Show of Hands

No. Here in West TX there's a layer of stone, called "caliché," one foot under the topsoil. So there are no basements!

Don't see too many homes/schools in California with basements.

Sorta, it's a half basement. Kinda reminds me of that in between floor in Being John Malkovich except dark and creepy. Now that I think about it I think it reminds me more of the crawl space in the attic of The Grudge.