An ear splitting scream pierced through the basement.
The hot 4 hour summer’s drive from Florida to Savannah, Georgia in my aunt’s white Fiat was quite lengthy. My aunt and my cousin, Sarah, both insisted upon going to eat at Moon River Brewery. It was the setting of the recent episode of Ghost Adventures they insisted on me watching 2 nights before.
The yellowish decaying 4 story building held a quite welcoming restaurant. Inside, the historic restaurant was well lit and smelled slightly of liquor, mustiness, and french fries. I felt the cool breeze of artificial air conditioning which was a relief to the humid 95 degree weather outside. The liquor filled bar was in the center of the low-ceilinged restaurant and old style wooden booths and tables surrounded the more modern bar.
To the right of the bar there were stairs that headed up to the 4th floor and stairs that led down into the basement which could be explored at your own risk.
Once we finished eating our greasy burgers, french fries, and onion rings, Sarah and I headed down the creaky wooden stairs into the dusty, crumbling brick basement.
An ear splitting scream burst out from behind a small empty bar in the main room of the basement. I jumped back and I began to feel my heart beating as if it would burst out of my chest at any moment. The father of a family exploring the basement came running out from behind the bar.
The father told an unconvincing story about something grabbing him from behind and then referenced something from the Ghost Adventures episode. I looked at Sarah and we began to laugh as we realized the prank the man pulled on his family. The man insisted upon this not being a prank, which caused everyone in the room to be convinced of the man’s story.
“It’s definitely a prank” Sarah said laughingly despite the claims of the man. I shrugged and let out a cheap laugh as I started to believe that maybe it was just a joke.
“I heard a scream” my aunt said confusedly once Sarah and I reached the top of the stairs, “What happened? Was there a real ghost?”
I looked at Sarah and we began to laugh.