Beneath the Asylum

What is the book about?

The story follows a security guard who works at a 150 year old asylum which is rumoured to be haunted.  Local legends also speak of a secret network of tunnels which are hidden below the hospital.  

While doing a routine patrol in the basement, he passes one door in particular that has always given him bad feelings.  He hears the sound of a young girl crying behind the padlocked door and moves in to investigate.  Unfortunately for him, this is no ordinary girl…

Although she has mysteriously disappeared by the time he can reach her, the girl seems to follow him after that.  And his life begins to get stranger and stranger by the minute.  Soon, he discovers that the hospital he has been working in has more than just a few malevolent secrets laying hidden beneath its cracked and decaying façade.

What inspired you to write this book?

This novel is inspired by my time working as a security guard in a very similar mental hospital as the one described in the book.  There are actually local legends in my town about the tunnels beneath “The Sanitarium” as it is called here.  Many of the descriptions are based on my memories of working there. 

I had so many stories from my days at the place that I decided to try to write a short story based on my experiences there.  By the time I finished the first part, it had taken on a life of its own.  I posted it to Reddit.com and got a tremendous response (in comparison to my previous posts). 

By the time I was finished the second part, I realized there was more story to tell.  The characters kept popping back into my head and I couldn’t stop wondering what they were going to do next.  I had never felt that way about writing anything before and decided to embrace that feeling and go with it! 

A few months later I had a novel that I am very proud of.  It’s a blend of suspense and mystery, horror and thrills, with a splash of dark comedy. 

What is the target audience for the book?

Anyone who loves horror fiction or suspense/thrillers.  This book is not intended for children since there are scenes of graphic violence.

What do you hope readers could get from reading your book?

I personally love a good mystery, and wanted to write something that would make people want to keep reading.  I love trying to guess who the killer is, what their motive could possibly be.  So, I hope people feel the same way reading this novel. 

My intention was for people to get some thrills and goosebumps in the night reading this.  To laugh unexpectedly and then gasp at what happens next.  To go on a roller coaster ride of ups and downs, feeling just as scared as the protagonist as he traverses the pitch-black tunnels Beneath the Asylum.

What are your future plans for the book?

I have considered writing a sequel at some point in the future.  There’s also a potential audio book in the works. 

When I started posting the story online, a few people said it would make a great TV show or Netflix series.  So, Netflix, if you’re reading this – yes please I’d love to work with you! 

Tell us a bit about yourself

I’ve been writing off and on for decades and my dream was always to write a novel and get it published – so this is really a dream come true to talk about all of this!  Aside from writing, I enjoy spending time with family, my wife, two cats, and going out and playing basketball at the park (at least until Canadian winter comes for us all). 

My favourite authors are Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Chuck Palahniuk, Joe Hill, Michael Chabon, Kurt Vonnegut, Nick Cutter, and too many more to list here.  I enjoy reading various talented writers on Reddit.com r/nosleep as well. 

My website is www.JordanGrupe.com and you can find many of my short stories on Reddit.com under my profile u/jgrupe.  If you’d like to check out my book you can get it for free with a Kindle Unlimited subscription on Amazon, or paperback is also available here:

Thanks to ReadersMagnet – Author’s Lounge for helping me get the word out about my novel!  And thank you all for reading!  Please let me know your thoughts on the book!  You can find me on twitter @JordanGrupe.