Everyone had said the Full Moon Motel had monsters. Wesley Willslit believed in monsters.

    He'd become intrigued to see what a night in the old motel on the outskirts of town would bring. So when he got into his pick-up, that’s exactly where he drove to, bringing his friend, Tex, along.

    Now, the two of them stood inside the small, fluorescent-lit lobby. A gangly, old woman, wearing sunglasses over her eyes, stood at the counter. A fan spun noisily from above. Tex sidled up to the counter, leaning against it. 

    “Howdy. We were hoping to book a stay for…” He stopped when the woman broke into an unusually wide, toothy smile and she turned away. Then she promptly spun back, holding a key in her hand. The faded red tag dangling from it read, in drooping ink, 7. She extended her ghostly white arm over the counter, handing it to Tex, who took it uneasily. The woman stared blankly ahead again and his friend glanced back at Wesley with an amused, lopsided grin. 

    They began walking down the hall to their room. The walls were a blood-orange color and the floor was a musty, stained brown. The only light came from dim, crooked fixtures above each door. Wesley’s breath caught when they passed a too-tall man whose feet, oddly, never touched the floor. He floated by them without a word and the boys glanced at each other, eyebrows raised. 

    When they made it to room 7, Tex wriggled the key inside the lock and opened the door. It creaked too loudly. Wesley jumped when the neighboring door opened slowly and a young woman stepped into the hall with them, wearing a robe. Her hair, if one could call it such, were brightly-colored tentacles that seemed to writhe slowly around on their own. The large, three-headed terrier at her feet began yapping at them. The boys stared stupidly at her and she put a finger to her lips, saying, “Shhhh.” Wesley gave a slow nod to her and the woman backed into her dark room with her… dogs. She slammed the door closed. “Tentacles?” Tex asked, voice cracking. Wesley didn’t answer. 

    They spun when they heard the squeal of wheels. A short maid was pushing along a food cart towards them. She stopped and lifted the silver lid of a dish on the cart. The cooked head of some large animal sat there, steaming. The woman smiled big, revealing sharp vampiric teeth. “Would you boys like to try the midnight special?” Wesley peered curiously at the head and asked, “What is… it?” The woman exclaimed pleasantly, “Baked werewolf head from the local butcher ‘round the corner.” 

    Intrigued, Tex replied, “Actually… Yes…” Wesley quickly interjected, waving a sharp dismissive hand. “We don’t want any thank you.” The older woman just smiled at them and continued down the hall, cart wheels squealing as they stared after her.

     Wesley then said what they were both thinking, “This is going to be a strange night.”