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The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/Holeysweaterguy on 2024-11-17 01:24:49+00:00.

So I was overseas on business last week and we stayed at a pretty nice hotel in a mid-sized city. It’s not the richest place in the world and we were advised to take precautions, use the safe overnight, make sure the door is locked from the inside, keep together outside the hotel etc.

I’m always fairly cautious anyway when I stay in hotels anywhere, and I like to push a chair up against the door handle as an extra precaution before going to bed at nights. Sometimes I’ll wedge a shoe under the handle but in this place the back of the chair went right up to the handle. So that was fine.

This room had a bed on legs so I had a little look under there each night as well, just in case a robber or someone was hiding (which I’d read about happening in this particular country). On top of that I’d quickly check the wardrobe. Call me paranoid but doing all that helps me sleep more soundly.

Anyway, forward to the third night. When I came into the room after a day working the aircon wasn’t turning on. Reading the panel beneath it said, “If the unit doesn’t switch on check that the balcony door is closed.” Sure enough it was slightly ajar. I looked out onto the narrow balcony, not much more than a ledge, which was completely empty, slid the door shut and then the aircon started working again. I figured the cleaning staff must have left the door open to air the room.

Anyway I went through my ritual of putting the chair against the door, checking under the bed, looking in the wardrobe. All seemed clear and I went to bed. But I had a really fitful night, which I put down to stress from the work I was doing out there, and had a bad dream that there was someone looking over me muttering in my ear. Waking from the nightmare around 4am I sat up in bed but couldn’t see anything. I thought I heard some kind of shuffling noise but nothing happened, and when I turned the lights on all seemed normal. Nothing was missing, and my valuables were in the safe anyway.

We travelled home the next day without a problem. I unpacked my things, realising that I left one of my T-shirts behind in the room, but otherwise all was good…. until I reviewed my photo reel that evening. I had taken a photo of the room on the first day as I always do, as I’ll send it to my folks. The photo showed the view from the door. The bed, coffee machine, panel TV, and the work desk which comes out into the centre of the room just beyond the bed, and the big windows beyond. Behind the desk between it and the window you can see the chair, the area under the desk being a clear space so you can see the chair’s base and wheels.

You’re probably thinking that’s not strange at all, and it’s not. But here’s the thing. I also took a photo on the morning of the day I checked out, which was directly after my fitful sleep the night before. And the room looks exactly the same, except for one detail. This time, the area under the desk isn’t clear. Instead the space between tabletop and floor is covered by a panel…