Don’t Answer Room 309

I started working at this hotel just a few weeks ago. It was an old hotel, but honestly I didn’t mind it. The nights were quiet, the pay was decent, and most nights, it was uneventful.

That’s until my manager gave me one specific rule to follow

Rule: Don't Answer Room 309.

“Whatever you do, don’t answer room 309.”

At first, I laughed because I just thought that she was messing with me. But I stopped when I saw she was all serious. “I’m serious.”

I asked her why. “Because room 309 has been empty for 6 years.”

Then she walked away.

I thought it was strange.

I didn’t realize how strange it actually was…until a few weeks later, when I was working the night shift alone.

I recently moved to night shift because I started my college classes again, so it better fit my schedule for my morning class. So around most nights, I was there from 2pm-10pm. It was really more of a evening shift than overnight.

And honestly?

I liked it.

There weren’t many people around. You’d say hi to very few people, and the rest of the night you were on your own. There was something peaceful about an almost empty hotel at night.

At least…

I thought there was.

I was doing my homework during my shift a little past 6pm because that’s usually when it’s empty. I had to check something in the drawer, so I opened the first drawer on my left-hand side to see, but something caught my attention.

I spotted a notebook that had the written words:

“Logbook”

Like the one I currently have-except it’s newer. This one is way older. I decided to be nosy and go through it. I grabbed what I needed and took the logbook home to go through it. When I got home, I started going through it.

It’s a log book that was written by old previous night shift employees.

Most of it was normal.

One thing I noticed was that every few pages- someone mentions room 309.

“2:17 AM — phone rang.”

Another:

“2:17 AM — heard knocking.”

Another:

“2:17 AM — DO NOT ANSWER.”

Then I turned to the last page.

It's dated six years ago.

And the final entry says:

“If you're reading this, it means Room 309 has started calling again.”

That’s when the phone rang.

2:17am.

I didn't work overnight, but the next day, my coworker told me what happened after I left. I left after 10pm, and he arrived to cover the overnight shift.

He said it was around 2:17 AM when the phone at the front desk started ringing.

He checked the caller ID.

Room 309.

At first, he thought it was some kind of glitch.

He let it ring.

It stopped.

Then it rang again.

Same thing.

Room 309.

He said he remembered the rule my manager had given me, so he didn't answer it.

But after the third time, he got curious.

He picked up the phone.

“Front desk.”

For a few seconds, there was nothing.

Then he heard a woman's voice.

She sounded scared, but he could barely hear what she was saying.

She said something about being in the room and needing assistance.

My coworker immediately looked toward the security cameras.

The hallway on the third floor was completely empty.

He looked back at the phone, but the woman was still talking.

She kept saying that someone was knocking on her door.

Then, all of a sudden, the call disconnected.

He told me he just sat there for a few seconds, trying to figure out what he had just heard.

Then he checked the security cameras again.

Nothing.

No one had gone down the hallway.

No one had entered Room 309.

And according to the hotel's system...

Room 309 was still empty.

The next morning, he told our manager what happened.

She didn't seem surprised.

She just told him not to worry about it and to forget it ever happened.

But that only made me more curious.

Because I still had the old logbook.

So when I got home that night, I looked through the old notebook again.

I started reading through the entries again, this time looking specifically for anything about Room 309.

That's when I noticed something I had completely missed before.

The entries about Room 309 weren't random.

They were all happening on the same date.

Six years ago.

And the more I read...

the stranger they got.