Woman worked at private parties in the Hollywood hills for years. She says few guests haven’t aged in 60 years and would allegedly gather around a fountain

Do some people stop aging entirely? A recent viral story shared by TikToker Ashlee (ashleeinc), with over 856K views, makes you ponder that question. The TikTok post is one of the newest submissions to her Spooky Scary Storytime series, where she recounts a tale from a follower. This follower, ‘Jamie,’ worked as a caterer with a company in Los Angeles that handled everything from movie premieres to private events. 

In the post, Ashlee states that Jamie experienced something truly bizarre while working a high-profile party in the early 2000s. The rules were always strict, requiring professionalism and discretion. That meant no questions and pretending not to recognize the high-profile guests. On this particular night in late October, the team headed to a mansion in the Hollywood Hills. 

Jamied claimed that the vibe was off from the start. Her manager, who was usually calm and collected, seemed uncharacteristically nervous. The manager told the staff, “Same rules as always. This client values privacy above everything else. This is a corporate fundraiser if anyone asks, and anyone that you see tonight, you did not see here.”

The guests all seemed off

It is important to note that this is a secondhand account from one of Ashlee’s listeners. There is no way to verify if the story is true or if it is entirely fictional. As Ashlee mentions in the caption, it remains a specific, personal perspective that is meant for entertainment purposes. Ashlee has shared many stories. Recently, she shared a story of an airplane interaction, only for the passenger to learn the other never existed.

When Jamie’s team arrived, the mansion was surrounded by thick trees and heavy security. Additionally, she claimed the staff was instructed to wear plain black shirts instead of their branded uniforms. According to Jamie, the party felt incredibly stiff, with about 150 guests who seemed to be going through the motions of socializing without actually enjoying themselves. Once things got crowded, Jamie sought a shortcut to the kitchen. 

She took a side corridor and ended up wandering down a hallway lined with framed photographs of past events at the mansion. She stopped at a photo labeled 1964 and was stunned to see a group of people around a fountain, including the blonde host of that night’s party. Even more shocking, a silver-haired man she had served champagne to just minutes earlier allegedly appeared in the same photo, looking exactly the same.

As Jamie looked at photos spanning decades, she noticed the same due appearing over and over. She claimed, “Their faces in the photos were exactly the same. Like the same smiles, the same expressions. Like somebody had copied and pasted them throughout the photographs.” Purportedly, the silver-haired man from the photos eventually caught her in the hallway and told her, “You shouldn’t be back here.” When she apologized, he added, “They always get curious.”

The climax of the night came around midnight when the guests silently processed into the garden. Jamie watched as they gathered around an empty stone fountain. She claimed she heard the host say, “We remember the first bargain, and we honor the unseen.” 

The guests then dropped personal items into the empty basin. Shortly after this, Jamie alleged that she and the only other co-worker who had seen the photos were fired from the catering company without explanation.

In the comments, many TikTokers speculated on what was happening. One user commented, “I’ve heard ‘stories’ about how celebrities ‘sell their soul’ to be famous and that they don’t actually get older, they just ‘get plastic surgery’ but really they didn’t they disappear while a doppelganger takes their place and then after after enough time as passed and they’re forgotten they emerge again as some famous/public figure.” 

Another user suggested a classic literary comparison, writing, “It sounds like a bargain for not aging. Very Dorian Grey. Spooky Good!” Others were more blunt, with one person simply saying, “vampire coven duh lol.”

It is clear why these stories stick with us. According to psychologist Edward Klink, ghost stories and paranormal beliefs persist because they help us cope with mortality and the unknown. For example, TikToker Grimm History recently shared a story of an Oil Rig worker who claimed that something scary lived in the ocean.

Research shows that watching reality-based horror content can actually open minds to the paranormal. Thus, making people more likely to believe in the supernatural. Whether or not you believe Jamie’s story, it is a fascinating look at how we process the things we cannot explain. As Klink notes, science suggests there is usually a rational explanation for the things that go bump in the night. However, the mystery of the unknown continues to captivate us all the same.