short horror stories

The Thirteenth Floor

The first hotel to have more than thirteen floors had a huge Halloween party to celebrate its opening.

Each floor was set up like a maze, decorated with cobwebs and other Halloween decorations. There were lots of people dressed up as ghosts and ghouls to frighten the partygoers. An exciting prize was hidden on the top floor, and the first person to reach the prize would win it.

Jack and Sophia were two of the partygoers. They worked their way easily through the mazes on the first few floors. As they headed up through the building, the hallways on each floor got darker and scarier.

When they got to the twelfth floor, Jack and Sophia heard a blood-curdling scream. As they made their way through the maze, they heard more screams and cries for help. Finally, in the lobby by the elevators, they saw blood dripping from the ceiling.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slowly opened, which was strange because every other time they used the elevator, the doors had been quick and smooth. The light in the elevator was flickering as they stepped in and, as the doors began to close, the lights went out completely.

And then, screams so loud the entire building heard them begin to ring out. At first, the partygoers thought it was part of the scary Halloween theme. But then, the owners of the building turned on all the lights and asked everyone to return to the lobby.

But when people tried to use the elevator, it never came. The bell would ding, but the doors wouldn't open, and they were all forced to use the stairs.

Down in the lobby, the building owners explained they had not played the sounds of the screams. And, as they did a check of everyone who had come back, they realized Jack and Sophia had not returned.

Just then, the doors to the elevator opened. It was empty except for Jack's watch, one of Sophia's shoes, and a pool of blood. Jack and Sophia were never seen again, and the building owners took away the button for the thirteenth floor, so nobody would disappear there again.