October Ghosts. Jenny Plumb

at Braden and said, "Apologize."

      Sighing, Braden, muttered, "Sorry," before downing his shot in one gulp and then pouring another.

      Jessie stood and said, "We could still join in the toast with something non-alcoholic. Since Simon Benson was anti-alcohol, maybe toasting him with soda will make him more likely to appear."

      Paula grinned. "That's a good point."

      "We can get some soda from the vending machine," Seth added.

      Soon Olivia was holding her plastic cup of Sprite up in a toast with her friends. Jessie appeared to be somewhat disgruntled about his Sprite, since Paula and Braden both had vodka, but Olivia was still glad she'd talked him out of drinking.

      Paula said, "Thank you to Mr. Benson for creating such a wonderful building that has stood for over a hundred years and given millions of people luxurious shelter for the night. Cheers!"

      "Cheers," they all said and clinked glasses before taking a drink.

      "All right," Jessie said, setting his glass down and rubbing his hands together. "Let's go see some ghosts."

      Paula walked to the door but didn't open it. "Remember to keep your voices down. If we get complaints, we may be asked to leave. Braden will stay in the back of the group to film, and if we run into any other guests, he'll hide the camcorder. Technically, I don't think we're supposed to be filming here." She opened the door, and they all gathered in the hall.

      "This way." Paula pointed down the long hallway, and Jessie fell in step next to her.

      Olivia followed behind them with a smile. She wasn't expecting to see anything supernatural, but she was still excited to explore the hotel.

      Seth was bored. The group had spent the past hour walking around the hotel, and they hadn't seen anything of note except one flickering light in the stairwell. But Paula and Jessie still seemed to be excited by the ghost hunt, so he kept his opinion to himself.

      When they were walking down the stairwell, Paula said, "Let's stand by the flickering light for a few minutes and see if anything happens."

      They gathered on the small landing between the seventh and eighth floor where the stairs turned. Seth leaned against a wall to wait it out and smiled when Olivia leaned next to him. Paula and Jessie looked over the railing, to see the stairs winding all the way down to the first floor way below. Braden moved down a couple of steps so he could film them all at the same time. They could hear doors opening now and then, and they heard the footsteps of people going between floors above them and below them, but no one walked past them for the next ten minutes.

      The light above them flickered faster for a moment and then went out. Paula gasped and they all stared up at the fixture. Some light from the other sections of the stairway above and below meant they weren't in complete darkness, but both Seth and Paula got out their phones and turned on the flashlight function to help everyone see.

      Paula whispered, "It's silent."

      Seth focused and didn't hear any doors or footsteps at the moment, just silence. He turned to see Olivia's reaction, knowing she was the skeptic of the group. She didn't appear to be in awe or frightened by this possible supernatural event.

      The sudden clack of footsteps directly above them rang out loudly, making everyone jump and stare at the stairs above.

      "Oh my God," Paula exclaimed softly. Seth saw her grab Jessie's arm. "Do you guys hear that?"

      Jessie nodded, leaning out from the railing to try seeing the stairs above. "I don't see anyone."

      Seth turned to Olivia. Her eyebrows were furrowed with worry. "We've been hearing people on the stairs all night," she said.

      "Yeah, after we hear a door open," Paula argued.

      The footsteps stopped as suddenly as they'd started, and silence filled the air once more.

      "Is someone just standing there?" Olivia whispered, crossing her arms over her stomach. "Waiting in the stairway like some predator?"

      "Or was it Mr. Benson?" Jessie asked with awe in his voice.

      Seth saw Olivia shudder and decided that was enough. "Or, it could be someone playing a prank." He went to the stairway and yelled up, "Hello? Anyone up there?" When the only answer was silence, Seth said, "I'm going to go check," and started up the stairs a bit slower than usual, wary of what he might encounter.

      The light flickered back on, and two floors below, a door opened. They all heard laughter and voices as a couple began to ascend. Seth climbed the stairs, but before he could make it past the eighth floor, he heard a door open above him, and then there were more voices in the stairwell. He went back to the group and shook his head. "Didn't see anyone before the door opened on the ninth or tenth floor."

      Paula grinned and asked Braden, "Did you get all that?"

      "You bet your ass I did."

      "I can't believe we got so lucky!" Jessie exclaimed.

      "Me either!" Paula agreed.

      "A creepy potential rapist is trolling the stairs, and you guys are happy?" Olivia asked.

      "Potential rapist?" Paula asked. "The doors didn't open before or after we heard the footsteps, Liv. It was a ghost."

      Seth could tell Olivia was unsettled and wondered if a past rape, or attempted rape, was the skeleton in her closet that Jessie had alluded to. Wanting to protect her, he went to stand next to her and said gently, "Or, much more likely, teenage boys trying to scare people and perpetuate the idea of ghost sightings here at the hotel."

      Olivia looked at him with gratitude and nodded. "Right. Teens playing a prank."

      "How can you not believe the evidence when it's right in front of your face?" Paula asked.

      The light flickered off again as the people who had come from above them came into view walking down the stairs.

      "Hi," the young couple said cheerfully, smiling at the group as they passed.

      When the couple was out of sight, the light flickered back on. Olivia pointed to it and said, "I'm sorry, but that's not evidence of anything supernatural, and neither are footsteps."

      Paula rolled her eyes and said, "Come on; let's go to the lobby and check out the original staircase."