by Pratik Mainali

The elevator on my work building was always a bit odd. Sometimes it would shake and rattle, and other times it would stop between floors for no apparent reason. But it wasn’t until last week that I realized just how haunted it was. I work on the 13th floor of a high-rise office building in the heart of the city. It’s a busy place, with people coming and going all day long. But one night, I was working late and found myself alone in the building. It was then that I decided to take the elevator down to the lobby. As soon as I stepped into the elevator, I felt a chill run down my spine. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and I felt like I was being watched. But I brushed it off as my imagination and hit the button for the lobby. The elevator started to descend, but then it suddenly stopped. The lights flickered, and I could hear strange whispers coming from the walls. I tried to hit the emergency button, but it wouldn’t work. I was trapped. As the minutes ticked by, I became increasingly anxious.

And then, just as suddenly as it had stopped, the elevator started to move again. But it wasn’t going down to the lobby like I had wanted. It was going up, to the 14th floor. When the doors opened, I was greeted by a sight that still haunts me to this day. There, standing in front of me, was a ghostly figure dressed in old-fashioned clothing. Its eyes were empty and hollow, and it stared at me with a malevolent grin. I tried to scream, but no sound would come out. The figure started to move towards me, and I could feel its cold breath on my neck. And then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished into thin air. I was in shock, trembling with fear. I tried to hit the button for the lobby again, but it wouldn’t work. I was stuck on the 14th floor with whatever had just tried to attack me. And then, as if by some stroke of luck, the doors opened again. This time, it was the lobby. I ran out of the elevator, my heart pounding in my chest. I thought I had escaped the haunted elevator, but I was wrong. Over the next few days, strange things started happening to me. I would see the ghostly figure lurking in the shadows, watching me with its empty eyes. I would hear whispers in my ear, telling me to stay away from the elevator. I even found scratch marks on my arm, as if something had tried to grab me. I knew I had to do something, but I didn’t know what.

And then one day, as I was walking past the building’s maintenance closet, I saw something that made my blood run cold. There, on the floor of the closet, was an old maintenance logbook. I picked it up and started to read through it. And that’s when I found out the truth about the haunted elevator. According to the logbook, there had been a maintenance worker who had died in the elevator over 30 years ago. His body had never been found, and it was rumored that his ghost still haunted the elevator to this day. I knew then that I had to put an end to this once and for all. I went to the building manager and told him everything that had happened. At first, he didn’t believe me, but when I showed him the scratch marks on my arm, he knew that something was wrong. Together, we went to the elevator and performed a ritual to banish the ghost. We burned sage and recited ancient prayers, and after what felt like hours, the ghostly figure appeared once The ghostly figure appeared once again, its empty eyes fixed on us. But this time, we were ready for it. We continued with our ritual, chanting and waving the sage until the figure started to dissipate. As it vanished, the elevator doors suddenly closed and the elevator started to shake violently. But then, just as suddenly as it had started, the shaking stopped, and the doors opened again. We both stepped into the elevator and hit the button for the lobby. This time, the elevator moved smoothly, and we soon found ourselves back on the ground floor.

The building manager looked at me with a mixture of awe and fear. “I never believed in ghosts,” he said. “But I think I do now.” From that day on, the elevator never malfunctioned again. And I never saw the ghostly figure again. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was still out there, lurking in the shadows, waiting for its next victim. I tried to put it out of my mind and focus on my work, but I could never quite forget about the haunted elevator. Every time I stepped into it, I felt a shiver run down my spine, and I could feel the eyes of the ghostly figure on me. But I took comfort in the fact that I had banished the ghost from the building. And as long as I didn’t have to go back to the 14th floor, I knew that I was safe. However, one day, as I was walking down the street, I passed by the building and saw the elevator doors open. Inside, I could see the ghostly figure, staring at me with its empty eyes. I froze in fear, unsure of what to do. And then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the figure vanished, and the elevator doors closed. I knew then that the ghost was still out there, and it would always be out there, waiting for its next victim. And as much as I wanted to forget about it and move on with my life, I knew that I never would. The haunted elevator had become a part of me, a part of my story, and I would carry it with me for the rest of my days.

About the Author:

Pratik Mainali, BIBM University of Wolverhampton. Mainali is an aspiring writer from Kathmandu, Nepal