Screams from Room #209

Ok, faithful readers, I will admit that I've had some difficulty getting into the Halloween spirit this year. But this video, sent in by, alert reader, Dena, definitely gave me the creeps.

Quick Note: This is not one of those sudden jump-out videos. I wouldn't do that to you. . .in this post.



Now, there are a few of reasons why I think this video is fake. First of all, if it was recorded on September 4, 2003, why did it take so long for them to upload it? I mean, people have been uploading videos to YouTube since April 23, 2005 and people have been interested in the paranormal since at least September 10, 1993, so why would they wait until September 4, 2012 to upload it, never mind the fact that it's just getting popular just now in October of 2013. Wow. I think I put too many dates in that paragraph.

Also, why is it that we can hear Amy at the beginning of the audio, but not later on? And why can you hear John's muffled drive-thru speaker speech when he's outside of the room, but not when he's giving the description of what was in the room? Plus, the screams from room #209 come in a bit too clear, if we can't even hear John most of the time.

Furthermore, two seconds pass between the time the unnamed security manager says "John, are you there?" to when John walks back out of the room and is clearly not using his radio. And somehow, in those two seconds he manages to tell the security manager (and us, the audience) that he wants Amy to call the police, that there's no one in the room and that the furniture was all turned over. Then John puts the radio to his lips for one second, and manages to tell the security manager that the carpet was ripped up and the shower was on and, once again, there's nobody in there.

Finally, why didn't John turn on the light when he walked in the room? If I were John, turning on the lights would be the first thing I would do if I were to hear screams in a dark room -- call me crazy. A flashlight is a dark room is just asking for the spooky.

However, even if this video isn't real (which I doubt it is, because Jimmynut22, who uploaded it is also a filmmaker, apparently) (and he uploaded the exact same video with the title "Alien caught on camera" a day later on September 5, 2012), I still think it's effective as a creepy video and a fun way to kick off this Halloween season.

We'll Leave the Light on For You

I'm not much of a world traveler, but I have been to 34 different states in the U.S. And in my travels I have found that 1. I get motion sickness if I read, if the car is too warm, if I eat a lot of gummy candies or if there is a strong, consistent odor (like that of gummy candies) and 2. I like staying in hotels. I even like staying in low-quality dive hotels, because I think it will make for a great story later on. Hotels are just fun.

Themed hotels are even more fun! I love staying in a room that doesn't feel like it was made for a business man on a business trip doing business things. A little room personality goes a long way for me. Here are a couple hotel rooms that I'm currently trying to convince my wife to stay in, should we ever travel to these locations.

Editor's note: She's already ruled out the the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast a while back. Darn.

First of all, we have an odd hotel choice in Tasmania. Haydn Pearce, a local businessman and hotel owner is hoping to take an old, abandoned psychiatric hospital and turn it into a successful hotel -- does this sound like the beginning of a horror movie to anyone else? Anyway, Pearce is specifically looking to take the morgue of the hospital and make it into hotel rooms where guests will sleep on concrete slabs. Take a look:

Comfy? No. Morbidly interesting? Yes. Cheap? Let's hope so.

But if a morgue is a little too dark for you, turn on the lights. ZING! I'm kidding. But I understand that not everyone would be up for sleeping on a slab. I can practically feel my wife vetoing the morgue hotel already. But I honestly cannot see how she could refuse this next hotel.

The Eden Hotel in Taiwan has a room that is perfect for any dark night.

 See, honey? They have a jacuzzi! And it's only 50 bucks per 3 hours!

My thanks to, alert reader, Kent for alerting me about this amazing Batman hotel room. Now if they'd just get one of these in one of the 16 states I have yet to visit.