As I pulled into the hotel parking lot, the rain increased from a light pitter pater to a full-on monsoon. Lightning and thunder cackled in the background as I pulled my suitcase from the trunk and raised it over my head. The large sign on the hotel displayed its name: Seven Stars Hotel. Unlike its name, it wasn't a highly rated hotel, coming in at whooping two stars. But it was the perfect place to hide from the mafia, since it was in the middle of nowhere and has very low ratings..

Entering the lobby, I was met with an interior design that was trapped in the 1980s: faded floral wallpaper, a humming air conditioner. On the left side of the room, four gray chairs sat around a glass table, their soft fabric worn from years of use. Two white couches faced each other over an old rug, with tall brass lamps at each end.

In the far back of the lobby was the elevator with two plants sitting next to the elevator doors. To the right was a sleeping receptionist behind a mahogany counter. Her head cradled in her arms beside a forgotten cup of to-go coffee. The receptionist's long brown hair was spread out over the papers in front of her.

She looked so peaceful; I almost didn't want to wake her up. But I’ve been on the road for 5 hours and I needed some rest.

A loud bang of thunder outside jolted the receptionist to life. The receptionist frantically looked around with hair in her mouth, confused and half awake. "Oh, hello there. I hope you haven't been waiting for too long!" she said, looking over at me, spiting the hair out of her mouth and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "My name is Bethany. let me get you checked into your room. Can I please have your ID and the credit card you used to book the room?”

"Hey there Bethany, looks like you’re towards the end of your shift. Resting up for a big night?" I said, standing in front of the front desk. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my ID and credit card.

Bethany took my cards and started typing something on her computer. "Oh no, it just started. I work the overnight shift." After a few minutes of clicking on her keyboard and mumbling to herself, her eyes grew wide, and she smiled, "Awesome. This is the first time I checked someone in without asking Drake for help!"

I chuckled. "Sounds like you just started working here. Don’t worry, starting a new job is always stressful, but it gets easier overtime," I said, taking my cards back.

"Thanks, but I've actually been here for two years now!" Bethany said. I understand why this hotel has such poor ratings now. She walked around the counter with a tiny envelope that held plastic cards that I assumed were my room keys. As Bethany waved for me to follow, and I walked with her to the elevator. "Your room is on the fifth floor. While I take you to your room, I’ll tell you about this hotel's rich history.”

Stepping into the elevator, Bethany pressed the button to floor number 5. “This hotel was first built in as a family-owned bed-and-breakfast in the 1980s. We still continue this tradition, so breakfast will start at 6:30 am and end at 11 am. Later in the 1990s, a popular chain bought the hotel from the family. They renamed it to the Seven Stars hotel. This location used to be one of their popular locations since it’s right near the interstate, and it’s a 7-story building. But things went downhill when the first death happened in the early 2000s.”

The elevator dinged, opening slowly. “Wait time out. Bethany, did you say the first death? As in, more than one person has died here?" I said, picking up my luggage and walking out of the elevator.

Bethany took the lead and walked down the long hallway of closed doors. The burgundy carpet muffled her footsteps, while brass room numbers caught the light from evenly spaced cream walls. Small tables with silk flowers stood between identical wooden doors, their key card readers blinked green in the dimness. The air smelled of cleaning products and cold air conditioning, and somewhere ahead, an ice machine hummed quietly against the silence.

"Yeah, unfortunately, multiple people have died during their time here at Seven Stars. There have been a few murders, a few suicides, and a plethora of accidental deaths." Bethany said. A plethora? Everyone’s biggest complaint was the unseasoned eggs. No one cared to mention the blood bath that happened here.

Walking down the hallway, we passed door after door, and she continued her story. "We had a guest that somehow made it to the roof and jumped off. Because of him, we put a fence around the roof. If you decide you want to go up to the roof, you'll need staff to accompany you just so you don't try anything funny. I would love to take you up there, so just let me know anytime you want to go. As an extra precaution, guest cannot open their own windows if they are staying on floors higher than the 2nd floor.” Bethany put her hand over her mouth. “Oh, how could I forget this just recently just happened? A guest was walking out of the shower, and they cracked their head on the toilet and died. To prevent that from happening again, we put non-slip mats on the ground outside every shower.”

Bethany stopped in her tracks with her hands to her mouth as she continued. “I have to tell you my favorite one. Back in the early 2000s, there was a vengeful wife that poisoned her husband because she caught him cheating with her sister. She’d been adding a little bit of poison to her husband’s morning coffee for years. She almost got caught adding poison to his drink and accidentally added the whole vial. The husband thought it was just a normal morning, and he didn’t think twice about drinking the coffee his wife made him. By the third sip, he was dead. She realized she added too much to his drink. The cops came and arrested her the same day. The wife said that she was just tired of taking care of her husband, so she had a 5-year plan to kill him."

"Ummm, shouldn't you give this information to your guest before they book a reservation?" I said.

"We do! When you made your reservation, it was in the Terms and Conditions, and you should've gotten a pdf sent to you by email.”

"No one reads the Terms and Conditions and that pdf was 500 pages long. There's no way anyone has read that thing."

"People usually don't, but that is why we added a line at the bottom of the Terms and Conditions explaining after you are given this speech, there is no refund.” Bethany said, stopping at the door at the end of the hallway.

"I feel like this is a bit of a scam. Why isn’t this explained more on the site?"

Bethany took out one of the key cards from the tiny envelope and opened the door. "You always have the freedom to leave. The Terms and Conditions also state that after you’ve heard the speech, and you still want to leave. We will honor your wishes and give you a gift bag and a gift card to rebook your stay at another time.” Bethany put a smile on her face and then leaned forward. “But I think you're going to want to stay after you lay down on the mattress. Each room comes with a luxury mattress. The manufacturer is the same company that makes mattresses for the royal family in England. The thread count of the sheets is over 500. When you rest your head, it will feel like your are resting on a cloud. But don’t take my word for it. Try it out for yourself. If you have any more questions, you know how to find me. I hope you enjoy your stay!”