A Night at the Shanley Hotel

By Jason Medina

While driving along Route 209 through Napanoch, New York, a weary traveler stops for the night at a rural bed and breakfast called the Shanley Hotel. What happens next is a series of paranormal events, which he cannot explain, nor fully comprehend. His bazaar experiences soon drive him to the brink of madness, as he encounters the spirits that are said to haunt this quaint hotel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 14, 2019
• ISBN: 9781796065589

Jason Medina

Jason was born in April of 1971and raised in the Bronx, New York. He lived with his parents on the second floor of a three family house surrounded by family both upstairs and downstairs from him. Ever since he was a small child Jason always had an interest in telling stories. He wrote his very first comic book-style story at the age of five in his parents bedroom, while he watched television. It was the first of an ongoing science fiction story based on short hairy fictional creatures from another world. They were caught up in an intergalactic war against humans from Earth and another race of beings. Jason went on to do over ten comic stories based on these characters, drawing the pictures to go along with the story. He even won first prize in a book-making contest, while in the third grade.

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 by Jason Medina.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2019916240

ISBN:       Hardcover       978-1-7960-6560-2

                 Softcover         978-1-7960-6559-6

                 eBook              978-1-7960-6558-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 10/11/2019

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1 A Dark Stormy Night

Chapter 2 A Stop for the Night

Chapter 3 The Blue Room

Chapter 4 Dreaming

Chapter 5 The Great Room

Chapter 6 Dream a Little Dream

Chapter 7 The Bordello

Chapter 8 Rosie

Chapter 9 Fire!

Chapter 10 The Crying Girl

Chapter 11 Claire

Chapter 12 Third Floor Guests

Chapter 13 Ghosts

Chapter 14 Is Reality Real?

Chapter 15 It’s Time To Go Home

Chapter 16 I’m Ready

The Poor Man’s Club

Sweet Thing

Shanley Hotel Historic Timeline

About the Author

Other Books by Jason Medina

TRIBE.

This book is

dedicated to the memory of my dear friend, Salvatore C. Nicosia, former owner of the Shanley Hotel, and to Jeanette Roseanna Greger aka Rosie, who died far too young.

I would also like to dedicate it to my Uncle Samuel Martinez, who passed away, while I was working on this book. Rest in peace, Uncle Sam. Suffer no more.

Chapter One

A Dark Stormy Night

It was a dark and stormy night. It might seem a bit cliché, but it really was dark and stormy. It was cold, too. The temperature had dropped to forty degrees in the past hour and the rain had picked up causing flooding in some areas. The rain had been coming down hard all day and would continue throughout the night, according to the weather forecast.

This was the perfect sort of night to stay home and relax in front of the television, especially after a long stressful day at work. Twenty-seven year old Kenneth Embry, on the other hand, was far from his home in Queens, New York. Instead, he was upstate at his girlfriend’s house in Kingston.

He often dreaded the long drive he did every other week, but it usually paid off once he reached his destination. Taryn normally had a home-cooked dinner waiting for him, unlike when she came to visit his place on the alternate weeks. After all, he was not much of a cook.

He tried to make up for his lack of cooking skills with his extensive Blu-Ray and DVD collection, offering her any movie she wanted to watch, since she was a huge movie buff and could not afford such a vast collection herself. Kenneth spent the past decade building it up buying a few each month. Somehow, their contributions to the relationship evened out and they made each other happy.

However, tonight was different from most nights. There was no dinner waiting for him and Taryn was far from happy. She had been in a depressed state of mind ever since the recent passing of her mother, who fought a long losing battle with cancer. The outcome was no surprise, but Taryn still took it hard. To make matters worse, medical and funeral bills left her in debt. As it was, she was barely scraping by. Now, she was overwhelmed by stress and every little thing seemed to agitate her.

It did not help that Kenneth could be agitating at times. His mother used to call him her little pain in the anus, in a loving way, of course. They used to laugh about it, in later years, whenever he would live up to his old nickname.

As expected, it did not take long for Kenneth to get on his girlfriend’s nerves on this particular night, although he did not intend to do so. To be fair, he was also stressed from being at work most of the day and from his drawn out drive through heavy rain and traffic.

In addition, the couple had been arguing a lot lately. Far too often, they each wondered in secret if the long distance was worth the trouble or if they were simply going through a rough patch.

The long distance was not a big concern during the first year, but it was getting tiresome, after three years of dating. The magic was gone. There was little romance and no promise of marriage. Taryn felt like the relationship was going nowhere. At first, she wanted marriage, although now she had doubts. For the most part, Kenneth liked things just as they were, aside from the long distance. Truthfully, he would have preferred a girlfriend, who lived closer and had less emotional baggage.

I can’t believe you didn’t make dinner tonight, he complained. I’ve been looking forward to relaxing with a nice meal. You know, you could have, at least, texted me to pick up some food on my way over, but nooo! He exaggerated. I’m freaking starving!

Well, I’m not, she replied solemnly, while sitting on the sofa in her living room. I have no appetite. I’m sorry you’re hungry. Just throw a TV dinner in the microwave.

He raised his eyebrows. TV dinner? I could have had that at home, he whined.

Then go back home, she shot back with impatience. By this time, she had become annoyed with him, which only made him upset.

Maybe I should, if this is the welcome I get, after such a long miserable drive. He shook his head with disappointment and placed his hands on his hips, before letting out a hopeless sigh.

She sneered at him and turned away, as she stood up from the sofa and headed toward the patio door. Oh, whatever. You big whiny baby. She slid open the glass door and stepped outside to have a cigarette, leaving the door wide open and letting the cold air in.

He scowled at her and made a fowl face behind her back. A moment later, he moped into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to check what was in the freezer.

There were no TV dinners. He frowned. In fact, there was very little food at all. The only thing in the freezer was an empty ice tray. The rest of the refrigerator was no different. The container of milk was almost finished. There was only one egg left. The cold cuts drawer was practically empty. An old rotten potato sat on the bottom shelf with a brownish mostly uneaten head of lettuce that was poorly wrapped in cellophane. On the shelf above that was an expired cup of yogurt and it wasn’t even a flavor he liked. There was also a half full bottle of water and a few small cans of beer on the door shelf.

He grabbed a can of beer and popped it open. It was better than nothing. He chugged it down and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, before casually walking toward the patio door. Hey, you’re out of TV dinners, he informed her.

She replied coldly with her back to him, Then you’re out of luck. A cloud of cigarette smoke blew out in front of her. Some of it blew back toward him causing him to cough a little. She chuckled deviously.

Why are you such a bitch?

His comment snapped something in her. She spun around abruptly and glared at him with fire in her eyes that matched her long reddish hair. "Who the hell do you think you’re talking to? How dare you call me a bitch! You insensitive asshole!" She dropped her cigarette, stomped it out, and pushed past him to go inside, leaving the patio door open.

He turned to her and shouted back, What the hell is your problem today?

You! You’re my problem, she poked at his chest. I’m sick and tired of your bullshit! You never seem to care about what’s going on in my life! It’s all about you! You never even bothered to ask how I’m holding up! The first thing on your simple mind was the fact that there was no dinner waiting for you! Oh, boo-hoo for you! She faked feeling sympathy for him. Never mind that I’ve been crying my eyes out all day! Never mind that I just buried my mother a month ago! Tears were streaming down her face, as she continued. Did it ever occur to you that I’ve been feeling like shit the past month? I didn’t even go to work this week because I could not find the strength to get out of bed! Do you even care, or should I just make you dinner because you’re hungry?

Of course, I care! It’s not like that and you know it! There’s no reason for you to take your shit out on me! How am I supposed to know what’s going on in your head? I can’t read minds!

Ask me! Pretend like you give a damn!

I do, he defended himself. Excuse me for thinking of my stomach, after working a long hard day with barely anything to eat! I thought we could talk over dinner! Apparently, I was wrong, since you were only thinking of yourself when you decided not to make any!

Screw you! You can eat shit! How’s that sound?

Compared to your cooking, it sounds like an improvement! He shot back angrily.

You’re such an asshole! She slapped his chest and pushed him, although he barely budged being much taller and stronger. She leered up at him and shouted, I’ve had it! Get the hell out of my house! I’m done with you! We’re done! It’s over!

Her words came as a shock to him and his mouth gaped open. What? Are you kidding me?

She glared back at him with hate in her eyes.

Suddenly, his attitude changed when he realized she was dead serious. He knew things had gotten way out of hand and tried to fix the situation. He pleaded, Wait a minute! Let’s not be too hasty and do something we’ll regret. We’re both angry. Let’s calm down.

Too late! I did something I regret when I let you in! Get all of your crap together and leave my house! I don’t want you to have a reason to return! She stood her ground and was determined for him to leave. It was time for her to make a change in her life and this was the first step. Stop looking at me like that, she scowled. I am not going to change my mind. You need to leave. Now.

But the rain. How about I sleep on the sofa and leave in the morning? He suggested.

No. Get out, she said calmly. I’m sorry, Kenneth. You need to leave now. I don’t want you in my home. Not ever, again. Do you understand?

He let out an exaggerated sigh and nodded. Yeah, sure. I’ll go. Whatever. He gathered his belongings and shoved them into his duffle bag. When he was done, he shuffled toward the door. He put on his most pathetic face and turned to her hoping to plead his case one last time and reason with her, but the look on her face said it all. It was time to go. He turned away and opened the door.

As soon as he stepped out, she slammed it shut and locked it. She even put the chain on the door. And just like that, their relationship had come to an end.

Kenneth got into his car and started driving. He was so upset, partly for placing himself in such a predicament. He could not believe he had to drive back to Queens during such lousy weather. His stomach nagged at him reminding him it was empty. He used his anger to fill it making it hard to focus on the road. He was too tense. It was difficult to see with the heavy rain coming down. It almost seemed like it was falling harder than before just to spite him.

There was no way he could go on feeling this way. He needed to stop for food. The thought of making such a long drive on an empty stomach was making him flustered. Besides, the break would allow him time to clear his head. He quickly thought of what he could do and remembered there was a diner on Washington Avenue near the highway. He could stop there for a quick bite to eat. He and Taryn had eaten there on numerous occasions in the past. The food was good and it was close by. It was exactly what he needed.

As he pulled into the parking lot, he paused to think about Taryn. He began to think maybe what happened was for the best. Things had not been going so well with her. Ever since the death of her mother, he had a hard time dealing with her. She was over sensitive. Plus, she had taken up smoking, again, after promising to quit. As a result, their conversations had become limited to cancer and how it ruins lives. Yet, she still smoked, he constantly reminded her. That only made her angry and she would tell him to shut up and keep his advice to himself because it was not helping her feel better.

There were other things that changed, too. She no longer wanted to watch movies at his house. Instead, she just sat or lay around crying. It was a downer for him and it bothered him, although he never dared to tell her. He did not wish to come off as insensitive.

As it turned out, she called him insensitive anyway.

Perhaps, he was insensitive and impatient with her. He wondered how much time the average person needed to mourn. He really did not have a clue, considering he never lost anyone he loved. He was lucky in that respect, never really having to deal with death.

It didn’t really matter anymore, as far as he was concerned. Like she said, it was over. She was not going to take him back and he was not so sure he wanted to be with her anymore. The plain truth was he hated the long drives every other week. He was tired of it and tired of everything else about her.

Suddenly feeling a touch of relief, he went into the diner with the intention of ordering a simple, but satisfying, meal. He sat at the counter to make it easier. Waiting to be seated would waste too much time and he did not wish to stay long. It was already going to be nine o’clock. By his calculations, it would take about an hour and a half for him to get home, if he was lucky. The rain could definitely set him back about a half hour, so he was looking at an eleven o’clock arrival, depending on how long he took to eat his meal. That wasn’t too bad.

A female server behind the counter approached and stood across from him. She was an older Irish woman, although she still looked attractive for her age. She asked in a kind voice, What can I get for you, hon?

There was no reason for him to look at a menu. He already knew exactly what he wanted to eat. I’ll have a bacon cheeseburger deluxe with a coffee, please, he requested. And make it strong. I need to stay awake for a long drive ahead.

You got it, sweetie. How do you want the burger?

Well done.

Will that be to stay or to go?

"I’ll