Don’t Take THAT Room!
So okay, it’s [almost] summer, most everyone’s out sunning on the beach, scootering around, doing the garden, grilling, whatever. The big feel good movies to kick start the sunny season just came out and made a killing — Pirates of the Carribean and Shrek.
So I was thinking, how on earth does a 1408 Movie fit in with a Rat with gourmet tastes, an ogre who’s scared pantless of being a dad and a pirate who just can’t stop acting to make his movie last less than three hours?
Come to think of it, what was I doing early in bed the other day watching this scary show on the Travel channel about this group of English psychics trying to communicate with the ghosts of a penitentiary in Pennsylvania? For one, I don’t like creepy crawlies, I absolutely avoid watching gory movies, but the “unknown” still has an appeal, specially the spooky ones, no matter what the season, no matter what the weather.
It’s summer, a time to watch feel-good movies yeah? But I bet there would still be a gazillion people lining up for 1408. Why? For one it stars John Cusack and Samuel L Jackson. For another, it’s from a novel by Stephen King. AND from the trailer itself, it shows that it is very neatly done and quite quite interesting. I think the part about sending the postcard with the hotel name and saying don’t get room 1408 is superb. Of course you just know John WILL take that room. I don’t think so many people will be able to resist temptation [or stupid curiosity] when somebody says “Don’t .. “.
Seeing the trailer for the 1408 movie made me think of a time that I’d rather forget. When I was younger, I was stupid enough to say, hey you know what I don’t believe in ghosts. They probably exist but I don’t think they’ll ever get me cos they haven’t … YET. One summer, I was away on vacation when my roommates at the dorm decided it’s time to get our own place and they lugged all my things into this new apartment up on a hill in Baguio city.
Now that side of the town is more populated than the one where we were at [gaaaah, I was living with the nuns on a convent occupying an entire hill, go figure]. Some of the girls living in the older part of the convent would tell stories of headless nuns, waking up only to stare at a gory ghost of a nun floating parallel to them on their bed, etc etc, etc. So my friends thought, time to say bye-bye!
I stayed in that wing of the convent for 2 weeks with my mom when I first moved in and nothing happened, it was actually almost living like Maria in the Sound of Music. After the big earthquake of ‘91 [yes, I was there], ghost stories would surface left and right. I hate ghost stories, they spook me, because I’d always think … what if … you know it won’t happen but …
Anyway, to make a long story short, my two friends moved into this 2-floor apartmentI actually only found out that I have new digs when I came back to the convent to find my things were gone [gee thanks!]. They hauled me to the new place and it was actually very pretty and very cheap. But the morons signed up the lease without checking out why the house stood empty though it was very charming.
My first night was great. I bunked with them in their room to catch up on the latest gossips just like girls do after being away for a long time. Two days later, they told me that the ” nightly happenings” seemed to have stopped ever since I arrived. And they proceeded to tell me about all the weird noises they heard, the sound of water coming on even when no flowing water is coming out of the tap, somebody knocking on the door even when no one’s there and they can see out the window that nobody was playing a prank though they can still feel the knocking vibrations on the door. Hmmmnnn… so I said out loud, well your ghost seems to be scared of me. I’m the ghost buster extraordinaire! Hah.
Great. Shouldn’t have been bragging and teasing them the whole afternoon. That night, I again bunked with the girls because I was too lazy to get all my linens out and make my bed. Then the ruckus started. First there was the heavy breathing coming from downstairs, then the wild rampage, books flying, pots banging, then the chains. Whatever it was was trying to climb up the stairs! NO!! I was paralyzed, what the …
Then the “spirit” or spooky creature, would climb up the stairs and seemingly unable to go past four steps and it was going wild, banging its chains on the banister I swear one of the neighbors would surely report us and the police would come. On and on it went, chains and the angry footsteps going up and down the stairs was driving me crazy but I was scared stiff to even do anything much less breathe! Then I heard it, a soft voice in my head, “I’ll get you. I’ll get you. I’ll get you” like a mantra. It went on for hours. That was the torture I couldn’t quite shake.
I couldn’t take it anymore so I cried out loud, okay you’ll get me I’m coming down stairs. I turned the door handle and the first thing I saw was my rosary packet that my dad hang on my bedroom door to remind me to put it away. Then like it started, the noise stopped. The banisters have scratches so I knew I wasn’t hallucinating..
I was numbed scared. I walked out, took a ride to school and never went back to that place. I didn’t sleep for days, somebody had to watch over me or else I would be screaming if I see that everybody’s asleep. It was the kind of mind torture you undergo that you never forget.
That is why it’s still fun to be spooked at the cinema even though you hate getting spooked. I’d rather see it on the big screen than have it happen to me again.
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