Room 616
April 6, 2025
“Don’t put anyone in 616,” the front desk manager told Sam on his first shift at the old motel.
Sam had laughed. “What, is it haunted or something?”
The manager didn’t smile. “Just don’t.”
Naturally, Sam was curious. The motel was half-empty, so why leave one room untouched?
That night, a guest stormed in, angry. “I booked a double, and there’s nothing else available?”
Sam hesitated. “…There’s 616.”
“Fine,” the man snapped. “I don’t care if it’s cursed.”
Sam handed over the key. Regretted it instantly.
At 2:13 a.m., the lobby phone rang.
“Front desk,” Sam answered.
A long pause.
Then a whisper: “There’s someone in the room.”
“Sir?”
“In the mirror. I—I thought it was me, but… it’s smiling.”
Click.
Sam rushed upstairs.
He knocked. “Sir?”
No answer.
He opened the door.
Empty.
The lights were off, but the TV buzzed with static. One bed was perfectly made. The other looked… wrong. Like something had been curled up in it. Too long. Too thin.
Sam turned to the mirror above the desk.
His reflection stared back.
Then smiled.
He wasn’t smiling.
He stumbled back, heart hammering.
The reflection leaned forward and mouthed something.
He couldn’t hear it. But he knew what it said:
Stay.
Sam shut the door and ran downstairs.
The manager was waiting, pale and furious.
“You put someone in 616.”
“He left!” Sam said. “He—he saw something!”
The manager didn’t blink. “Did you?”
Sam didn’t answer.
The next night, the key to 616 was missing from the board.
Sam hadn’t removed it.
He checked the room. It was locked. Dark.
He unlocked it, slowly.
Inside, the room was clean. Empty.
Except on the mirror, someone had written:
ONE GOT OUT. ONE MUST STAY.
He turned to leave.
But the door was gone.
Not closed—gone. Just a blank wall.
He spun, panicked.
The reflection was still there.
But it wasn’t his anymore.
The figure in the mirror turned and walked away.
Deeper into the room.
Then it vanished.
Leaving Sam behind the glass.
The next morning, the manager sighed as he found the room open.
Inside, neat and empty.
He hung the key back on the board.
Another guest came in later, asking for a room.
The manager smiled grimly. “Only one left,” he said, handing them the key to 616.