Welcome to Haunted Road, a production of I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild from Erin

Manky.

Listener discretion is advised.

When I was a kid, it was a pretty well-known fact that my elementary school was haunted.

And by well-known fact, I mean that every single one of us second graders was convinced there

was a mean lady in the girls' bathroom who would appear in the mirror behind you.

I'm not sure what she did beyond that, but that was enough.

The teachers of course laughed us off, but nonetheless that did not stop us giggling schoolkids

from sneaking the lights off on each other or gathering around the mirror and then claiming

to see someone behind us before squealing and running out the door.

It also meant, when I had to use the restroom during class, I'd sneak to the one on the

second floor because you know full well I was not going in the scary lady bathroom alone.

Until one day, when I was tiptoeing down the hall headed to my usual secret bathroom upstairs,

I saw a teacher in the hallway.

I had no excuse to be going upstairs and I also actually really had to go to the bathroom,

which meant I was forced to go to the bathroom of doom.

I breathed heavily and went inside.

I could feel my little panicky self getting ready to run, but I put my head down and looked

at my feet as I scurried into a stall.

I held my breath and kept my eyes on the floor as I did my business.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't briefly consider skipping the hand wash, but even then,

germs were scarier to me than ghosts.

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