September 27, 2025

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Episode 2 – “The Thirteenth Step ” (Full Text)

Prefer reading? Here’s the complete text of Episode2.

The Hundred Horror Tales – Episode 2: Step Thirteen

“Eeeek! That was way too scary, Sōma!”

Aoi’s voice rang out brightly in the dim room, right after the candle’s flame vanished into the air.

“No way… That story was seriously too much! What does ‘when she closes the umbrella, it’s all over’ even mean!? Ugh—I won’t be able to go to the bathroom tonight!”

Her outburst made Miwa chuckle softly.
Shūji grumbled, “If you’re gonna freak out that bad, maybe don’t listen next time.”

Aoi puffed up her cheeks, clearly annoyed.

“I can’t help it! It’s scary, but… I like it! These kinds of stories make you all jittery while you’re listening, and then it’s fun to tell your friends later!”

After rambling her excuse in rapid-fire speed, she suddenly brightened.

“Okay then—my turn next!”

She scooted forward, planting herself in front of her candle, and looked around proudly.

“My story is called… The Thirteenth Step!”

The moment she said the title, the atmosphere in the room shifted slightly—subtly, but noticeably.

“So, at my school, there’s this staircase in the old building. We don’t use it much, except when we go to the music room or the library.”

She paused, then raised a finger.

“When you count the steps, there are always twelve. Everyone knows it. I’ve counted them too. I mean—not like I have that much free time or anything!”

She giggled a little, but her expression quickly turned serious.

“But one day…”

She took a breath.

“My classmate Mina said, ‘There were thirteen steps yesterday.’”

“Huh? Thirteen?” I thought.
There were only supposed to be twelve—always had been.

But Mina looked dead serious.

“She said, ‘I counted them. One by one. There were definitely thirteen.’”

“Everyone laughed it off—‘You just miscounted,’ they said.
Even the teacher said, ‘It’s just your imagination.’
And I kinda agreed at first…”

“…But something about it really stuck with me.”

Aoi lowered her voice slightly.

“Thirteen’s kind of an unlucky number, right? Like how some hotels skip the 13th floor.”

“I think I read somewhere that staircases are usually built with an even number of steps for that reason—some people just don’t like the number thirteen.”

“So the idea that a ‘13th step’ suddenly appeared… it’s weird, isn’t it?”

“Like… maybe only some people can see it.”

“Or maybe… something’s on that step.”

A slight chill passed through the room. Aoi glanced toward Sōma.

“Hey, Sōma… do you believe in stories like this?”

But before he could answer, she was already continuing.

“And then… the day after Mina saw that 13th step…
She never came to school again.”

“…The teacher said she had a cold.”

That’s what we were told the next day.

“Mina will be absent for a little while because she’s sick.”

But that “little while” never ended.

I asked a few times, “Is she better yet?” But little by little, everyone stopped talking about it.

One classmate said she had moved away.
But from that day on, Mina’s desk stayed empty.

It felt like… we weren’t supposed to ask.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Was there really a thirteenth step?
Would I understand something if I saw it too?

After school, I went to the old school building by myself.

It was late in the afternoon, and the sky was already turning dark.
The building was completely still.
When I stood in front of the staircase, it looked taller than I remembered.
My heart started beating faster.

“…Mina, was it really here?”

I said it out loud, and my own voice echoed weirdly in the silence.
That made it scarier.

Still, I took a deep breath—and climbed.

“One, two, three…”

I counted aloud as I went. Twelve steps. Just like always.
Maybe Mina had really just made a mistake.

That’s what I thought—until I started walking back down.

Something felt… off.

My feet moved thirteen times.

“…Huh?”

I stopped at the bottom and looked back up.
Then I counted again.

“One, two, three…”

Still twelve steps. No matter how many times I counted—twelve.

But I remembered—my foot had stepped on something one more time.
I could feel it.

I stood still.
Then climbed again.
Then came back down again.

This time, only twelve steps. Twelve movements.
No mistake.

So what was that thirteenth step I felt?

As I stood there thinking about it, a cold chill ran up my spine.

It felt like… someone was watching me.

I panicked and ran.
Right past the staff room, back to my classroom.

But I didn’t tell anyone.

It felt like… if I said it out loud, I’d be pulled back there.
Like it would become real.

The next day…

This time, Takeru said something.

“Hey, after school yesterday… I think there were thirteen steps.”

My heart skipped a beat.

“Wait—thirteen again? Just like Mina…?”

I started to say, but Takeru tilted his head.

“But that last step… it felt weird.”

“Weird how?” I asked.

“When I stepped on it… it was soft. Like, squishy. Not like a normal step at all…”

“Soft…?”

“Yeah. Not concrete. But I definitely stepped on something.”

He paused.

“Then… I heard a voice.”

“A voice…?”

“From under the stairs. A small voice that said—‘I’m right here.’”

The moment he said it, goosebumps ran down my arms.

“Was it… Mina’s voice?”

Someone whispered that.

But after that, everyone went quiet.
Then the teacher came, and the topic just… ended.

Still, the air in the classroom stayed strange after that.
Heavy. Off.

After that day, no one talked about the thirteenth step again.

But no one forgot it either.

We were just too scared to bring it up.

I couldn’t talk about it, even though…
I felt it too. That same sensation.

But I kept it to myself.

Because if I said it—
maybe I’d be the next one.

…But I went back.

A few days later.
I just couldn’t stop thinking about it.

In the evening, I stood once again in front of the stairs in the old school building.
This time, I didn’t count.
I just started climbing—slowly, step by step.

One… two… three…

Even though I told myself I wasn’t counting, the numbers popped into my head anyway.

And then—it happened.

The step looked like any ordinary piece of concrete.
But when my foot touched it, it sank in with a squishy thud.

“…!”

My whole body froze.

Whatever I was stepping on… it wasn’t a stair.

It was soft.
Warm.
Slightly wet.

It felt just like…
someone’s back.

As I instinctively tried to pull my foot away—

“…Found you.”

A voice whispered in my ear.

My spine turned to ice.

I couldn’t turn around.
I didn’t need to.

I knew.
Something was right there, behind me.

I ran.
Leapt down the stairs without looking back.

I didn’t see anything.

But I know what I felt.

The thirteenth step…
was real.

Since that day, I’ve made sure to never go near the old building alone.

Even when I go to the library or the music room,
I always make sure someone’s with me.
Because there’s no way I’m walking past that staircase alone again.

I haven’t told anyone.
Not even the teachers.
Because I feel like… if I say it out loud,
it’ll find me again.

Still, sometimes I remember.

That soft, sinking feeling.
The way that step gave under my foot.

I still don’t know what it was.

But… if I had turned around that day—
maybe I wouldn’t be here now.

“…I wonder if that staircase still has thirteen steps.”

The moment I whispered it, a shiver ran down my back.

“Okay nope! Nope nope nope! I’m done thinking about this!”

I jumped to my feet and shouted:

“I can’t go to the bathroom nowwwww!!”

Laughter filled the room, and the tension finally broke.
But no one said the thirteenth step wasn’t real.

Because the truth is—
only the people who see it… can see it.

The candle flame flickered, lighting up my face one last time.

“…So, that’s the end of my story.”

I leaned forward and blew it out.

A thin trail of smoke curled into the air—
and disappeared in silence.

Next Episode

New episode drops on Tuesday September 23.

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✍️ About & Follow

The Hundred Horror Tales is an original Japanese horror anthology inspired by the tradition of Hyaku Monogatari.
Five storytellers gather around flickering candles to share chilling tales—urban legends, ghost stories, folklore, daily fears, and real encounters.
Can you endure until the last flame goes out?

Follow for more:
• Twitter: @KaidanTales
• YouTube: @HK_Tales

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This story was brought to you by Haunted Kaidan Tales.
Welcome to a world of Japanese ghost stories and eerie folklore.
Feel free to explore more chilling tales at your own pace.
Some stories were meant to be forgotten—
and yet, they still whisper to those who listen…