What do you think?
Rate this book
Sub Basement
The Basement Run is the most feared job in the office. When you’re sent to retrieve files from the abandoned, lightless, decaying Sub Basement, you’re likely to come out with a story or two. Rats, strange noises, and perhaps something much, much worse lurk in the building’s deepest level, and the longer you spend down there, the stranger your tales become...
Sub Basement is a chilling twenty-minute story, perfect for a quick read late at night.
Sub Basement is a chilling twenty-minute story, perfect for a quick read late at night.
18 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 28, 2014
4 people are currently reading
1171 people want to read
About the author
Darcy Coates
69 books14.2k followersDarcy Coates is the USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen horror and suspense novels.
She lives in the Central Coast of Australia with her family, cat, and a collection of chickens. Her home is surrounded by rolling wilderness on all sides, and she wouldn't have it any other way.
You can hear about her next book by joining her newsletter: www.darcycoates.com/updates
She lives in the Central Coast of Australia with her family, cat, and a collection of chickens. Her home is surrounded by rolling wilderness on all sides, and she wouldn't have it any other way.
You can hear about her next book by joining her newsletter: www.darcycoates.com/updates
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 21, 2016
Have I ever mentioned that my basement is creepy as fuck? I'll upload a picture later, but you have my official word that it's the creepiest. I shit you not, there was an old rocking chair and a single shoe down there when I moved in.
Edit: Now is later and I come bearing pics!
The stairs were replaced in January, so it's less like walking on bed of tetanus, but still. Behold the black hole to creeptown.
These are the rusted nails where I hang the souls of authors who displease me.
Pipes and a hole in the wall that I suspect is a portal to hell. You can shine a flashlight in there, (I mean, you can cause I'm not gonna), and you'll never see the end. Whatever it is, it's evil and musty.
I don't go down there much. Partially because I don't trust the ancient stairs. Partially because spiders.
But mostly because I don't fuck around in creepy weird places. I like my creepy and weird to be strictly fictional. I never want to be anywhere where I accidentally shine my flashlight on a table full of teeth. (True story. I nearly peed myself.) Blurry picture taken while backing away in the comments.
This is a short story where an office worker is asked to go into his workplace's creepy sub basement to retrieve files. Does he say fuck no and run for it?
No. Dumbass goes into the basement and straight into the heart of spooky town.
The whole time I was internally screaming, "Bitch run! Why are you down there! Don't do that! Stop! You're gonna die."
And yet, I was pleasantly entertained. I was sufficiently creeped out by this! The narrator makes stupid choices and puts his ass in continual danger, but I enjoyed watching him get scared, which in turn scared me!
I didn't 100% love the ending, but neither did I hate it. I am ending neutral.
It's short and creepy and best of all? IT'S FREE!! You have no reason not to one-click it!
Do it! PEER PRESSURE!
Up next, I make you smoke cigarettes and jump off a bridge. It's what all the cool kids are doing these days*
*disclaimer: I have no idea what cool kids do.
Edit: Now is later and I come bearing pics!
The stairs were replaced in January, so it's less like walking on bed of tetanus, but still. Behold the black hole to creeptown.
These are the rusted nails where I hang the souls of authors who displease me.
Pipes and a hole in the wall that I suspect is a portal to hell. You can shine a flashlight in there, (I mean, you can cause I'm not gonna), and you'll never see the end. Whatever it is, it's evil and musty.
I don't go down there much. Partially because I don't trust the ancient stairs. Partially because spiders.
But mostly because I don't fuck around in creepy weird places. I like my creepy and weird to be strictly fictional. I never want to be anywhere where I accidentally shine my flashlight on a table full of teeth. (True story. I nearly peed myself.) Blurry picture taken while backing away in the comments.
This is a short story where an office worker is asked to go into his workplace's creepy sub basement to retrieve files. Does he say fuck no and run for it?
No. Dumbass goes into the basement and straight into the heart of spooky town.
The whole time I was internally screaming, "Bitch run! Why are you down there! Don't do that! Stop! You're gonna die."
And yet, I was pleasantly entertained. I was sufficiently creeped out by this! The narrator makes stupid choices and puts his ass in continual danger, but I enjoyed watching him get scared, which in turn scared me!
I didn't 100% love the ending, but neither did I hate it. I am ending neutral.
It's short and creepy and best of all? IT'S FREE!! You have no reason not to one-click it!
Do it! PEER PRESSURE!
Up next, I make you smoke cigarettes and jump off a bridge. It's what all the cool kids are doing these days*
*disclaimer: I have no idea what cool kids do.
March 27, 2016
I thought this story was good, but full of unrealized potential.
***SPOILERS AHEAD*** Proceed at your own risk!!
Okay, it's common knowledge that the paranormal often defies rational explanation. I mean, sometimes we know why a creature or strange occurrence exists, and sometimes we don't. Also, the typical horror reader does not want everything spelled out in black and white, or necessarily tied up with a neat bow at the end. We're not so much into that. We usually enjoy the ambiguous ending, the lack of closure that offers us endless speculation after the words on the page have stopped. But in this case, for me, there were just too many unanswered questions, too many random occurrences, too many unrelated events. It all become . . . pointless.
Again, I understand that acceptance of the paranormal requires a leap of faith, so I'm not even going to touch the premise that a modern high-rise building would have a sub-sub-sub (is that enough subs?) basement that would be so derelict, but still in use. I'm not going to pick apart the presumption that modern workers would agree to enter this workman's comp funland with its pitch black halls littered with rotting furniture waiting to be tripped over, pervasive mold (class action suit, anyone?), and a possible GAS LEAK! I'm going to just go along with that and accept that of course they do this and we need this for the story to occur, so--okay. BUT! Now we have our protagonist, Matt, who is understandably less than thrilled to have drawn spooky dungeon duty, but is willing to enter this dangerous hole in the ground. Once he gets down there, though, as deliciously creepy as it is, nothing ties together.
He's bit by weird stinging insects, and that's over. Then he has strange goop dropping on him from the ceiling. I waited hopefully for it to be some creature salivating on him from above, but--no. End of goop. This is the pattern--some strange or creepy thing is introduced, Matt grosses out, and that's it. There's never an explanation for anything. Nothing is ever tied together to make it cohesive. What do these things have to do with each other? Nothing, apparently.
Matt finds another level that appears to be an abandoned medical clinic? hospital? with suspiciously stained gurneys and medical carts around, so I waited with bated breath for this to be a haunted insane asylum. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Who knows? The readers don't, that's who! There is no explanation offered for the existence of this secret medical lab.
Now he's locked in, and he hears whispers, footsteps, breathing, all of which culminates into--nothing. He finds a staircase, but there's been a cave-in. A CAVE-IN in this modern building where employees are being sent to work . . . but I said I wasn't going there. He starts climbing the pile of rubble and finds . . . a dead body! The body of Joan, the co-worker who apparently died down there months before. Something scratches on the glass and . . . the story's over. We go top-side to hear Matt's boss explaining that Matt had "quit" and that now they needed someone else to go down there and find this 40 year old file they needed.
Now this was where I have a problem. You cannot explain the actions of paranormal beings, right? I mean, they don't usually follow our rules, our codes of conduct, and we accept that. That's their right, one of the perks of being paranormal. However, we do expect the humans in the story to be held accountable for their actions, and these people are so not! WHY does management keep sending people down there? Is it to feed some creature that lives there? If so, then why do so many people go down there and come back, creeped out but alive? This was not Matt's first visit down there, and he made it back just fine the first time. And if the other people who "quit" were eaten, why wasn't Joan? And why tell everyone the "eaten" coworkers had quit and tell them that Joan--who was, apparently, still alive at the time and could, conceivably, escape and blow their cover--had died? And PRODUCE A FAKE BODY? Why are they sending another person down there while Matt is, presumably, still alive? I mean, he's in the same location with Joan's body, and she wasn't eaten, so I would assume that he wasn't either. So this new person could possibly rescue him. Why was management complicit in this? What did they get out of it? And was there, or was there not, a monster in the basement? What is the connection between the bugs and the goop and the medical equipment and the whispers and the shadows?
These are the questions I was left pondering at the end of the story, and that's not good. I should have been wondering whether Matt was devoured by some hideous basement-dwelling monster, or whether he died a slow, lingering death by starvation and thirst, like poor Joan. Or whether he managed to escape and take revenge on management. Or whether he was able to get the attention of the next luckless employee sacrifice and effect his own rescue, or inadvertently lure that employee to his doom. There were too many unanswered questions to be able to speculate about what happens next--because I couldn't explain what had already happened.
I will continue to read this author, because I think there's promise there, but I hope that future stories are more cohesive.
***SPOILERS AHEAD*** Proceed at your own risk!!
Okay, it's common knowledge that the paranormal often defies rational explanation. I mean, sometimes we know why a creature or strange occurrence exists, and sometimes we don't. Also, the typical horror reader does not want everything spelled out in black and white, or necessarily tied up with a neat bow at the end. We're not so much into that. We usually enjoy the ambiguous ending, the lack of closure that offers us endless speculation after the words on the page have stopped. But in this case, for me, there were just too many unanswered questions, too many random occurrences, too many unrelated events. It all become . . . pointless.
Again, I understand that acceptance of the paranormal requires a leap of faith, so I'm not even going to touch the premise that a modern high-rise building would have a sub-sub-sub (is that enough subs?) basement that would be so derelict, but still in use. I'm not going to pick apart the presumption that modern workers would agree to enter this workman's comp funland with its pitch black halls littered with rotting furniture waiting to be tripped over, pervasive mold (class action suit, anyone?), and a possible GAS LEAK! I'm going to just go along with that and accept that of course they do this and we need this for the story to occur, so--okay. BUT! Now we have our protagonist, Matt, who is understandably less than thrilled to have drawn spooky dungeon duty, but is willing to enter this dangerous hole in the ground. Once he gets down there, though, as deliciously creepy as it is, nothing ties together.
He's bit by weird stinging insects, and that's over. Then he has strange goop dropping on him from the ceiling. I waited hopefully for it to be some creature salivating on him from above, but--no. End of goop. This is the pattern--some strange or creepy thing is introduced, Matt grosses out, and that's it. There's never an explanation for anything. Nothing is ever tied together to make it cohesive. What do these things have to do with each other? Nothing, apparently.
Matt finds another level that appears to be an abandoned medical clinic? hospital? with suspiciously stained gurneys and medical carts around, so I waited with bated breath for this to be a haunted insane asylum. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Who knows? The readers don't, that's who! There is no explanation offered for the existence of this secret medical lab.
Now he's locked in, and he hears whispers, footsteps, breathing, all of which culminates into--nothing. He finds a staircase, but there's been a cave-in. A CAVE-IN in this modern building where employees are being sent to work . . . but I said I wasn't going there. He starts climbing the pile of rubble and finds . . . a dead body! The body of Joan, the co-worker who apparently died down there months before. Something scratches on the glass and . . . the story's over. We go top-side to hear Matt's boss explaining that Matt had "quit" and that now they needed someone else to go down there and find this 40 year old file they needed.
Now this was where I have a problem. You cannot explain the actions of paranormal beings, right? I mean, they don't usually follow our rules, our codes of conduct, and we accept that. That's their right, one of the perks of being paranormal. However, we do expect the humans in the story to be held accountable for their actions, and these people are so not! WHY does management keep sending people down there? Is it to feed some creature that lives there? If so, then why do so many people go down there and come back, creeped out but alive? This was not Matt's first visit down there, and he made it back just fine the first time. And if the other people who "quit" were eaten, why wasn't Joan? And why tell everyone the "eaten" coworkers had quit and tell them that Joan--who was, apparently, still alive at the time and could, conceivably, escape and blow their cover--had died? And PRODUCE A FAKE BODY? Why are they sending another person down there while Matt is, presumably, still alive? I mean, he's in the same location with Joan's body, and she wasn't eaten, so I would assume that he wasn't either. So this new person could possibly rescue him. Why was management complicit in this? What did they get out of it? And was there, or was there not, a monster in the basement? What is the connection between the bugs and the goop and the medical equipment and the whispers and the shadows?
These are the questions I was left pondering at the end of the story, and that's not good. I should have been wondering whether Matt was devoured by some hideous basement-dwelling monster, or whether he died a slow, lingering death by starvation and thirst, like poor Joan. Or whether he managed to escape and take revenge on management. Or whether he was able to get the attention of the next luckless employee sacrifice and effect his own rescue, or inadvertently lure that employee to his doom. There were too many unanswered questions to be able to speculate about what happens next--because I couldn't explain what had already happened.
I will continue to read this author, because I think there's promise there, but I hope that future stories are more cohesive.
September 26, 2018
Much as I love Darcy Coates this one is just too ridiculous to be tolerated. If it were set in the 18th century when nobody had even considered regulating safe work conditions and many people were in such dire straits they would starve if they didn’t keep their job, no employee would have kept going deeper into this nightmare to find a file, let alone in the 21st century. Disbelief can only be suspended so far, you have to give us something to work with.
April 27, 2015
A must read
This story literally sent shivers down my spine at one point. It's very well written and the author definitely knows how to write horror. There is no overt gore or violence in this story, most of the creepy happenings are inferred, and it's done quite well. ***spoiler alert*** One problem with the book occurs to you briefly at the beginning then more so after you're done reading the story. Why wouldn't management do something about an area in a building that has caused so many employees to quit? According to the protagonist they're cheap and uncaring. Ok, this is a little extreme, but possible. However, what about when Joan's covered body was brought up by police or EMT's. It's one thing for management to look the other way, it's another for emergency personnel to pretend they found a missing woman's body and declare her dead when her body is still in the sub-sub-basement. But still, if you like creepy, eerie, psychological horror, this is a story you shouldn't overlook.
This story literally sent shivers down my spine at one point. It's very well written and the author definitely knows how to write horror. There is no overt gore or violence in this story, most of the creepy happenings are inferred, and it's done quite well. ***spoiler alert*** One problem with the book occurs to you briefly at the beginning then more so after you're done reading the story. Why wouldn't management do something about an area in a building that has caused so many employees to quit? According to the protagonist they're cheap and uncaring. Ok, this is a little extreme, but possible. However, what about when Joan's covered body was brought up by police or EMT's. It's one thing for management to look the other way, it's another for emergency personnel to pretend they found a missing woman's body and declare her dead when her body is still in the sub-sub-basement. But still, if you like creepy, eerie, psychological horror, this is a story you shouldn't overlook.
January 18, 2016
Creepy or Sub Level Evil?
Spoiler Alert: If there is a Sub-Basement and everyone that goes down either doesn't come up or quits I'd say you need to burn the files. And then you find another basement. They must have built over the two levels for a reason. Something mysterious and creepy lurking in the darkness. Would you go get the files? I think there is another story that could be told from this.
Spoiler Alert: If there is a Sub-Basement and everyone that goes down either doesn't come up or quits I'd say you need to burn the files. And then you find another basement. They must have built over the two levels for a reason. Something mysterious and creepy lurking in the darkness. Would you go get the files? I think there is another story that could be told from this.
March 7, 2016
Don't read this story late at night or in the dark or when you are alone...the best type of horror story! It leaves you with you own imagination of what happened. Excellent scare!
July 28, 2021
Ok... This was much better than most of her books and another short that I read by D.C. I was almost sad that it ended, as for the first time reading her work, I felt slightly creeped out. Honestly, this could have been turned into a full novel, had she kept this same icky feeling flowing.
It ended a little abrupt for my taste but it's still a better offering than any of her actual books. This almost made buying 'The Folcroft Ghosts" worth it as it was one of three short stories included in the back of the novel, along with a preview of an upcoming novel.
It ended a little abrupt for my taste but it's still a better offering than any of her actual books. This almost made buying 'The Folcroft Ghosts" worth it as it was one of three short stories included in the back of the novel, along with a preview of an upcoming novel.
Want to read
May 25, 2023Sub Basement is a short story found in Quarter to Midnight: Fifteen Tales of Horror and Suspense.
May 30, 2022
Archive Runs...brings back personal memories, but they were never in a basement or sub basement, thank goodness! This short story is so cool! The archieve's level not even on the buildings floorplans was creepy enough. But archive runs for old files and the stories told within the office would have been enough to make one want to find another job before it was their turn to retrieve files. I love this short story and the Authors Notes!
March 8, 2021
So so creepy I would love to see this as a short film
February 8, 2022
Wow! Don’t read this short story if you are afraid of bugs and dark basements!
February 5, 2023
The setting for this spooky story was a great. :) very dark and creepy. I got chills!
June 5, 2023
Love it! Really feeds into most people’s fear of basements. I do wonder what was down there…
December 15, 2021
This is a short horror story that Is a part of Darcy Coates Quarter to midnight fifteen tales of horror and suspense book. This is about a man who works in a office and gets assigned to the most feared task in the office the sub basement archives run, they’re have been horrific tales about huge rats, weird noises and staff members that have died during the archive run now it’s his turn and he delved deeper into the dark basement with nothing but a flashlight but nothing prepares him for the horrific truth about the basement, including some horrific surprising discoveries. This is a wonderful short horror story by Darcy Coates she is a talented storyteller who specialises in gothic haunted, supernatural suspense and horror stories. I definitely recommend reading any of her books.
March 21, 2016
Sub Basement
OK...I admit it I am uncomfortable in dark, dank places. This story got to me. Personally I would not have gone down there. Even err n if if ment m y job...I still had my life. Besides the previous people should have given them an idea of what was to come. This is REALLY SCARY... I DON'T WANT TO ADDRESS THE REST. HORROR AT IT'S HIGHEST BEST. I RECOMMEND
OK...I admit it I am uncomfortable in dark, dank places. This story got to me. Personally I would not have gone down there. Even err n if if ment m y job...I still had my life. Besides the previous people should have given them an idea of what was to come. This is REALLY SCARY... I DON'T WANT TO ADDRESS THE REST. HORROR AT IT'S HIGHEST BEST. I RECOMMEND
February 9, 2015
This one was short but fun. I read it aloud to my grandma tonight in the nursing home, and she really enjoyed it. It was pretty intense for such a short story - I just wanted him to get out. I'll look for more by Darcy.
June 20, 2015
Pretty good...
Pretty good short story. I didn't like it as much as Crawlspace, but it had an odd ending, which I liked. It will make you think twice before venturing into any dark places.
Pretty good short story. I didn't like it as much as Crawlspace, but it had an odd ending, which I liked. It will make you think twice before venturing into any dark places.
March 10, 2016
Love it!
December 11, 2022
I always hated dingey basements. This was like the ultimate Rollercoaster in my horror-genre theme park.😱
April 23, 2017
My rating: 4.5
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews