I had a strange night last night, I don't know if it was a ghost but it was odd. I've been hiking in the West Country, and yesterday I hiked across bleak, frozen Exmoor, out of Exford, across Tarr Steps, and down into north Devon. I had booked a night in an inn in a small village. The inn, unexpectedly, did not have the rooms actually in the pub, but in new-build cabins/bungalows out back. My room was very nice, fantastic in fact. The cabin/bungalow has a little lobby, then two doors to two different suites - so two sets of guests can potentially be in the one building.
I had dinner in the pub at about 7pm, then headed back to my room... I had asked for an early 7.30am breakfast, so planned to be up at 6am to get all my hiking gear in order, I therefore hit the sack by 9pm to be properly rested.
First, I was well asleep. I am a light sleeper so odd sounds will tend to wake me. I was jolted awake by the sound of something sliding/dragging in my room, followed by a clunk. It sounded very close. I wondered if rats were in the room and were up to mischief, checked my gear (all in order, nothing out of place) and listened out for more sounds... there were only clicks and slight bumps that were attributable to the thermostat/radiators. After a while I fell asleep again.
I was awoken by the sound of a key into the shared lobby, and voices of a man and woman talking, as if they were coming in from a late night out. Damn, I thought, I don't have the building to myself. They carried on talking, although I could not distinguish what was being said, and I heard a key in the other suite door, and heard them entering the room next to mine. I fell asleep again.
At 6am my alarm went off, and I got all my kit together, very conscious that the noise I was making might disturb my neighbours, then had 15 minutes or so before breakfast. I found out what the first sound that woke me up was by a little experimentation. The shower unit was spacious, allowing a straight sliding door rather than a folding door. I had discovered when I showered that the door would not stay open, there was a slight slope, so the door would slide shut if left open. By sliding the door open and closed, the sound that first woke me up was of the shower door being deliberately slid shut and firmly closed, over about 4-5 seconds. If left to shut on it's own, it did not make the sound I heard. I had shut the door myself to keep as much if the humidity trapped as possible, and it was shut when I went to bed. It was still shut when I got up in the morning.
When I went to breakfast, I cast a glance at the window of the neighbouring suite. To my utter surprise, the curtains were fully open and I could see the double bed inside... perfectly made up, with towels neatly folded in triangles exactly as my room had been when I entered. No-one had been in the other suite at all.
It's giving me goosebumps just thinking about it. A very puzzling night indeed.