Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Good evening, I'm Ben and welcome to the show where you and I gather around this campfire to hear some of our fellow campers scariest experiences. Whether you're a new or returning camper, I'm happy to have you. Tonight we are headed to Seattle to hear a story sent in by Cynthia hall about the Sorrento Hotel. As always, before we begin the show, if you'd like to check out our camp's bonus episodes, head over to patreon.com do you want to hear a ghost story? You'll also gain early access to episodes, get a shout out at the end of one and much more. Now without further ado, do you want to hear a ghost story?
[00:00:39] It was the early 1980s and I had recently moved to Seattle from sunny San Diego. A close friend of mine from back home was visiting for a job interview near Capitol Hill and she asked me to recommend a hotel. The company was footing the bill, so I suggested the Sorrento Hotel. I had never been inside, but I knew its reputation.
[00:01:01] Beautiful, historic, and conveniently close to her interview location. It seemed perfect. The day she arrived, I picked her up from the airport and accompanied her to check in. From the moment we stepped inside, I was struck by how the Sorento felt different. Its beauty was undeniable. Grand, timeless. Like stepping into another era. It was the kind of place that made you feel like you were walking through history with its Old World charm and ornate furnishings. But beneath that beauty, there was a decay. It was subtle, just a feeling that something wasn't quite right anymore, like an itch at the back of your mind that you couldn't scratch.
[00:01:46] I chalked it up to the weight of history, the ghosts of all those old memories clinging to the walls.
[00:01:54] My friend, her name was Catherine. She didn't notice. She wasn't that perceptive. She marveled at the architecture, the opulence. Her eyes were bright with the excitement of the hotel. The hotel staff greeted us warmly and everything seemed to be in order. Her room was located on either the third or fourth floor. I don't remember exactly anymore, but her room had the same vintage elegance as the rest of the hotel. A four post bed, heavy curtains that seemed to block out the rest of the world. Inside of this bubble of quiet luxury.
[00:02:28] The only downside to the room was that it was freezing cold.
[00:02:32] Given that it was mid summer in Seattle, this was quite strange. The city was practically glowing under the warm sun. Katherine called the front desk to ask about turning off the air conditioner, but they informed her. Much to our surprise, that at the time the building didn't have ac. They suggested we open the windows to let in that warmer summer breeze. We laughed this off. A little odd for sure, but nothing to worry about. After all, you could always just bundle up when you're trying to sleep. We ended up going out for lunch, enjoying the warm weather while she was in town.
[00:03:04] Conversation was easy catching up on my life since I'd moved away. The food was also good, and for a while that strange chill of hotel room slipped our minds. But when we returned to the Sorrento, I went up to her room with her. The moment I stepped inside, I felt it again. That heaviness, that decay, that strange sense that there was something wrong, something off. It was more intense this time, like the air itself was becoming thicker with something couldn't quite name, a feeling lost to history.
[00:03:39] The cold was still there in this summer heat.
[00:03:42] I tried to ignore the gnawing discomfort in my gut, but it only seemed to grow.
[00:03:48] It wasn't like I could see or hear anything specific. It was just a sense or presence, something in the air that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I made an excuse to leave. Something about needing to get back to my apartment to take care of some errands. Catherine did give me a puzzled look, but she didn't question it. I told her to call me when she was ready for dinner and I left.
[00:04:11] I tried to convince myself that it was all in my head, that maybe I was sick or something. The Srento was just an old building after all, no matter the stories that came with it. But as the hours passed, I couldn't shake my unease. I. I kept glancing at the clock, waiting for Catherine to call. By 7pm I still hadn't heard from her. I called the hotel and had them connect me to her room. But no one answered. So I tried again. My worrying grew with each time the call went unanswered.
[00:04:42] By 10 pam, I was. Well, I was quite concerned. I called the front desk again, hoping they could send someone up to check on her. But they informed me that they didn't ring guests or check on guests after hours, this worrying gnawing at my insides. I didn't sleep much. Every creak of my apartment seemed to echo with the worst possibilities in my mind. What if something happened to her? What if she was hurt? What if she was alone? Did I? Why didn't I just go check on her? First thing in the morning I called the hotel again. This time she answered.
[00:05:17] Her voice was strained, drained, like she'd been up all night.
[00:05:22] She sounded hollow, but there was a little relief I felt hearing her voice that was quickly replaced by a sense of dread.
[00:05:30] Something had happened. I could feel it in her tone. She explained to me that her phone didn't ring all night and that every time she tried calling me I also didn't answer. The hotel staff insisted to her that the switchboard was working fine. She thought I'd blown her off, but something about this whole situation felt wrong, like the room itself didn't want her or I to speak.
[00:05:53] We met for lunch that day, and the moment I saw her I knew she hadn't slept. Her face was pale, her eyes shadowed with exhaustion. She spoke in an even, measured tone, but there was an unease behind her words of fear she was trying to suppress. She recounted the events of the previous night with an almost clinical detachment, as if she were trying to convince herself that it wasn't as bad as it was, that it wasn't as bad as it seemed.
[00:06:22] She told me that there was a woman stomping up and down her hallway all night, shouting angrily at somebody, and that the sound had been relentless, echoing through the halls.
[00:06:34] However, whenever Katherine tried to ring the front desk to report it, the phone didn't go through. Frustrated and tired, she decided to confront the woman herself. Or at least get someone in the hotel to intervene, she thought. But when she opened the hallway, the sound ended and there was not a soul to be seen.
[00:06:53] The silence was deafening, she said, the kind that made you question whether you'd heard anything at all. Convinced the disturbance was over, she went to bed, hoping to get some rest.
[00:07:04] But hours later she was woken up again, this time by the sound of a muffled sob, a woman crying right outside her door. The sound was soft, almost pitiful, but it sent a chill down her spine.
[00:07:19] She hesitated, but eventually got up and opened the door once more, again to nothing. The hallway was still and silent, as if the noise had been swallowed up by the walls. She stood there for a long moment, staring out into the empty, dim corridor, the cold air from her room biting her skin, before she finally closed the door and locked it. That morning, she told me, the room had never warmed up, despite the summer heat pouring in through the windows.
[00:07:51] It was as if the cold was alive, clinging to the room, clinging to the hotel, refusing to leave.
[00:07:59] She looked at me across the table. Her eyes were tired, her expression almost pleading. She asked if I could help her find another hotel for the rest of her stay. She didn't want to spend another night in that room And I don't blame her. We found another hotel, a newer, more modern place a few blocks away. She checked in that afternoon, and by the time I saw her again that evening, some of the color had finally returned to her face. She seemed a bit more like herself, though the shadows under her eyes were still there. We joked about the Sorrento being haunted, but there was no real humor in it. We were both healthcare professionals, grounded in science and reason, but the unknown lingered with us. There was something about that place that defied all of our explanations, something that had left a mark on both of us.
[00:08:49] Catherine finished her interviews and returned to San Diego a few days later. She seemed fine, and life moved on.
[00:08:56] But that memory of the Sorrento stayed with me. I couldn't forget the way the air had felt in that room. I couldn't forget the look in Katherine's eyes when she told me about the footsteps, the shouting, the crying.
[00:09:09] It was the look of someone who had seen something they couldn't explain, Something that had shaken them to their core.
[00:09:16] Unfortunately, Catherine passed away a few years ago. So now it's only me left to tell this story. I'll never forget about this rent a hotel, the beauty of its halls, the chill in its air, the uneasy feeling of something in there. I think about that day and night often, the strangeness of it all, the things Catherine couldn't explain to me. Sometimes, late at night, I wonder if it was just a trick of the plumbing on her tired mind, or if there really was something going on in that room, something that didn't want her there.
[00:09:49] So if you ever find yourself at the Sorrento Hotel, especially on the third or fourth floor, you might have to do some asking before you book the room. Maybe you'll hear some footsteps, too. Maybe you'll feel that chill in the air, the weight of something you can't quite explain. If you do remember this story, know that you're not alone. Know that one of my best friends experienced it, too. The Srenta Hotel is still there and remains beautiful, grand and timeless as always.
[00:10:18] And While in the 1980s the stories of its hauntings were rare and few, today its haunted mystique is known without a doubt. Though it's not haunted by a woman in white or any of your typical ghosts. It's haunted by this sense of unease of anyone who steps in there. It's a place haunted by memory, by history, by the seen and unseen.
[00:10:44] Thank you, Cynthia, for allowing me to share your story. You know, I haven't been to Seattle in a while. And while I did, I wasn't much into ghosts at the time. I did do a ghost tour of Pike Place but that was about it. I didn't do much research to figure out the best place to stay. I'm sure if I'd had I would have wanted to stay at the Sorrento.
[00:11:06] Maybe next summer I'll be able to make a trip and I'll see if your friend Catherine's ghost pays me a visit as well.
[00:11:13] I don't have much horror show announcements this week so I'll leave you here for the night. If you want to get early access to ad free episodes, a shoutout at the end one and much more, head over to patreon.com dhearagostory and as always I'm glad to have you all as campers on this journey. So please keep sharing the show with anyone you think might like these stories or someone you are trying to scare. If you are enjoying it, go ahead and leave a review. I would love to hear from you. Until next time.
