Part of this story was actually based on my experience on a ghost tour in El Paso, Texas. The tour was real, and my experience with the doll was real.
Am I still a skeptic? For the most part haha.
But hey! Shout out to the El Paso Ghost Tour for giving me the idea!
Morgana had never believed in ghosts. Sure, it fascinated her, but she always thought there must be some logical reason behind it all. Even if they were real, they would be the least of her problems. When her friends invited her on a ghost tour in the underground of El Paso, she figured it would be a fun time; it would get her away from her horrible home life, and she loves learning the history of the city.
Before the tour started, her friends decided to do things to get into the mood. They went to an old pub that was said to be haunted. They had a few drinks and shared some food to pass the time. Morgana felt really free at this moment. A silly ghost tour is just what she needed right now.
8 PM rolled around, and the tour had started. Everyone would gather inside an old, creaky building that had supposedly haunted artifacts. The tour guide let everyone explore the building and artifacts for a bit before guiding the group down a set of stairs. The steps were old, and some of the steps were rotted. The whole time, Morgana was thinking someone could get hurt from falling through the steps as opposed to some ghost pushing them or some curse set in the place.
The stairs led the group deep into the underground that was once old El Paso. A few people were handed small devices meant to detect paranormal activity—EMF meters, spirit boxes and even a Raggedy Ann doll that lights up if a ghost made contact. And no, before you think it’s THE Annabelle doll, it’s not.
Morgana watched as the others eagerly tried to communicate with the spirits, asking mundane questions and waiting for the flicker of light or static noises from these devices. It amused Morgana as she leaned against a wooden beam, smirking.
Once everyone had their chance with the device, it was handed to Morgana. She took it and asked, “If you’re really there, are you happy?” The device all of a sudden went crazy. She could hear the group getting excited and egged her on. She decided to humour them and asked the ghost, “Why stick around on this pathetic planet?” The device responded to her again. Once it calmed down, she handed the devices back to the guide. Neat trick, she thought to herself. She thought it was one of those scammy things where a device is set to go off at certain times and play on people’s beliefs. Yet half of her was intrigued and perhaps hoping that something did try to talk to her.
The tour guide led the group further in until they came to an old, open room with many cabinets, still filled with things left behind from decades ago. The air was so thick and smelled old and rotted. It was a neat little room, and Morgana was interested in looking around and learning more about the history there.
Before the guide let the group explore the room, he told a story about a young man from the 1920s who got murdered in this very room. According to some old records, a fight broke out between the workers, and one took a sledgehammer to his head, killing him on impact. Murmurs amongst the tour members broke out and some were speculating this could be an angry spirit. Morgana, being a true crime fan, was more fascinated with the story than the ghost.
The guide handed the devices out again, and the group began asking the usual questions. But again, the devices stayed quiet.
Morgana wandered off by herself to check out the trinkets left behind. She saw some old hammers, chisels, pieces of broken wood and crushed beer cans dating back to the 20s. One of the tour members was getting freaked being in the room and decided to leave the Raggedy Ann doll with Morgana. Thinking nothing of it, she decided to have a bit of fun and started talking about beer and how good it is. As if on cue, the doll started flashing excitedly.
Her friends saw this and came over to look. Morgana continued to talk to it like it was a friend, “Well, if you ever wanna share a beer with me, just let me know!” The doll started flashing out of control. One of her friends got super excited and started squeeing loudly. The other members saw the commotion and joined in to look. “Stop it! You’re scaring me!” Cried out one of the members, the fear palpable in their voice.
Morgana laughed and responded, “Alright, I’ll stop.” She handed the doll over to the guide just in time for the tour to end. Her friends were talking excitedly about what happened, and Morgana laughed it off, still thinking it was all a trick.
What she didn’t know was the spirit had taken a liking to her and followed her home…
Informative
Hey Kathy, this is a great story, especially with Halloween coming up! I know some of this is fiction but it almost reads like a true story lol. I’ve visited a few scary houses where people would try to scare you but not an actual “haunted” house lol. I don’t think I have the guts for that 😂 Keep up the great work! :)