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The Ghost In My Machine

Stories of the Strange and Unusual

The Most Dangerous Games: Elevator to Another World

June 25, 2014 by Lucia

Previously: The Dead Poet’s Game.

For an updated deep dive into the Elevator Game, aka Elevator To Another World, its history, and more, head here!

Elevator to Another World, known colloquially as the Elevator Game, proliferated widely in the early 2010s on a Korean website some may recognize as the source of a particular comic that pops up every few months or so on sites like Reddit. A few years earlier, though, it hit 2ch in Japan. Unfortunately I don’t speak Korean or Japanese, so working off of the rough translations found here and here, I’ve tried to tease out a clearer version of the rules and instructions. (Update for 2021: Head here for a fresh look at the rules for the Elevator Game.)

[Like what you read? Check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available from Chronicle Books now!]

It’s unclear whether the Otherworld to which the elevator delivers you is what’s sometimes referred to on Reddit as the “Shadowside,” or whether it’s something else; regardless as to what it may or may not be, however, as always — play at your own risk. 

Close-up on the door of an elevator opening, right where it meets the floor

Players:

  • 1 principal

Requirements:

  • 1 building, at least 10 stories high, with an elevator. All three of these conditions must be met in order for the game to proceed.

Instructions:

Venturing Out:

  1. Enter your chosen building and get into the elevator on the first floor alone. Do not proceed if anyone else is in the elevator with you.
  2. Press the button for the fourth floor.
  3. When the elevator reaches the fourth floor, do not get out. Instead, remain in the elevator and press the button for the second floor.
  4. When you reach the second floor, remain in the elevator and press the button for the sixth floor.
  5. When you reach the sixth floor, remain in the elevator and press the button for the second floor.
  6. When you reach the second floor, remain in the elevator and press the button for the tenth floor.
  7. When you reach the tenth floor, remain in the elevator and press the button for the fifth floor.
  8. When you reach the fifth floor, a young woman may enter the elevator. Do not look at her; do not speak to her. She is not what she seems.
  9. Press the button for the first floor. If the elevator begins ascending to the tenth floor instead of descending to the first, you may proceed. If the elevator descends to the first floor, exit as soon as the doors open. Do not look back. Do not speak.
  10. If you reach the tenth floor, you may either choose to get off the elevator or to stay on it. If you choose to get off, and if the woman entered the elevator on the fifth floor, she will ask you, “Where are you going?” Do NOT answer her. Do NOT look at her.
  11. You will know whether you have arrived at the Otherworld by one indication, and one indication only: The only person present in it is you.

The Return Trip:

If you chose to stay on the elevator at the tenth floor:

  1. Press the button for the first floor. If it doesn’t work, keep pressing it until it finally does.
  2. When the elevator reaches the first floor, exit as soon as the doors open. Do not look back. Do not speak.

If you choose to exit the elevator at the tenth floor:

  1. You must use the same elevator to return as the one in which you arrived.
  2. When you enter the elevator, press the buttons in the same order you did in steps 2 through 8 of Venturing Out. You should finish at the fifth floor.
  3. When you reach the fifth floor, press the button for the first floor. The elevator will again begin to ascend to the tenth floor. Press any other floor’s button to cancel the ascension. You MUST press the button you use to cancel the ascension BEFORE you reach the tenth floor.
  4. After you reach the first floor, check your surroundings carefully. If anything seems off—even the smallest detail—do NOT exit the elevator. If you detect something wrong, repeat step 2 until your surroundings look as they should. Once you are confident you have returned to your own world, you may safely exit the elevator.

Additional Notes:

  • Should you reach the Otherworld, the floor onto which you will emerge will look almost identical to the one from your own world, save for two things: All the lights will be off, and the only thing you will be able to see from the windows is a red cross in the distance.
  • Some say that electronic devices—mobile phones, cameras, MP3 players, etc.—don’t work in the Otherworld; others say they do.
  • Getting back to your own world may be more difficult than it seems: You may become disoriented and forget which elevator in which you arrived; the elevator may seem to get further and further away from you as you walk towards; and so on. Be vigilant, and keep your wits about you.
  • If at any point during the ritual you faint, pass out, or otherwise lose consciousness, you will likely wake up in your own home. However, be sure to carefully examine your surroundings upon waking—the “home” to which you have been returned may not be the one you left when you first set out to attempt this ritual.

Concerning the Woman on the Fifth Floor:

Do NOT speak to her.

Do NOT look at her.

If you do, she may decide to keep you for her own.

Elevator to Another World: FAQ.

***

This version of this urban legend game was researched and written specifically for The Ghost In My Machine. Please don’t copy or republish this post on other sites. Linking to it or sharing the URL is fine (and encouraged!), as is writing your own unique version of the game, but copying/pasting, republishing, or otherwise reproducing the text of this piece in its entirety or near-entirety on other websites without permission isn’t.

***

Support The Ghost In My Machine on Patreon for behind-the-scenes access and other bonus content. You can also follow on Twitter @GhostMachine13 and on Facebook @TheGhostInMyMachine.

[Photo via]

Filed Under: Games Tagged With: elevator game, elevator to another world, elevators, games you shouldn't play, Japan, Korea, The Most Dangerous Games, the otherworld, the shadowside

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hannah L says

    September 6, 2019 at 4:38 pm

    Wondering if it’s possible to…interfere with someone’s trip back or something. I don’t really buy in to things like this but about 10 years ago I was at a hotel at a conference and got into the elevator to go see a new friend who was staying on the 4th floor. I was staying on the 9th floor. The elevator just sort of went crazy. It went up a ways, didn’t open, went down a ways, didn’t open, did that a few other times. In the process I made up my mind I was getting out of that thing the moment the doors finally did open regardless where I was. I didn’t keep track of the floors it didn’t open on, but when the door finally did open, I talked to somebody, who did happen to be a woman, told her something like “this elevator is being crazy right now you might not want to use it” and if I recall correctly she said something like “yeah I know” or “I heard that was happening with some of them” and, as far as I know, got on anyway. I realized at some point in this process, though I don’t recall when, that I did happen to be on the 5th floor. I had heard nothing of all this at that time so wasn’t particularly spooked, just weirded out. I took the stairs from there down to 4, not wanting any more weird rides. I seem to be unaffected, though.

    Reply
    • TrapNationNCS says

      September 25, 2019 at 2:46 pm

      Well that certainly is creepy. To answer your question, i personally don’t think you can interfere with someone’s ritual. If the woman you spoke of intended to play the game correctly, ( if she was in fact playing the game,) she would have completely ignored you. Judging by your username, you are female. So her ignoring you would make perfect sense. Hoped this theory makes sense and maybe helped! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Black_Winter says

    September 30, 2019 at 7:23 am

    Today I performed the ritual in one of the blocks. Unfortenately it didn’t work. Maybe because I did it during the day and weather was good and quite some people used the elevator before – I don’t know. I did 0-3-1-5-1-9-4-0. But when I hit button for 4th floor(woman comes in) I felt my heart pounding as crazy and wanting to jump out of my chest. Almost immediately I hit 0 floor. I will perform the ritual again but in different block. No one came in during me going up & down.

    Reply
  3. Hannah L says

    October 3, 2019 at 5:01 pm

    I doubt she was trying to play the game, having gotten on at the 5th floor instead of the first. I just don’t get why she would want to get onto an elevator that she had been told was acting up. Risk taker, I guess. I was creeped out enough that I didn’t want back on there, that’s for sure. I figured taking a flight of stairs once in a while never hurt anyone LOL.

    Reply
  4. realm lord defender says

    October 30, 2019 at 11:10 am

    time, matter, space, reality, and the normal rules of existence are all warped and folded in that dimension

    Reply
  5. John says

    November 10, 2019 at 1:13 pm

    Some questions; 1. When we say 1st floor, we mean the floor from which we enter the building? Or should we ascend one floor, and then begin the ritual?
    2. What happens when, during the return to our dimension the elevator you’re on the fifth floor begins to ascend again to the tenth floor?
    i) if you don’t press a button on time and the floor ascends to the tenth, you’re screwed?
    ii) if you indeed succeed in stopping the elevator, what should you do next? Press the button for 1st floor?

    Reply
  6. John Le says

    December 3, 2019 at 1:52 pm

    Can you prevent the elevator girl from coming into the elevator when you reached the 10th floor. What I mean is as soon as you reached the fifth floor can you close the elevator door immediatly and press the button for the first floor immediatly right after as soon as you shut the elevator door to prevent the girl from coming in. Might be interesting to try that to see it you could prevent the girl from coming in if you’re to scare to deal with her while playing this game. Can someone answer this question if they have knowledge on this or have done it before.

    Reply
    • John Le says

      December 3, 2019 at 1:54 pm

      Oh yea, I made a mistake in the first sentence btw. I did not mean the 10th floor; I meant the 5th floor. Just letting you know my mistake and what I actually am trying to say in the first sentence BTW.

      Reply
  7. Black_Winter says

    December 8, 2019 at 5:38 am

    Lucia, I have a question: what would possibly happen if a person would brought a card and a pen and instead of talking to the woman while she asks “where are you going,” one would write a response and give her without looking, talking, or touching her? Would that be considered as breaking the rules or what?

    Reply
  8. Animos says

    April 20, 2020 at 12:08 am

    So electronic devices don’t work, but would a crank-powered camera work there?

    Reply
  9. Stenly says

    August 13, 2020 at 9:07 am

    If you even manage to find stuff that you can easily “carry”, can you bring stuff/items in the real world. Even if you can, will there be consequences/bad luck or something?

    Reply
  10. Amy Hearthwood says

    August 24, 2020 at 10:43 pm

    I’ve seen many religious symbols in the sky through a window, is this the right result?

    Reply
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