THE 13TH FLOOR
"Where is the 13th Floor, and why is it absent in so many buildings?
Come with us, as we
attempt to explain the legend of the 13th floor, and
introduce you to San Antonio’s most horrifying haunted
experience, the 13th Floor Haunted House.
The levels of a multi-story building are frequently numbered sequentially, from
"basement", “lobby”, “ground”, "one", or “1” upwards
or
occasionally downwards. In some countries, as it is here in the
United States, the number 13 is considered unlucky and
building owners will sometimes purposefully omit a floor
numbered 13. Hence, the 13th floor is sometimes given the
number 14.
Even building owners who are
not themselves superstitious realize that the
desirability of units on a floor 13 might be compromised
because of superstitious tenants, or commercial tenants who worry
about losing superstitious customers.
Based on an internal review of records, the Otis
Elevators company estimates that 85% of the buildings with
their elevators do not have a named 13th floor.
So why does this happen? Why are
even skeptics so easily convinced that the majority would
just rather avoid this floor? What has happened in
history to create such a stigma about a 13th Floor? For
whatever reasons there may be, there seems to be a multitude of
stories about what happens on the 13th floor of numerous
buildings, some documented, some not. It seems that it has
become largely accepted to just leave it alone, brush it
under the rug, and don’t talk about it.
A good example is that some have suggested the
thirteenth floor in government buildings is not really
missing, but actually contains top-secret governmental
departments, or more generally that it is proof of
something sinister or clandestine going on.
It should be noted
that to place a floor between those accessible from an
elevator, it is necessary to either take longer to travel
between the neighboring floors, or accelerate, both of which
would be noticed by the riders. It would also be noticeable from the
exterior, requiring either an extra row of windows or a
conspicuous gap between rows.
Thus, it would make much more sense to build a secret
floor, such as the 13th floor as a basement, making it
much easier to hide thirteenth floor locations, in what
appear to be single story buildings, underground.
We, the creators of the 13th Floor Haunted House,
have discovered locations, right here in San Antonio,
Texas constructed in the manor described above. Not
completely sure of what all of their past uses may have
been, it seems that the majority of these locations are
currently inhabited as a home for the fortunate or unfortunate
souls, living and dead, that have discovered their secret locations
when seeking shelter from the environment, or society.
Various species of rats, snakes, and spiders have also
taken up residence here, living in secret, by their own
rules.
This year, as in the past, and
future, we will open one of these locations for you to
tour. Step inside, take a ride, and travel through the
13th floor, visit the current occupants who call it their
“home”, witness the oddities and strange occurances that
have created the legend of the 13th floor, and discover
why it continues to be one of the world’s greatest mysteries."