It was a cold, misty evening when I checked into The Mist Vale Inn — a quiet, old hotel perched on the edge of a lonely hill in Shimla. The wooden staircase creaked under my steps, chandeliers hung like forgotten memories, and the walls carried faded portraits of strangers long gone.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDrnl8uDbq
At the reception, I signed the guest register.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtujFD3EE4N
"Rahul Verma. One night."
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN91pxRHgKb
The receptionist didn’t smile. He just said,
“Room 304. Third floor.”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNlrEl8emBM
I took the key and walked toward the staircase. The silence in the building was unsettling — like the walls were holding their breath.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmdcoLhNo51
On the third floor, I found Room 301… then 302… then 303…
And after that — just a blank wall.
No Room 304.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4D4PyAefpf
I stood there confused.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdteLMTtPVW
I went back downstairs.
“There’s no Room 304. It just… doesn’t exist,” I told the receptionist.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXfQFvhaWYx
He stared at me with hollow eyes.
“Sir, I just gave you the key for 304...”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNhy3qD5Ia
I looked at the key again.
It clearly said 304 on the brass tag.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn4eTYzQZC2
I walked back up, this time more slowly. I examined the wall near 303 — and there it was: a faint outline, barely visible.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk3NqxNImo0
I pushed the wall gently, and with a soft click…
A door opened.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCwMNbkjfo
The air was stale and damp. The room was dark — no lights, no windows. It smelled of mildew… blood… and something else I couldn’t describe.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJNBwngEyBU
The moment I stepped inside,
the door shut behind me.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAzmoTF0sW3
I pulled out my phone —
No signal.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1txbE8aVsT
The room had only an old, rusted bed, a broken cupboard, and a yellowed newspaper nailed to the wall.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwj7HjeQPC
The headline read:
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAWVvrJNfu
> “Local boy Rahul Verma murdered in Room 304 of Mist Vale Hotel — body never recovered.”
(Dated: 1997)
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRV0doijMHi
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWfbWqb581U
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQCMPTRYErT
I dropped the newspaper.
That was my name.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7vhoWj5hx
And then…
A whisper from behind me:
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3C9TAI5dO6
"This time… you won't leave."
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTecK1bPI5
I spun around —
No one.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgT5nqXlMq
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡusjDyHWGrM
---
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4sl32pnulT
🩸 Twist Ending:
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQyxxpQmR9s
To this day, the reception register at Mist Vale still carries the name:
“Rahul Verma — Room 304”
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCyeNfdhcsz
And every year, on the same date, someone checks in looking for that room…
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1BVLXd3AjW
But they’re never seen again.
23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM6rw72AFH8
and then Add to home screen.