I met the devil in the hotel lobby

This is a story from my childhood. I was about 10 years old at the time. My mother, my father, and my twin brother were on vacation in Ireland. It was such a beautiful place to visit, completely magical. My family was staying in a hotel, and one sunny afternoon I decided to skip the touristy stuff my parents wanted to do, and instead I waited in the hotel lobby, reading a book. <br><br>It was pretty busy, many people coming and going, and it was getting pretty boring. I was so deep into my book, that I didn't notice a man standing in front of me, asking me a question. "Excuse me little girl. Do you want to buy a balloon?" I looked up and saw a tall, slender man with a big smile on his face. His teeth were stained yellow, and was wearing a black tail suit with a black top hat. <br><br>I looked down at his hands, and he was holding strings of balloons. But they weren't normal balloons, they were shaped like tiny devils. With the little wings and the pointy tail and horns. "I'm not sure if I'm allowed to buy anything from you, I don't have any money anyway." <br><br>The man chuckled and said: "Well, in that case, little girl, this one is on me. But only if you come with me to my car to pick one out." I remember feeling a bit uneasy about this stranger asking me to go to his car. It just seemed off. My parents always taught me to never go with strangers, and I knew this was a big red flag. <br><br>But something about this man fascinated me. I knew it was wrong, but something compelled me to get up and follow him. We walked down the long hotel corridor and eventually out to the hotel parking lot. When we were outside, and a long distance from the hotel, the real horror began. <br><br>The man turned around to face me, and the smile on his face was gone, replaced with a scowl. He didn't have a car, and he didn't have any balloons either. "Listen... little girl" he said, pulling out a small knife. "I'm going to take you back to my house, and I'm going to make you my wife." I was absolutely terrified. I knew my parents were looking for me, and I knew that I had to get away from this demonic creature. <br><br>So I did the only thing I could, I ran away. All the way back down the hotel corridor, as fast as I could. I ran to the elevator and pushed the button to go all the way to the top. I didn't care which floor I was on, I just had to get as far away from that demon as possible. <br><br>The elevator stopped at the top floor and I ran to the door at the end of the hall. I turned the handle and pushed the door. It was a hotel room, and a woman was staying there. She was surprised to see me, and asked if I needed help. I explained to her that I was being followed and I was scared. <br><br>She let me use her phone to call reception. I told them what happened, and that I was afraid that the man was still looking for me. They said not to worry, that they would send someone up to get me. I was worried that if the man saw me walking in the corridors, he would catch me. <br><br>Luckily I didn't have to wait very long, and two hotel security guards came to get me. They were very nice and asked me to explain what happened, and what the man looked like. I told them everything, but for some reason they didn't seem very surprised. They thanked me for telling them and took me back down to the lobby, where thankfully my parents were waiting for me. <br><br>They were panicked with worry, and had been searching everywhere for me. I told them what happened, and they thanked the guards for their help. I was a little confused at why they didn't seem more concerned, and strangely enough, they didn't seem very surprised either. <br><br>One of the guards walked my parents aside, and they were talking in hushed voices. I couldn't really hear what they were saying, but it looked like they were arguing about something. After a few moments, the guard walked away, and my parents took me back to our hotel room. <br><br>My dad sat me down and asked me to tell him exactly what happened. I told him everything again, and when I finished, I asked him why the guards didn't seem surprised. He looked at my mother, and she looked back at him. There was a long, awkward silence before my dad finally answered my question. <br><br>"What I'm about to tell you... Is very difficult for me to say. The guards told me that approximately 2 years ago, a man in a black tail suit, carrying balloons, abducted a little girl from this exact hotel. She was the same age as you, and she would have been your height and your hair color. The guards said that since then, many girls matching that same description have all been approached by the same man, and have all went missing."