I was on a road trip with my husband in September 2019, and after a long day of driving, we were tired. We stopped in Galena, IL, a town that looks like it’s been preserved in a Confederate snow globe, so we decided to spend the night. It was a Wednesday, and we figured we’d find a cheap room without much trouble. I walked into the De Soto House Hotel. It looked like if a Civil War reenactment married a bed and breakfast. I asked about a room, and the front desk clerk quoted me $300 for the night. I politely declined and went back to the car to check other options on my phone. I found out, everything nearby was either fully booked or somehow even more expensive. So I went back in and asked if they had any drop in discounts. She said that she can offer me a room for $150, but it’s in the haunted part of the hotel. I laughed, but she didn’t, and seemed concerned. I took the deal. She even threw in a $50 dining credit. It was like stumbling upon a spooky Groupon, I was excited. We ate dinner, made a few ghost jokes over wine, it was great. After dinner, we decided to take a walk around town. There was full moon, the town was empty, and it was kind of magical, until it wasn’t. We both got this weird, sense that someone was following us, and I kept seeing these flashes of bright white light in my peripheral vision, like someone ducking around corners with a flashlight. But every time I looked, there was nothing there. The town was completely empty. I got spooked and suggested we head back. The room was outdated, like a haunted Victorian dollhouse meets 1982 Holiday Inn. Old carpet, pink floral wallpaper, and a bed spread that should never meet a black light. The furniture was a mixture of vintage and the stuff you’d find on the street on garbage pickup day. Cozy but weird. A couple hours into sleep, my husband shook me awake and asked, “Why are you playing music?” I didn’t hear anything. He looked around, like he couldn’t figure out if he’d dreamt it. But the weird part, he’s half-deaf. The man can’t hear me when I’m standing right next to him. That was red flag number one. I shrugged it off and went back to sleep, until I woke up to the feeling of something tickling my ribs, and saying, “Goochy goochy goo.” It didn’t seem like it wanted to hurt me but it scared me. It was a whisper, with a creepy pedo energy from beyond. I sat straight up, and yelled “WHAT THE FUCK, PATRICK!” At first, I thought it had to be my husband. But when I turned to yell at him, he was asleep, turned away from me, and I seemed to have startled him out of his sleep. I somehow, I managed to convince myself it was just a dream, I had freaked myself out with all of the ghost stories, or maybe my husband did some half-conscious prank. After that, I refused to set foot off the bed for the rest of the night. I had my feet tucked in like the floor was lava and a demon was waiting to drag me under, eventually I fell back asleep. The next morning, we both felt completely drained, like we’d been out partying all night instead of sleeping nearly nine hours. We left the hotel first thing in the morning and started swapping stories in the car. That’s when my husband told me that when he got up to pee during the night, he looked in the mirror and saw someone standing behind him. I told him again that I was convinced he had tickled me. He swore on our kids lives that it wasn’t him. He said that he would never tickle me because I kick like a mule and he values his life. At that point, I started going through the photos I’d taken the night before. That’s when things got even weirder. Some of the pictures were completely blank, just solid white screens. Others had orbs, weird motion streaks, and shadows that made zero sense. I’ve taken thousands of photos on my iPhone, and this has never happened before. Then I started Googling the hotel. Turns out, people on the third floor (where we stayed) often report hearing classical music at night. Apparently, there used to be a ballroom on the fourth floor, before it was destroyed in a fire over a century ago. Long story short, I saved $150 and got a $50 dinner credit… in exchange for hearing ghost music, seeing flashes of light, some weird pictures, and being violated by something. Next time, I’ll sleep in the car with the lights on, with holy water and sage in the cup holder.

I posted some of the pictures of that night. I’m not saying it’s proof of anything, just showing the vibe.