The Haunting of Ghost Asylum: A Haunting Investigation

by Jack Steen

In my hometown, there's a haunted asylum.

I know what you're thinking…is it really haunted?

My brother thought so. Thirty years ago, he went there with his best friend, and only one of them came home alive.

What happened that night has haunted me ever since.

I went to school to become a parapsychologist - I study apparitional experiences and determine if ghosts are real - all because of my brother.

It's been ten years since I've last been home, but now I'm headed back with my team, Gabriel, a former TV psychic, and Riley, a student of mine with an addiction to ghost-hunting reality shows.

Together, we're heading to Ghost Asylum to determine if what happened that night thirty years ago was really a paranormal experience or just a horrific tragedy.

Personally, I think it's a tragedy…until there's been another disappearance.

That's when I learn the truth - there is true evil living within Ghost Asylum and if I'm not careful, coming face to face with that evil will cost me everything.

Genres: Horror, Paranormal

188 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 30, 2024

Reviews

[mars ✰ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m genuinely baffled at how none of the highly rated reviews include the words “satirical” or “comedy”. I paused reading several times to try looking up the author to find a definitive book genre because every chapter had something absurd to laugh at. If this is a parody work — 5 stars, absolutely brilliant.

The inciting incident is pretty standard — a group of teenagers go to a decrepit location with a ouija board and anger the spirit there, but one of them is taken away by a mysterious dark force and is presumably dead.

Now, despite as simple as it sounds, the beginning sets up a few issues that reoccur throughout the book.

For one, unrealistic dialogue/narration and random escalations in conflict between characters.

……… “Were you a patient, or did you work here?” STAFF.

……… “How did you die?”

……… David snorts as the triangle moves to the M, U, and R before the whole word is spelled out.

……… “You were murdered? Yeah, right. Try again.” David’s voice drips in sarcasm, and as much as Jake understands and feels the same way, he also can’t help but feel David went a little too far.

……… The triangle continues as if David’s words mean nothing as it moves to the D, then to the E, and finally to the R.

……… Murder.

……… “What, let me guess. You were innocent, and they put you in here to die, am I right.” David’s flippant tone appears to be too much as the planchette whips back and forth across the board.

……… I WILL KILL YOU.

It’s important for later but keep in mind what angers Edward here. He’s okay with the question about his death and only is incensed by David’s mocking.

David’s comments are nonsensical, “you were innocent” doesn’t make sense in the context that the characters already have — that Edward was a member of the staff. The whole disbelief that Edward was murdered is baseless and weird. The fact Jake somehow “understands and feels the same way” is also hilarious. Did they research this place at all and somehow come across an Edward? It’s not even like it’s hard to recreate the scene in a way that makes sense — instead of David mocking the ghost, for being murdered of all things, you can have him turn on the other players. It plays into the characterization of him so far, still shows he is not taking the ghost seriously and makes the reader more empathetic to his death.

There’s such a long list of little scenes that have issues like this or don’t make sense in the long run.

Like the part where twelve-year-old Hannah is told the truth, that “something evil grabbed hold of David and pulled him into a black hole” and is so traumatized by it that her father decided it was a good idea to abuse his son in front of her “struck Jake so hard that he fell to the ground.” Or how sometime between the ages 10-13 she notes that he self medicates with alcohol and then hard drugs.

Both of those examples really showcase a larger problem that these characters have. Everybody seems to think that this one tragedy in their life has completely ruined them when it’s really just that they all are terrible people.

Like I’m supposed to believe that for ten years, your family life was perfect. Then the tragedy happened and the next eight or so were (presumably) strained. And then for like the next decade you actively avoid home and the first words your father says to you are “What the hell are you doing? / What the fuck did you just say? / I except you to clean this shit up.” And also he disowns you after like a page of talking.

Also Crystal kicks them out of a public area because they were going “ghost-busting” at the asylum like tourists. It’s apparently “A slap in the face to David's memory” to visit the place that he died? Wait until she learns about graveyards. I also think it’s funny that she jumps straight to David. Oh, you’re Jake’s sister? It’s actually really disrespectful of you to visit the place that haunted your brother for years because David died there.

To be fair to Crystal, she actually has some point. She was there and witnessed the event and actually heard something hurtful. Which is more than can be said for Liza, her parent’s neighbor.

Liza tells Hannah, who witnessed her brother’s spiral to addiction and madness, whose family is forever broken: “We’re the ones that have to live with the past, not you.”

There’s so much more you could bring up, but I think I’ve mentioned enough to get the point across.

What I really want to talk about is the ending, the downfall of the whole book.

Up until this point, I was actually enjoying myself a lot and considered giving it a 4 star rating because it was so comical.

The first issue is that Edward got a case of magical amnesia and is in denial that he died. I was so sure that if I reread chapter two, I would see that this was masterfully foreshadowed and I had misinterpreted it. So I go back and Edward says he was murdered. What?

Honestly, a simple way to set up the reveal and keep the events largely the same would be to have Edward start to spell “I DIDN’T” but only make it to the letters I, D and I, before David starts antagonizing the ghost.
Like:

……… “How did you die?”
……… I DI—
……… “You died?” David snorts. “Yeah, we knew that one already. Real creative.”

It’s not a literary masterpiece or anything, but at least then the beginning and ending wouldn’t directly contradict each other. In my opinion, a lot of things in the book could have been better if there was just one (more?) round of editing or peer reviewing.

Okay, but let’s ignore that, in the grand scheme of things, how important is that, actually?

The thing that actively ruins the story, for me, is the reveal that David survived the collapse. Yeah, you read that right, the whole tragic reason that the whole town is forever tarnished is because they didn’t actually search the building.

Okay, but hold on, maybe Edward was spiritually covering the hole or something, so they couldn’t find David. So, what happens next?

Backpack.

That’s right, it’s exactly what you’re thinking when you read that single word.

They unclothe and deconstruct David’s skeleton, stick him in Hannah’s backpack and carry him to the surface.

Which she then unzips and shows, not to David’s mom, not to a police officer, but to the psychic she was working with. Because he needed to see it? For some reason?

The story simultaneously feels like everything was planned out before there were characters from a long stream of “what then?” questions and like absolutely nothing was planned out and is just a stream of consciousness. You can’t convince me that this was proofread between grammatical issues and the inane leaps of logic.

[Tina Transformation · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Haunting of Ghost Asylum by Jack Steen is a spine-chilling dive into the world of ghost hunting and paranormal mysteries. From the eerie setting of the asylum to the unsettling encounters within its crumbling walls, Steen masterfully builds an atmosphere thick with dread and suspense.

The storytelling blends ghostly legends with a modern investigative edge, keeping the tension sharp and the reader hooked.

[Emily Redenshek · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun spooky one! I had an idea of what would happen in this so I’m satisfied. I wish there could’ve been more happening in certain parts, but it’s a shorter story so it’s not surprising. Onto the next one!

[Peter Spearing · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably good for tweens

The plot was full of holes, and the adult characters did some very silly things. One can forgive young people for being silly and immature, but people portrayed as closing in on 50 should show some sense.

[Colleen Criswell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting concept.

Needed an editor, a number of typos and a plot point that didn’t add up. A few things that needed to be fleshed out a bit more to make this a better story. It felt more like a rushed draft.

[Gee Rothvoss · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a devoted reader of Steen's Asylum Confession series, I picked up "The Haunting of Ghost Asylum" feeling quite intrigued about it. How would third-person prose turn out for an author whose nine-book (for now) series is entirely written from a first-person point of view? Would the plot hold up? This was also on the shorter side, as a novel, which can mean that there's either a fairly encapsulated plot happening or a rushed pacing.

Either way, I wasn't disappointed with THoGA so much as mildly indifferent. It's hard to find the right words, because I did enjoy many aspects of this book. Namely, I was really intrigued by the three main characters, and I quite liked the take on psychic powers we got going on with Gabriel. There was also Hannah's "para-psychology" degree, which I was pre-biased against as a therapist, but Steen was able to somewhat graciously jump through the loop that was coming up with a coherent logic for something that does not, at least to my knowledge, exist.

In terms of plot, there was indeed quite a straight-forward line of events. The fact that the novel starts with a throwback to what originally happened to Daniel and Jack thirty years ago was quite a good idea, in my opinion, since it made the story flow all the more interesting. Tracing back the events of that tragic night alongside Hannah, Gabriel, and Riley was exciting, as a reader, although I do have to say that I would've liked to get some more in-depth knowledge about the Asylum and what happened inside it. We're told about a few key aspects of its haunting, but I would've appreciated some more room to dive deep into exactly why the staff were allowed to get away with things, what sort of people were put in this psychiatric facility, or the kind of people that were in charge of the place.

All in all, it was a pleasant enough quick read.

[Kaya Beabout · Rating 3 out of 5]

🌟2.5 Rounding up to 3🌟

This book was definitely interesting. I did like the fact that it was very fast paced, very easy to read throughout the day. The characters were intriguing, the plot was very interesting, and the character interaction was amazing with a very satisfying close. I was able to finish this pretty much in a day and I did have a good time reading it. However, there were a few things that I did not like about this book.

This book was characterized as some horror novel, and I was expecting just that. Yet when reading it, I didn't see where the horror was, it wasn't even that scary to me, I read YA horror books scarier than this was. The scares were all in the end of the book, in the last 40-50 pages, which to me was kind of sad since I was expecting a lot more scare. If this was characterized as more of a YA Thriller, I would have liked it a lot more knowing what I was getting into.

I also think that the buildup was way to long. We spend a good 80% of the novel meeting our characters, seeing the build up, preparing for the scares that happen at the asylum, which didn't make sense to me. If the book is called the Haunting of Ghost Asylum, how come we only spend maybe 5 chapters in total there, in the beginning and the very end? Overall, I went into this expecting something totally different than when I came out.

Despite my rating of this book, I will be reading the next one because I would like to see what happens with the characters next and seeing where this goes. However, I personally prefer Jack Steen's other series more than this one.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic segue from Confessions

I have to admit, I didn’t have very high hopes for this book. I thought it would be too much of a stretch. And while this book is essentially every haunted house trope rolled into one, I feel like Mr. Steen is catching his stride and will put out more books with original ideas in them. I get why this is the first attempt at something other than the Confessions series (which is superb, don’t skip it!), it feels very safe, like rearranging puzzle pieces that are already there in the order you should place them, or a crossword with all the answers given and you just have to fill in the blanks. I honestly can’t wait to see what else comes from this author, but hope he can be bold enough to drop the heavy use of tropes and recycling old worn out idea that have become, frankly, unoriginal and boring. Even so, the author writes with a voice that is refreshing. Not super erudite or speculative, not trying to be anything but what it is: fun horror. His writing feels very casual, like a conversation with a friend. Until then, I’m anxiously awaiting #9 in the Confessions series, and am on to the second book in this series.
I do find it kind of funny how the author went from inviting people to drink with him at his local bar in his first few books, to the author note in this book that dissuades people from attempting to contact him at all. Price of whatever fame you can claim I guess.

[Asia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5!!!

This should be a movie

OMG this book is a winner. If you want to read a ghost horror book this is it. It's about 178 pages and I read it in a day! This book grabbed me and wouldn't let go until I finished.

It started off with action and held through to the end. You know how some books start off with action, then does a lot of storytelling and there's no action until the end.....this is not that book! There were lots of scary visuals, apparitions, and ghostly encounters throughout it all.

This book is totally underrated and needs to be pushed and talked about.

Im being very spoiled and greedy but I wanted more. I wanted a longer encounter and adventure at the asylum. But this was so good.

The only con I had was a couple of grammer/editorial errors. The description on the back of thr book doesn't do this book justice. It reads as if the story narrated by Hannah but it isn't. This book is more in third person and switch between Hannah and Gabriel. And Riley really wasn't her student but a fan of her books. And he and Gabriel wasn't her team but she reluctantly agreed to help Gabriel with a case that was brought to him. And there wasn't another disappearance after David. So the back of the book is a little misleading and doesn't do justice for this book because this book is damn good!!
But this book is definitely in my top reads.

[The Life of a Kindle Girlie. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is mid at best. I didn’t find it to be very descriptive and I feel like it was written by an entry level author in the way things are described. Simple at best. If anything it could be considered a YA novel or entry level to the horror genre itself. It’s going to be a book series but it took everything in my to not DNF this so i won’t be reading the second one but I think the book is OKAY if you wanna dip your toes into the horror genre. I am interested to give the author another chance with his confessional series though. Perhaps this book series just wasn’t the one for me as I know all authors have a hit and miss in their creations.

[Susan K. Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four teenagers decide to have a little party in the old asylum in their town. They want to know if its truly haunted. When all is said and done only three come out alive. Years later Gabriel (a medium) and Hannah (who’s brother was one of the four teenagers) decide to go back to the asylum and put the ghosts to rest. This book is only 176 pages and can be read in one afternoon. Jack Steen wrote the popular Asylum Confession books that I really enjoyed. This book is the first in the haunted series. The Haunting of Ghost Asylum by Jack Steen. 3 stars.

[Julie Joiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Asylum Ghost Story

I was looking for a new asylum ghost story when I came across this book. I read a lot, so I am always looking for series to get lost in for a while. I really hope the next book comes out soon because I really enjoyed the story, the characters and the fact that it leaves it open for more investigating other haunted locations. I would absolutely recommend this book if you are looking for a good story with haunted mystery.

[Billy Dowding · Rating 5 out of 5]

different but amazing

I have to admit this wasn’t what I expected. I love all the confession books, so of course had to try it. I was very impressed and managed to read the entire book in one night. Granted I looked over at one point and the sun had come up but hey that’s not the first time that’s happened lol

[Deanna Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

PAGE TURNER

I love this Authors Asylum books. I worried that I wouldn't like it much. BUT Jack surprised me! Many author's try to branch out and try to write different books and they usually aren't good. But The Haunting of Ghost Asylum was AMAZING! I read it in one day! Keeps you waiting more! This Author has talent!

[evergrowingtbr · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off let me say I love Jack Steen, and I’ve loved every book of his that I’ve read prior to this one. This book was pretty good, it felt a bit slow at times and the ending a bit rushed. However, I do look forward to the next one 😊
I’d recommend starting with the Asylum Series if you are new to Jack’s books 🩵✝️

[Asha Cohen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan of this book. I feel like the character development could have been better. This book should have been longer.. a lot of it didn't make sense to sense. What happened to edward? him realizing he was dead was enough to destroy him. Did Hannah come to terms that ghost are real. I'm not sure I will continue to the next book.

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read all of Jack Steen's Asylum Confessions before and always enjoy them and feel they are a quick read. The writing is simplistic and that makes me enjoy them even more in between some of my longer reads. This book falls into the same style category. I actually am looking forward to reading the next one in this series too.

[Savannah Wise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, I really loved this. It had everything I was after for a new book. Story line, something haunted, asylum that kids explore. I really want the second one but it's not on kindle unlimited yet so guess I'll wait for a bit. Even looked for jack in a book store today. Disappointed for no paperbacks in newzealand. One day I guess

[Megan Jarvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5! LOVE the dynamics and the history of these characters. The first portion was un-putdownable. I loved it. The setup was so good. I found where it started to lack for me is when they actually get to the asylum and the horror played out. This would've benefited if it was longer and more flushed out but SO MUCH potential to be amazing.

[Dian Matta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, but no wrap up

Engaging story! The characters are developed well, but we didn’t get a good wrap up. We don’t know much about the apparitions, was the operation successful? What happened to the mom? The ghost? The town? It’s like the writer just suddenly got bored with the story and wanted to finish it without tying up many loose ends.

[Chanda Shae Curry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack and his asylum stories

I have read all his confession books. I knew I wouldn't be disappointed.. That build up to the climax had me on the edge of my seat.. Cheers to you Jack.. maybe do a book on my town's haunted history -Dr Dejarnett and his secrets along with Western State Hospital..

[Debbie J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spooky

This was one of the best stories I've read in a long time! Characters are pretty cool and the asylum is described with a lot of details that make it very clear to visualize and eerie sounding. I'd love to see this made into a movie!

[Shweta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. It was a light read with a well-built story that kept the tension alive throughout the story. While the ending felt a bit too easy, I'm absolutely happy for the characters and excited to read more about Hannah and Gabriel's journey in the upcoming book of the series.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this authors Asylum Confessions series but this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The story was good if a little predictable but it was really lacking in detail. It was short, so worth the read but I think the authors confession books are better IMO. 🏚️💀👨🏻‍⚕️🐀

[Lauren Barton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

This was a really good read, and kept me interested and excited to read the next page, throughout the whole book!
It was scary, and the plot was interesting. If you like ghost books, this is a good one!

[Melanie C Henkelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adequately creepy!!

I love the haunted series so far and I'm waiting for the next one!! The characters are well written and very likeable! Anyone who has read the confessions series will.love this!

[Tori Yardley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hooked.. hanging on every word.. feeling like I was gonna jump at every sound I heard in my house.. then it ended. It was so abrupt.. I feel like the ending just fell flat. It had the potential to go somewhere, but it just stopped.

[Ashley Buchman · Rating 5 out of 5]

jack steen … you did it again

I adore his books ! Great book ! Excellently written!
Can’t wait for more and see what happens next .
Check out his asylum confessions . Won’t be disappointed

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 teens enter a haunted asylum, only 3 leave. 30 years later, a psychic, ghost hunter and a parapsychologist return to find out what really happened!
A spooky read that will keep you wanting more.

Be sure to also check out Asylum Confessions by Jack Steen

[Justin Herrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new take on his previous works, worth it!!!

After reading the asylum series I wasn’t sure how Mr. Steen would pull off a novel but hats off to him! Every bit worth the read! He’s like Frieda but for horror readers with a slightly stronger palette.