The 13th Floor

by Jack Steen

This asylum has always had a missing floor.
The thirteenth.

Every Halloween, the building unlocks the door, and this time, it was my turn for an invite.

I would have turned it down, but I wasn't given a choice.

And when the doors opened, I met a man waiting in the dark.
Pastor Cole. A killer who preached salvation and killed you with a smile.

I’ve heard a lot of confessions from the dying, but his was different. He didn’t want forgiveness. He wanted witnesses.

He said the thirteenth floor was his church--that the voices behind the walls were his congregation.

He said the Matron still keeps his sermons running.

Now the lights hum, the walls breathe, and something keeps whispering my name.


I should’ve never stepped into that elevator.

The 13th Floor -- every floor has a secret. Only the 13th keeps the dead.

209 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 29, 2025

Reviews

[myreadingescapism · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The difference between a haunted house and a prison, is just the paper work”

[Megan Jarvis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the asylum confessions but this was a continuation of that but different and it didn’t hit for me. The low ratings do not surprise. I love his writing but this was a miss.

[MissHalo227 · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an avid Jack Steen reader, I can honestly say I really struggled with his one. I first started trying to read the physical book and just couldn’t get my grasp on it so I decided to switch over to the audio thinking it was just my lack of reading comprehension and focus but realized really quickly that wasn’t it either. I feel like this was a case of having an expectation of the other asylum books and it not being meet because it wasn’t a traditional asylum confession. I feel like the timeline of events were very muddy and in a way made me a little afraid that the asylum confessions as a series is over because and I could be wrong is Jack dead? Or is that a trick of the asylum? See that’s where I lost myself a bit.

[Melissa Thurlby · Rating 5 out of 5]

creepy, disorienting and disturbing.

CONTAINING SPOILERS!!!!!!

Jack Steen’s The 13th Floor is not your typical horror story — and that’s exactly why it sticks with you. From the start, the asylum itself feels alive, a place where trauma, guilt, and human fragility are as much a presence as the patients themselves.

The ending left me completely disoriented at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how deliberate Steen’s choices are. Jack Steen, the nurse, isn’t “dead” in a conventional sense — he becomes part of the asylum’s machinery, trapped in a liminal space where time, life, and identity blur. The subtle touches, like the creepy Baby Bell and the line from security that “J. Steen hasn’t been here in a while,” hit in ways that are more unsettling than any jump scare. They show how the asylum absorbs people, while the outside world just moves on, oblivious.

This is psychological horror at its best: slow, creeping, and existential. It’s less about surviving the building and more about realizing what survival can cost you. If you enjoy horror that messes with your mind, sticks with you after the last page, and leaves you questioning reality, this book is a must-read.

[Megan Wintrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't sure where this was going in the first bit but I did get a little shiver at the end of the first part, although when we tapped back into the first proper chapter I was all in and excited to see where this would go and what the asylum has going on at Halloween time.

I was so confused reading this but it really does all make sense..also that last chapter is creepy as hell. So strange but so so good!

Bells, Ledgers, Air vents, death, birth and the crooked Warden, what could possibly go wrong on Halloween at the asylum 😏.

Fantastic.

[Tamara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best

I’ve read all Steen’s books currently published and have enjoyed them immensely. But this one…. No. This one is bizarre in a bad way, doesn’t make enough sense to be speculative, and just keeps repeating the same nonsense throughout the whole book. Just skip this one.

[Gabrielle Brodbeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book and story but it was also not what I am use to from this author. It was a hard read, as I don’t think I fully understand what was going on. Happy I read it all the same. I look forward to the next set of stories.

[Nikki Prince · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favourite read, found myself trying to get to the end rather than enjoying the story. Felt like a campfire story, which was okay but I didn’t see the wow factor. Not upto Jack Steins normal standard.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars!

I really loved how this puts our favorite asylum in a new and creepy light. Jack and Ike never fail to make me laugh and I LOVE a good Halloween story!

Well done Jack

[Al Butler]

DNF at 25%.

[Dawn Herbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve read all of Jack Steens books - but I hated this one - it was almost as if someone else had written it :(

[Christie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack never ceases to amaze me !