The Innkeeper's Bride

I live in a small town, with a population barely over 1,000. We are hardly worth a spot on county roadmaps, but we are one of the top places to visit if you're looking for a good story. Our town was founded in 1943 by a man named Richard Meeks, who later married Elizabeth Marie, who bore a male child they called Mortimer Meeks. As Mortimer grew, so did the town, eventually reaching a population well over 200, by the time he reached age 17. When he turned 18, his father past away, leaving in his will the Inn that was one of the first buildings established. It was Mortimer's duty to become an Innkeeper, just as his father was. However, Mortimer had other plans. At age 24, he married Annabelle Garner, a young widow of a wealthy family. Now this is where the story gets strange. After the marriage, Annabelle requested that they move into the old Inn, because it was the first thing she noticed when she moved into the town. Wanting to please her, Mortimer complied. They were in the Inn for less than two weeks when something in Mortimer snapped. He became closed off, reserved, and sometimes even hostile. According to the story, it was said that Mortimer suffered from hallucinations, and he told others In the town that 'his wife was possessed.' Eventually, customers of the Inn began to disappear. They would check in, but never check out. When once questioned by police, Mortimer claimed that they had been unclean, and she didn't want them around anymore. People then assumed that he had simply run them off. But as more and more disappearances occurred, it was getting harder to ignore. Not only was it the disappearances that unnerved people, but the Inn as well. What was once a beautiful, three story wooden fortress, was now beginning to decay. The wood turned a dull, grey color, rotting and infested with termites. Vines and weeds littered the landscape, and grew up the sides of the outside walls. Windows cracked, as if the weight of the walls were shifting, Changing. The whole Inn seemed to be flooded in a darkness that sent others hiding In the comfort of their home. 14 years after an unsteady marriage, Mortimer committed suicide, jumping off of the third story staircase, in onto the stone statue of an angel in the center of the main hall. He left a note that simply read 'Can't do this anymore. She's watching me...always watching me. Don't look into her eyes. Don't look into her eyes. Don't look into her eyes." Police were baffled, but did nothing to pursue the meaning of the note.

I type this now as a warning, after Mortimer's death, Annabelle was no where to be found. She simply up and vanished. I made no mention of the town, or it's location, to keep you from finding us. She's watching us...she's always watching us. She's watching you, too.

Don't look into her eyes.