Spooky Tales from Our Halloween Giveaway: Take a look at your Scary Stories!
As we gear up for our Halloween Giveaway, we’ve been absolutely thrilled with the spine-chilling stories that have poured in. From ghostly apparitions to eerie encounters, your creativity has truly brought the Halloween spirit alive at HY Hotels!
Our staff has had a blast reading and watching your entries. Some stories left us laughing, others had us looking over our shoulders—but all of them were fantastic in their own way. So, we thought we’d share a few of the standout entries that gave us chills, thrills, and everything in between.
Without further ado, here are three of the spooky written stories we’ve received so far:
Story 1: The Hy Hotel Haunting
Author: Lauren L
The quiet seaside town of Lytham was a perfect spot for a family getaway. Claire and Adam had been struggling with the demands of their newborn, Isla, and they thought a change of scenery might help. The Hy Hotel, a modern but cosy hotel near the beach, seemed like an ideal place to relax for a few days.
When they arrived, the hotel was eerily empty. The summer rush had long passed, and with the winds beginning to pick up, it seemed that most guests had already gone home for the season. The receptionist, a pale and quiet woman named Evelyn, greeted them with a stiff smile. She handed them the key to their room on the third floor, one of the more luxurious suites with a view of the sea. “Let us know if you need anything,” she said softly, her eyes lingering on baby Isla for a moment too long.
As they settled into their room, they felt an odd sense of unease. The suite was spacious, modern, yet strangely cold despite the heating system running. Claire brushed it off as just the sea breeze and exhaustion from the trip. She put Isla down for a nap in the crib provided by the hotel, while Adam unpacked their bags.
That first night, Isla woke up crying—nothing unusual for a baby, but her cries were louder than usual, filled with a desperation that sent chills down Claire’s spine. She got up to check on Isla and found her standing in the crib, staring blankly at the dark corner of the room. Claire scooped her up, whispering soothing words, but Isla wouldn’t stop staring at the corner, even as she quieted down.
Adam, half-asleep, mumbled, “Babies see things we can’t. Don’t worry.”
But Claire couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. She glanced toward the corner and froze. There was something there—a faint shape, a shadow darker than the rest of the room. It hovered for a moment, then disappeared.
Claire didn’t sleep that night. She kept Isla close, her eyes darting around the room every few minutes, but nothing seemed out of place after that moment.
The next morning, they decided to take a walk along the beach, hoping some fresh air would shake off the strange tension that had settled over them. Adam laughed it off, saying it was just the wind and shadows playing tricks on them. Claire wasn’t so sure.
That afternoon, back in the room, Isla began giggling in her crib, looking up at something Claire couldn’t see. She tried to distract herself by reading, but Isla’s laughter grew louder, more hysterical. When Claire looked over, Isla was reaching out, as if playing with an invisible figure.
“Adam,” Claire called, her voice tight with fear. Adam came over, and his face paled when he saw Isla, laughing and playing with the air.
“We need to leave,” Claire whispered, but Adam insisted they stay. “It’s just an old building, maybe some drafts. We paid for two more nights.”
That night, the room felt colder than ever. Claire couldn’t sleep, her heart racing with every creak of the floorboards and rustle of the wind outside. Isla had finally dozed off after hours of crying, and Adam was snoring beside her. Claire lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, when she heard it—a soft, barely audible whisper.
At first, she thought it was just the wind outside, but then it came again, clearer this time. A woman’s voice, whispering, “She’s mine.”
Claire shot up in bed, her heart hammering in her chest. She looked toward Isla’s crib and saw a figure standing over it—tall, with long, tangled hair and a face twisted in anguish. The figure was reaching for Isla.
Claire screamed and lunged out of bed, but the figure vanished just before she reached the crib. Adam woke up with a start, grabbing Claire’s arm. “What happened?” he asked, his voice panicked.
“Someone—something—was in here,” Claire sobbed, clutching Isla tightly to her chest. “It was trying to take her.”
Adam tried to calm her down, but when they looked around the room, everything seemed normal. Still, they couldn’t ignore the cold that permeated the air, or the way Isla kept looking around the room, her eyes following something unseen.
The next morning, Claire insisted they leave. Adam, shaken from the previous night, agreed. As they were packing, Evelyn, the receptionist, knocked on their door.
“Leaving so soon?” she asked, her voice strangely calm.
“Yes,” Claire said, her voice clipped. “Something isn’t right in this room.”
Evelyn looked at Isla, who was nestled in Claire’s arms, and her expression softened into something almost like pity. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, barely audible. “She lost her baby, you see. A long time ago. She’s been here ever since, looking for another.”
Claire’s blood ran cold. “What do you mean?”
Evelyn glanced around nervously before stepping closer. “Years ago, before the hotel was renovated, there was a woman who stayed here. Her baby died during their visit—fever, they said. She was inconsolable. After she died, her spirit never left. She’s harmless, usually. But…sometimes, when there’s a baby in the hotel…she gets confused.”
Claire felt a wave of nausea hit her. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I thought it wouldn’t be a problem,” Evelyn said quietly. “It’s been years since anything like this happened. But sometimes, she gets…attached.”
Claire and Adam rushed out of the hotel without another word, Isla clutched tightly to them. They didn’t look back, didn’t stop until they were miles away. Even then, the cold seemed to cling to them, the faint echo of a whisper haunting their minds.
As they drove away from Lytham, Claire swore she heard it one last time, a soft, distant voice carried on the wind: “She’s mine.”
Story 2: A night drive
Author: Kulpreet J
Late one night, Emily was driving down a deserted country road when her car suddenly sputtered and died. Stranded in the middle of nowhere, she noticed an old, decrepit house at the edge of the woods, its windows dark and lifeless. With no other options, she decided to seek help there. As she approached the house, the wind picked up, howling through the trees, and the door creaked open as if inviting her inside. Reluctantly, Emily stepped into the musty, dimly lit foyer, her footsteps echoing in the silence. The air was thick with the smell of decay, and shadows danced along the walls as if alive.
Suddenly, she heard faint whispers coming from the darkness at the end of the hallway. Her heart pounded as she inched closer, the whispers growing louder and more frantic. As she reached the source, a door slammed shut behind her, trapping her in the pitch-black room. The whispers turned into low, guttural voices, and a cold hand grasped her shoulder. Emily spun around, but there was no one there—only the suffocating darkness and the realization that she wasn’t alone in the house. The last thing she heard before everything went silent was a chilling voice, inches from her ear, whispering, “You shouldn’t have come here.”
Story 3: Nanna knows best
Author: Hannah H
A couple of years ago I was helping my mum decorate the living room and she had 2 sample wallpapers she couldn’t choose from. She got opinions from everyone but just couldn’t decide, my Grandad came over to check them out one day and made a comment on how my Nanna, who had passed away about a year before this, would’ve helped decorate and choose the wallpaper for her. He then said (as a joke) that my Nanna would choose by pulling down the one she didn’t like, we all laughed and carried on with our day.
There were 4 pieces of tape, one in each corner, for each sample piece of wallpaper and they stayed up for about 3 days straight. The next morning we came downstairs and one of the samples was on the floor with all pieces of tape still attached to it, and the other piece was still fully taped on the wall.
Probably goes without saying that we picked the wallpaper that was still up on the wall haha.
I think it’s both a comforting yet spooky story, we also live at number 13 so that creeps people out even more when I tell them a good ghost story.
We hope these stories got you as spooked as we were! The creativity from our guests has been truly incredible, and we can’t wait to see what else comes in before the contest closes.
The Final Countdown
With just a few weeks left until we announce the winner, we want to remind you that there’s still time to enter. If you think you’ve got a scary story up your sleeve, don’t hesitate to share it with us. The lucky winner will enjoy a free night’s stay in our Halloween-themed apartment—perfect for a family getaway in Lytham St Annes this October half-term.
Email your entry to esther.wolthers@hyhotels.co.uk by October 7th, and who knows, your story might just be the one to send shivers down our spines!
Stay tuned for the big reveal, and thank you to everyone who has entered so far. We’re having a spook-tacular time reading your tales! 👻
