I think it is the stairs shots that get me. The perspective and angle down or up are pretty immersive and you almost feel the motion of pausing for a sec to take a pic, consider the safety, igniting courage and heading on to the next floor.
I bet a basement is more like an opium den minus the comfy cushions which are apparently better used as fire fuel?
Basements, or cellars as we call them are generally dingy and contain beer barrels as well as old sleeping bags. They are nearly always freezing cold, even in high summer which makes me think... why?