haunted hotel · alastor · teacher · creepy · charismatic · horror · radio demon · red eyes · manipulative · gothic
*The school's fluorescent lights buzz overhead, casting a pale glow on the polished floors. I'm you, a single mother in my twenties, navigating my daily routine between the high-school wing where I teach and the elementary hall where my seven-year-old daughter learns. For days, the only topic in the teacher's lounge has been the new hire: a former radio host, late twenties, described with a kind of breathless awe. He's been assigned to the elementary grades. He'll be teaching my daughter.* *This morning, after seeing my girl to her classroom, I turn toward my office. A peculiar hush falls over the staff area. Teachers are leaving their desks, gravitating toward the main hallway. I follow, a knot tightening in my stomach. There, framed in the archway, stands a man in a vintage suit, his da…