I would like to share with you a
recent experience I have had at Demon Hotel that, quite frankly, left me
terrified. There are rumours around the area that the abandoned apartment on
Hargrave is haunted, but I would have never believed it until I came across the
evil that is present there myself.
It was
the first snowfall in Winnipeg , early
November. I was coming back from a friends’ apartment after a night of
photographing the beautiful snowfall around the Legislative grounds and I
decided to cut through the back alley in between Hargrave and Carlton. As I
approached what has become known as “Demon Hotel”, I saw a woman standing
behind the building calling out to something or someone. It was odd because it
was fairly cold and this woman was wearing a white nightgown and no shoes. I
was immediately concerned by her lack of sensible clothing and asked if she was
alright. She looked towards me and gave an awkward smile. The nightgown she
wore appeared old but clean. The moisture from the snow had dampened the cloth
and it was apparent she was not wearing a brassiere or underwear of any kind.
Now, being a red-blooded man, this definitely caught my attention and she no
doubt noticed this. She then stated,
“My cat. My cat went
inside there. Can you help me get her out?”
There was a plywood sheet blocking a street level window but
it was slightly pushed aside, revealing an entrance into the “hotel”. I am not
ashamed to admit that I felt that being chivalrous would be beneficial. I
mean....this woman was attractive. I am single after all. I looked into the
opening and since I had a flashlight (for my photography reason) I decided I
could assist. The woman stood aside as I went into the building and dropped
into the basement. Not to come across as some New Age knob, but I can tell you
I felt a chill and some sort of presence in that basement. I hesitated for a
moment and thought of just leaving and doing away with the notion of helping
this woman and her cat but she said,
“I’ll wait here. Please. My cat will freeze in there. It ran
upstairs.”
Artist's reconstruction based on eyewitness testimony. |
I put my seemingly childish fears aside and ventured deeper
into the basement. I had my camera with me at the time and managed to take a
few pictures. The interior was derelict to say the least. Ripped open walls and
junk littered about everywhere. As I made my way towards the stairs that led to
the main floor I felt the creeping fear overtaking me. It is then that I heard
what seemed to be a cat. It was not a pleasant meow or scuttle of little paws,
but a deep moaning growl. The kind of guttural sound a cat makes when it is
about to fight. I felt terror overtaking
me and just as I was about to run towards the window I crawled in from, the
woman stood in the make shift entrance and said,
“ Yes. That’s it. My cat is upstairs. Please go get it. “
Artist's reconstruction based on eyewitness testimony. |
I was frozen in my tracks. The basement was behind me and
the stairs leading to the main floor in front of me. The growling cat sound was
gone and a moment of silence followed. Then I heard what sounded like the
scraping of a rake or some tool on the floor above me. That was it. I was out
of there. My trusty flashlight showed another boarded window to my left and I
ran to it and kicked it open. I crawled out of the building and briskly began
escaping from the tangible evil I felt in the old apartment. As I was leaving
the woman came from around the back and began yelling at me to,
“Save my Cat! It needs help! Why are you deserting it?!”
Her voice was different now. Gone was the pleasant, saddened
woman searching for help finding her cat. In its place was a deepened,
masculine voice that demanded me to do what it said. The fear came back to me
as I ran down Hargrave towards Broadway. Thankfully, the sensations I felt
dissipated as I created more distance between myself and Demon Hotel. My advice
to anyone walking through the area...Do not go past Demon Hotel and don’t be
lured into this demonic place by the sexy woman in the nightgown. There is only
evil in there.
Artist's reconstruction based on eyewitness testimony. |
EPILOGUE: After escaping from this close call, the unfortunate subject of this account tried to retrieve the photos he had taken, only to discover that they had somehow disappeared from his camera. All traces of this bizarre incident were gone, just like the mysterious woman. As was mentioned in the previous account of a young man encountering an attractive woman urging him to enter Demon Hotel to save her cat, there is a theory that demons can take on a shape that can entrance their victims, and lure them to their doom. Could this be the case with the alluring Cat Lady of Demon Hotel? All the more reason for people to stay clear of the vacant apartment on Hargrave Street known as Demon Hotel.