a bump , but luckily it wasn 't bleeding . It hurt like hell though . What happened next was a series of blurred events in my mind . When Rita finished talking on the phone in her bedroom and out of earshot , she came out and asked me if I was okay , and if I needed anything . I told her I was fine , and made no mention of my bumped head . She already seemed like she was in a panic , I didn 't want to give her a heart attack . Moments later , two police officers showed up at the apartment . They asked me all kinds of questions about the clown I 'd mentioned . What did she look like , what was she wearing , where did she go , all of the typical stuff . I hadn 't really expected to talk to the police , Rita remained silent with watery eyes as if she might burst out bawling at any moment , so It was even more of a surprise when my parents showed up not long after the police did . After the two officers left , my parents and I left Rita 's . My mother said thank you to my aunt before we headed out the door . " She got the Police involved for Christ 's sake . Jamie probably just got scared , and now our trip is shot in the ass ! " Dad complained . At that , Mom gave Dad a hard - stern look , and he kept quiet for the remainder of the ride as he drove . I didn 't fully understand what was going on . I was scared and confused , and just before we left Aunt Rita 's , I took a look back at the apartment and saw something that disturbed me so badly I didn 't say anything once we got home either . At home , I didn 't speak , I just went straight to the bathroom . My period had started , which made the drive all the more uncomfortable . After putting in a tampon , I got changed into pajamas and went out into the living room where my mother and father were talking quietly . Dad seemed to be in a better mood than before as both of my parents offered warm smiles once I entered the room . " Martha Flannigan is dead . Your aunt just got a little spooked when you mentioned a woman dressed as a clown . She used to work in Paris and she lived just down the street from your Aunt . She just got spooked is all . " Dad said matter - of - factly . " She was a filthy and disgusting woman , and I 'm glad she 's gone , but she IS gone . There 's no way she can hurt you or anyone else baby . I think your Aunt is crazy , but I understand both her fear and your own . " I nodded , and I excused myself from the table to go wash up in the bathroom , leaving my parents in the kitchen . Once the door was shut and locked behind me , I put my hands on the sink and cried . I cried there for a very long time , because my parents didn 't know the truth , but I did . I knew that Martha Flannigan still , somehow , remained in that neighborhood . I knew that she hadn 't stopped the awful things she hadn 't been doing to kids . She hadn 't stopped , I knew that for sure , because I knew why I had been bleeding on that car ride home , and it wasn 't my period . What haunts me isn 't the awful thing that Martha Flannigan did to me , however . It isn 't the terrible image of her ghostly hand crawling towards the other side of that door to allow herself inside . It was the image I saw as we drove away from Aunt Rita 's apartment complex . Every single apartment building had a small porch or terrace attached to it with a guard rail . Have you heard of the Banff Hotel in Canada ? If you haven 't , all you need to know is that it 's a hotel famous for its ghostly hauntings . Since explaining the following account to Shelly , she 's mentioned it often . Indeed , the Banff hotel came up in my browser a number of times while trying to research Coldwell Inn . I 've looked everywhere for SOME scrap of information about that hellish place , but I haven 't found any . This may be due , at least in part , that I 'm actually not entirely sure if what happened to me just last month can be classified as ' a haunting ' . It also may have something to do with Coldwell Inn being just a little run - down shack with rooms for rent on the side of the road just outside of Brant County . I was passing through Brant on my way to Toronto to visit an old friend . I live in the U . S . , in a suburb of Chicago . My plan was to drive the entire seven hours in one day . The long but manageable drive was one I made several times to see Shelly . Some people might say that having to make a drive like that would be out of the question . I say it 's preferable to the $ 300 plane ticket . Shelly and I have been friends a very long time . We met online through some mutual friends . We 're both aspiring artists , although Shelly is a much better painter than I am if we 're being honest . When it comes to Shelly , her and I just click , ya know ? We get each other 's sense of humor , we feel the same way when it comes to creating art , and we both suffer from ADHD which often times keeps us up at all hours of the night , talking to each other on skype . We got along like guns and bullets , and it was eventual that we 'd kicked around the idea of meeting in person . One summer day , Shelly showed up at my house , just like that , out of the blue . It was a welcome surprise of course . Shelly ended up staying the entire week and we had an absolute blast together . It was at the end of that week , that we had resolved to make it a tradition every year to visit one another so that the other wasn 't having to make the trip every time . Once a year turned into once every six months . That is , more or less , how I ended up on the side of Ontario Highway 403 with a flat tire yesterday . It was my turn to visit Shelly , and I had made three mistakes before I left that day . The first mistake , was not making sure I had adequate sleep the night before . My second mistake , was not leaving earlier than I did . So , by the time I 'd passed the city Woodstock , it was already well after Four P . M . I was able to Google the number for a tow back into Woodstock and have the tire replaced at a shop . Once the tire was fixed it was already Seven , and the sun began its descent over the horizon . I may be used to staying up at all hours , but that was the very thing that came back to bite me in the ass . When I reached Highway 55 , I hit the turn signal and got off of ON - 403 . I was a little worried at first , I had not seen a sign for Coldwell Inn aside from the billboard , but it soon became apparent why . In just a few moments of drive time I spotted the neon sign raised high on the side of the road outside the motel . The words ' Coldwell Inn ' were displayed in bright blue on the sign , along with the words under them that read , Vacancy . The motel rooms were single - tiered and were arranged in a ' U ' shape around the parking lot , with the manager 's office located off to the side . I pulled into the lot and parked in front of the office . When I walked in , there was an older gentleman behind the counter who immediately looked up from whatever he was reading at the sound of the chiming bell that heralded my entrance . " Of course you are ! After all who comes to a motel if they aren 't looking to stay ! " He chuckled at his own joke , and I feigned laughter . I was too tired to find much of anything funny . It certainly was acceptable . I was expecting at least a hundred bucks . I really wasn 't too ecstatic about the price though . I had to wonder about how a motel was able to survive with such low prices when , if the mostly - empty parking lot was any indication , they didn 't get much business . " Uh … yeah . That 's alright . " I told him . Briefly , I considered trying to find somewhere else , but I was already there , and I was so tired . I thanked him and headed back out to my car . I pulled over to one end of the ' U ' shaped building , and parked in front of the door with the number ' 1 ' on the front . I was dreading what I would find in the room , but I tried to keep my spirits high . Each room had one bay window to the left of the door , but all of the blinds were drawn , so I couldn 't see inside any of them . As I got out of my car , I took note of the room directly across the parking lot from my own . In front of the door labeled ' 24 ' , a red Taurus was parked . It was a nice - looking car and in pretty good shape , which helped assuage any fears that I might have to guard my belongings . I didn 't want to lug any of my bags into the motel , only to bring them right back out again in the morning . Still , I made sure my car alarm was functional and pressed the lock button on my key - remote three times before I entered my room . I was pleasantly surprised immediately upon opening the door and flicking the light switch on the wall . A standing lamp by the bed - side lit up and I could see the room was actually … nice . It wasn 't extravagant by any stretch of the imagination , but it wasn 't the run - down piece of shit I was expecting . The bed was a queen , and someone took care to make sure it was neatly made . A couple reading chairs accompanied by a small table , sat in the corner . No T . V . to speak of , but that didn 't bother me any . The only unpleasantness I found was that it was a little stuffy inside . I cracked the screened - in bay window just a hair before turning in . Hitting the light switch again , I fell flat onto the bed flat on my stomach without even taking my shoes or coat off . Before I feel asleep , I pulled my phone out and set an alarm for 5 A . M . As soon as I put the phone down beside my head , I was unconscious . Remember when I said I 'd made three mistakes before leaving Chicago ? Well , the third mistake was the big one . I don 't know how long I was asleep for exactly . It couldn 't have been longer than a couple hours , but because I forgot to charge my phone before leaving , there 's no way for me to know . All I know is at some point in the night I was awoken with a start by a knock on the door . " Hold on . " I grumbled . Before I reached the door , I began to regain some of my sense in the dark . As the drunken spell of sleep left , another feeling began to replace it . Something was off about that voice outside my room . I realized that I 'd recognized it , from somewhere . Now moving with caution , as silently as I could , I crept to the side of the door to look out the window . I 'd open the window earlier , but I left the blinds shut . I lifted a hand and moved up one of the blind slats just enough so that I could get a peek out onto the parking lot . I could feel the color from my face leak out from my pores . Basked in the light of the hanging lamp outside the room , dressed in a yellow sun dress , was my mother . She stood smiling , as if it wasn 't strange at all she was in a different country in the earlier hours of the morning outside motel . I could feel myself shaking in my shoes . This wasn 't right , that just couldn 't be Mom . Not here of all places , not now . It was then I noticed the sound of knocking coming from the other side of the parking lot as well . In front of the red Taurus stood a man wearing a green parka , and he had a large bald spot on the back of his head . He had his left hand behind his back , and he was holding something , though I couldn 't tell what it was from that distance . Mr . Green Parka stepped into the room . He shut the door behind him , obscuring my view from what was going on inside , but not before light from the hanging lamp outside room 24 bounced off the object in his hand , and I saw it clearly . It was a knife . There is a fear beyond what most people know , a primal terror that breaks down logical thought and reason , I know because it began to ravage my mind in that very moment . I was shaking so bad that steadying my hands were impossible , and I wasn 't able to think clearly . For a single , awful second , I 'd believed I 'd lost my mind . Then , a ripping sound through the air silenced every screaming thought in my head . I knew immediately what the sound was . She was tearing the screen off of the window . She was going to get inside . She was going to kill me . My survival instinct kicked in , and I knew I only had one shot . I walked as quietly as I could over to the door , and I twisted the deadbolt as slowly as I could so it wouldn 't make a sound . Then I pulled out my car keys from my coat pocket , waiting with my finger above the unlock button . Those few seconds were hell as I waited , listening to the screen in the window tear . Finally , I could hear the window begin to rise , and the blinds slowly moved as a hand began to emerge from behind the bottom of the blinds . That was when I acted . I tore the door open and sprinted the few feet to my car while rapidly tapping the button on the key ring to unlock it . As I had hoped , the woman pretending to be my mother was caught off guard , and by the time she 'd realized what was happening and started to pull herself from the window , I already started my car and shifted into reverse . In the rear - view mirror , I saw Mr . Green Parka walking at a quick pace toward the car from room 24 . Without a second thought , I slammed on the gas pedal , backing into him and crushing him under the weight of both my rear and front passenger - tires . I then quickly shifted into drive , and my tires squealed as I tore out of the parking lot and back onto Highway 55 . I didn 't stop driving until I reached Shelly 's house . When I got there , I explained to her what happened , and she listened to every word . I told her everything that happened down to the smallest detail , as I 've described here , and though she looked concerned , she did not interrupt or question any of it . When I 'd finished my story , the water in her eyes suggested to me that maybe she thought I 'd gone crazy . After all , Shelly knew me very well . Shelly offered to call the police for me , but we haven 't yet . I don 't know what to say . My dead mother rose from the grave and tried to kill me ? They would laugh me all the way back home with a shiny new white jacket . Still , I had to call someone and report something . I was still shaking hours later in Shelly 's home while she made us coffee and I plugged my phone into a charger she let me use . " Hey , couldn 't help but notice you left in a rush , I was just calling to remind you that you still have the key to one of our rooms . You must have forgotten to drop it off in your hurry to leave . I don 't mind though , drop it off at your earliest convenience , and don 't forget … " I 've said it before , but I can 't stress it enough . Shelly and I were very good friends . She 'd met my mother on numerous occasions . Mom was easy to talk to , and she never made you feel wrong or different in anyway . As such , she left quite the positive impression on Shelly , as she did a lot of people .