This is a true story that I experienced when I was an office worker.
At the time, I was a newcomer to the workforce and was struggling to get used to my new job.
The department I was assigned to was General Affairs. To put it simply, my job was to do everything in the company.
It was a relatively large listed company with branches and sales offices all over the country, so I went on business trips at least once a month.
One summer, I think it was around the time the Bon Festival was approaching.
From my boss
”I’m going on a business trip to a sales office in S. Prefecture, and it looks like I’ll be staying overnight. Is it okay if I accompany you?”
What do you want to do?”
I think he was concerned about my accommodations because I am a woman, but he is such a caring and respectful boss, and it is my job, so I had no reason to refuse.
”It’s our own recreation center, and it’s a nice place.”
I was somewhat relieved to hear that the people who work there are also operated as employees of the company.
On the day of the event, I arrived at the recreation center after work was over and had dinner with my boss while talking about work.
The food prepared by the sanatorium staff was delicious and satisfying, and we even got a few drinks to help us blow off some steam.
There is a famous lake nearby, where families play in the water and enjoy marine sports….
(If I wasn’t working, I would have brought my swimsuit and played too…)
Since it is a business trip for work, I feel frustrated that I can’t stretch my wings to the fullest even though it is a nice place.
After dinner, my boss wanted to sort out his work and went back to his room.
I had nothing to do, so I decided to watch TV alone in the dining room.
There were not many people staying at the recreation center other than us, which is normal since it was a weekday, but I was the only one left alone in the dining room.
I was told that the employees also go home at night, and that if I wanted to drink alcohol or juice, I could take it out of the refrigerator on my own.
I got carried away and opened a bottle of beer.
While I was watching TV in a daze, I suddenly felt something strange.
I felt the presence of someone in the large window facing the lake.
It was as if someone was peeking in.
I had never felt such a strong presence before, and I was so surprised that I fearfully went to the window and looked outside… but no one was there.
I returned to my chair in front of the TV to see what was going on, but then I felt the presence of someone again.
But there is no sign of anyone.
Feeling queasy, I decide to go back to my room.
My room was just above my boss’s room.
The recreation center has 10 rooms on each of the first and second floors, with the dining room, kitchen, and bath on the first floor.
After taking a bath, the time was still around 10:00 p.m. I turned off the light in my room, got into my futon, and instantly fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, I woke up for some reason.
The room was naturally pitch-dark, but I could hear the faint sound of waves coming from the lake.
Then, the sliding door to my room swooshed open.
What? Before I could think, a large black mass entered the room.
It was about as tall as the ceiling.
I tried to scream, but I couldn’t get out and my body didn’t move.
The mass was slowly but surely moving toward me.
In my mind I thought
Go away!”
I shouted and frantically chanted a hazy sutra.
It was a vague sense of time, as if a moment or a few minutes had passed, but my prayers were answered and the black mass walked out of the room.
The next morning, I told my boss about it as soon as I opened my mouth.
I knew you saw it.
was the reply.
It is said that every year during this time, there is a rumor that the souls of those who have died in the lake come ashore, and there have been many sightings at this sanatorium.
Apparently, the black mass is a ghost, and I have seen it only once in my life so far.
My boss had also seen the black mass several times, and I was impressed by the matter-of-fact way he talked about it.
It was a very scary experience, but when I heard that it was the soul of a person who died in a water accident, I had mixed feelings about what he was trying to tell me…
As an aside, some of my colleague who stayed at that recreation center also had a similar experience…
