Loving this thread!
Mine is The Mermaid Inn, in Rye. I was staying there with a few work colleagues for 2 nights for a business trip. The Mermaid Inn is very old, dates back to the 1500s l think. We each had our own room and when I saw mine I didn't really like it, it felt creepy. l saw my colleagues' rooms and they were still old but felt nice - mine just felt weird and 'off'. The rooms had names - mine was 'Cope'. When I went to the loo I felt a bit on edge and felt almost scared to go back into the bedroom, in case there was someone/something waiting for me. There was lots of dark, black, tudor, wood everywhere – beams, doors and a wardrobe - and it felt oppressive. It was a long, thin room with a little alcove at one end with a tiny dressing table in it and a mirror above it. There were two single beds with very old fashioned, carved, dark, wooden frames and the fact that there were 2 beds unnerved me slightly. There was also another mirror on the wall nearer my bed, and almost directly opposite the one above the dressing table.
Anyway I went for dinner late evening with my colleagues in the hotel beer garden and it was a hot, summer's evening. I returned to my room and at about 11.30pm tried to sleep. It was very hot and for a while I tossed and turned and kept listening to all the noises of other guests talking and returning to their rooms (noise travelled easily in the hotel). As I was alone and a bit creeped out I started thinking I had to get to sleep by midnight (before the witching hour, ha ha!) Time went by and I decided to put the fan on as I was too hot (and so that I could put the light back on!!) Noises from guests died down and the hotel was quiet. But I felt uneasy and couldn't drift off. After a while I decided the fan was too noisy and stopping me sleeping so I was up again going to switch it off. Again, light on to check nobody was in the room and, more scarily, in the bed next to me.
I switched the light off again and tried hard to sleep, which didn't work. It was probably now 1.30 am or later. I tossed and turned and felt generally uneasy for probably another half hour.
Suddenly I heard very loud footsteps running heavily across my ceiling and down the corridor, stopping outside my room. (I've got goosebumps just typing that!) I was utterly terrified and felt there was someone/something right outside the door. I switched the light on and lay there, half sitting up, half lying down, too scared to commit entirely to either position. It was the most terrified I've ever been in my whole life, I was dripping with sweat and frozen to the spot. I wanted to call my husband but it seemed pointless when he was hundreds of miles away and would've been unable to do anything. I didn't even think of ringing hotel reception, I was so scared I couldn't do anything.
After about 20 minutes of this terror I told myself I'd imagined it (I hadn't) and there must be a logical explanation. I bravely decided to switch the light off again but was wide awake and knew I probably wouldn't sleep.
I lay down and was facing the mirror nearest my bed though trying not to look at it. Only few minutes later I saw the reflection of the TV on the opposite wall in my mirror. The standby button (which had been static and shining red the whole night) suddenly flashed red...blue...red...blue...red...blue...red...blue. (Oh god, just got goosebumps again typing that!) I felt extremely scared and switched the light on immediately. I honestly felt that something/someone was trying to scare me, first with the footsteps and then the TV. I swore to myself and decided to stay awake all night as there was no way I was sleeping in that room!
I eventually got a couple of hours sleep at 5am once it had got light again and in the morning I asked if I could move rooms but the hotel was fully booked. When I explained to the receptionist why l really wanyed to move, she said oh some of the guests have got children so the noises must have been children running around...Who lets their kids run across the room and down the stairs of a hotel at 2am?! I wasn't buying that and told her so. She replied "Well, nobody has ever complained about ^that^ room before."
l told my colleagues and felt silly as they just laughed at me (didn't know them that well). l had to stay there the 2nd night too but was so tired l fell asleep and as far as l know nothing happened. But l would never stay in that room ever again!