When Damion started the night shift he thought that it would be a piece of cake. Little did he know that it was the most active time of the job that he was hired for. His supervisor, Mr. Finch showed him around the movie studio lot first and then peeked into a couple of the studio buildings.
“Now on this shift there shouldn't be anyone here so just make sure that no one sneaks in. I don't know what the attraction is about this place but I had to chase a couple of teenagers out last week,” Mr. Finch said.
“Okay, no problem sir,” Damion said.
“Benson will be in at 5 o’clock to relieve you… Oh, and call me only if there’s an emergency,” Mr. Finch handed over the flashlight.
“Okay, have a goodnight sir,” Damion nodded as he took the flashlight.
As Mr. Finch walked toward the entrance of the lot, Damion glanced around. Other than the street lights fifty feet apart from each other, it was a very dark night. And even though you could here some occasional traffic on the main street, it was fairly quiet too.
For the first couple of hours Damion casually strolled the studio lot and didn’t have any problems. It wasn’t until Damion sat down for his first coffee break that an alarm went off in one of the studio buildings. He went into the security office and looked at the one monitor to see which building alarm was triggered.
“Oh, of course, it has to be a studio on the other end of the lot,” Damion grabbed the keys to the golf cart.
He closed the office door, took a sip of his coffee and then headed out to the golf cart. It took Damion a few minutes to get to the studio with the tripped alarm because he got lost. He had made a turn one street too soon, but when he did arrive at the studio, the alarm had stopped. Hmm, I wonder if the alarms are on a timer, he thought. Damion shined his flashlight at the studio door and then scanned it to the left side of the building. He didn’t see anyone but he knew that he should check inside to make sure.
Damion checked the door knob and it was locked. He got out his master key and unlocked it. When he walked inside the dark studio, he noticed a faint smell of a cherry scented cigar. Damion shined his flashlight around the room but didn’t see anyone.
“If anyone is here you better come out right now.”
Nobody answered him or came into view so Damion looked around some more. All of a sudden something behind him hit the floor. Damion was startled and quickly turned around. He shined his light and saw the collapsed directors chair on the floor.
“Where did that come from?”
He walked over, picked up the chair, and leaned it against the wall before he walked further into the studio. As he shined the flashlight around the room he recognized a few cameras and light stands, as well as a bar with bar stools set up for a movie scene. When Damion walked up to the bar to look around it, he smelled that cigar smell again.
“Why do I keep smelling a cigar? he scanned the room with his light.
When he decided that nobody was in there he walked back outside and locked the door. He took a short walk around the back of the building and still saw no one. After Damion walked back to the golf cart he heard something a way’s up the street. He got on, drove slow, and shined his spotlight on the buildings. He didn’t see anyone until he approached studio four. The light caught a glimpse of something white in one of the windows on the second floor.
Damion stopped near the building and shined his flashlight up at the window, “I could have sworn I saw something up there.”
He walked up to the door and that one was locked too. With the master key, he unlocked it and pushed the door open.
“Is anyone in here? Come out now or I’ll call the police,” Damion shined the light from one side of the room to the other.
Just then he heard the creaking of the floor upstairs as if someone was walking. He looked for the staircase and carefully walked over to it. Damion shined his flashlight up the stairs and called out again but no one showed. He then heard what sounded like a door creak and then shut. He knew that he had to go up there to make sure that there wasn't anyone hiding. Okay, you can do this, he thought before taking the first step.
Damion shined the light up one more time and looked before he shined it in front of him on the steps. One by one he walked up the steps until he reached the second floor. He shined his light to the left and then to the right but saw no one.
“Who’s up here? You better come out, this is private property,” Damion said sternly.
He turned to the left and carefully walked down the dark hallway. He shined his light inside of the first room on the right but didn’t see anyone. There was only a bed and a nightstand in there. So, Damion continued down the hall to next room. When he shined his light inside that room he saw different props and light fixtures but not a single person. I wonder which door I heard shut, he thought. He turned around and headed toward the other side of the second floor. When he passed the staircase, he smelled that cherry scented cigar again.
Damion carefully walked toward the room that he figured to have the window where he saw something. He noticed the door was closed to the room and carefully opened it. While he pushed the door open, a stronger smell of cigar wafted out at him. He shined the light inside and saw a set up of a living room with all early 1800 period furniture. When he walked inside he also observed the window that he saw from the street. Damion shined the light around the room and noticed the slight movement of white go into the connecting room.
“Hey, you can’t be in here,” Damion said and followed.
As he walked into the bedroom and shined his light, he saw a grey-haired and grey-bearded man in a white 1800 period suit smoking a cigar. Damion blinked his eyes a few times and then told the man that he can’t be in there. The man said nothing to Damion and leaned up against the fireplace.
“Sir, did you hear me, you have to leave. This is private property.”
When Damion shined the light to the other side of the room and then back to the old man, he was gone. He quickly shined the light all around the room but didn’t see anyone.
“Where did he go? I didn’t hear him walk past me.”
Damion rushed out of the room and into the hallway but couldn’t find the old man. What is going on here, he thought. He looked in all the rooms again and didn’t find anyone.
“I know what I saw but where did he go?”
Damion decided to head back to the front office so he locked the studio and climbed back onto the golf cart. While driving to the office, he was trying to understand what he just saw. He looked like a real man and I even smelled his cigar, he thought.
“Did I just see my first ghost?” Damion was befuddled.
When Damion reached the front, he parked the golf cart and then went into the office to get some more coffee. He sat down and ate his sandwich and reviewed in his head what the gentleman looked like. The rest of the night was quiet with no incidents which pleased Damion. Just before 5 0’clock Benson walked into the office and introduced himself to Damion. Damion introduced himself as well but Benson noticed a puzzled and somewhat distraught look on Damion’s face.
“You met Mr. Whitman didn’t you?” Benson smiled.
“You’ve seen the grey-haired man too?” Damion felt relieved.
“Yes I have. Grey-haired, grey beard and in a white suit? He’s been here with us for years. I was actually surprised to see that you are still here,” Benson said.
“Well, I was starting to question myself and the job,” Damion said.
“Well, I’m happy that you stuck around, the guy you replaced didn’t last all night,” Benson smiled. “But don’t worry, Mr. Walt Whitman is a pleasant spirit. We have a few other spirits who occasionally visit us too.”
Damion smiled and was relieved that he wasn’t losing his mind. He knew that he saw a man, it just turned out to be a spirit of a famous poet.
The End
This story is great ! I would like a job like that providing I was told first about the ghosts.