In the past two years, before I started working in Ubon, I had a job at a municipal office. Due to my duties and responsibilities, I sometimes had to take overnight shifts. Initially, it wasn't a problem as the office was close to my home, and I had become accustomed to the environment.
During the initial period of night shifts, there were usually 2-3 colleagues sharing the duty. The office had a significant amount of dust, and I, being somewhat allergic to it, experienced itching. I coped by bringing my own mattress, pillow, snacks, rice, milk, and water for the night. Additionally, younger colleagues from the office would also join in.
I would sleep in my office, located on the far left side of the building, adjacent to the municipal head office. The office was large and bordered a forest near the village. We would start our night shift at 4:30 PM, just after regular working hours. It was not completely dark at that time. I would take the first shift alone while the other colleague went home to finish personal errands before coming back to relieve me.
During this time, besides turning on the lights in the office, there wasn't much to do. Occasionally, children would come to play in the office, or students engaged in evening activities like playing soccer in the nearby field. On some days, if the office lights went out, the atmosphere would become quiet, and the parking area behind the office, covered with fallen leaves from a large tree, would evoke a sense of eerie solitude.
The access road to the office was not frequently used as it was located outside the village and lacked regular traffic. The entire experience created an environment where the only sounds were the occasional footsteps of living beings walking over the fallen leaves.
When it was time, from 18:00 to 19:00, my friend on the night shift would come to replace me, making it a routine for me to go home. This happened every day without any abnormalities. I would return home around 06:00 in the morning, where the housekeeper would wake everyone up by coming to the wide area where we slept. I usually slept in the inner room, while my night-shift friend often slept in the middle room. After about two months, something unusual started happening. I couldn't be sure if it was due to stress, a guilty conscience, or some mysterious occurrence, but I began to notice and wanted to share my experiences.
The first unusual incident occurred when I checked the office surroundings. I heard a creaking sound near the big tree with many branches behind the parking lot, and the lights went out. As I went to check, I heard the sound of leaves, "crack, crack," not far from the dark shadow in front. Initially, I didn't think much about it and continued to the next parking lot. The sound intensified, and the next light bulb flickered. I couldn't see anything in the dark shadow, and without any light, I decided to step back, unsure of what or who might be approaching. That night, I left the lights on and only turned them off in the morning. During that night, the housekeeper usually came to wake us up, standing wide where we slept.
The next day, the abnormality escalated. In the office, the atmosphere was strange, and I checked the lights again. This time, the flickering sound was more prominent. I heard the sound of leaves from outside, and as I checked, I heard, "crack, crack," not far from the dark shadow. It was unsettling, and I couldn't comprehend what was happening. That night, I had difficulty sleeping, and I heard the sound again, "crack, crack," causing me to wake up multiple times.
The abnormality continued in the following days. In my bedroom at the office, I experienced itching, possibly due to dust. The sound persisted, getting louder, and I also heard the door opening, but when I looked, there was no one. I couldn't explain it, and the next night was even worse. I thought it might be related to my mental health, but when I returned home, the situation didn't improve. The intensity of the abnormalities increased, and I couldn't understand why.
On the last night of my shift in that office, everything seemed normal initially. The parking lot lights were fine, my colleagues were sleeping, and I started drinking beer to help me sleep. I fell asleep for a while but woke up around 2 AM feeling the need to urinate. As I finished my business, I looked at my friend sleeping on the night shift, and everything seemed normal. I locked the door and went back to sleep, but the itching returned, and I heard the sound again,
"crack, crack."
The sound was loud, like it was right beside my ear, similar to the sound I make. It was chilling, and what startled me the most was the shadow reflected in the office glass, resembling a man walking back and forth. I turned my face away in shock, only to see the legs of someone walking under the table. I mentally prepared myself before glancing, but there was no upper part of the body, only the legs moving around the office, avoiding the area where I slept. I prayed for it not to come toward me, fearing for my life. I woke up and had the same dream again, until I woke up for the second time. It was almost impossible to separate the dream from reality because the dream occurred in the place where I slept. Dreaming about itching, and it actually itched, both from the walk and the itching. Encountering something mysterious, a silhouette under the table, haunted me. That day, I turned on the lights before sleeping and shared the experience with my colleagues. They laughed, saying I was probably sleeping over the walkway, which shouldn't happen. They advised me to sleep in a proper place, not on the walkway.
That night, I decided I wouldn't do the night shift anymore and opted for a permanent replacement. Everyone laughed at what I experienced, but I was dead serious. It was the last night I would ever spend there.