Andy: Hello everyone, I'm Andy and this is Strange Stuff Podcast. Mark: And I'm Mark. Yes, you got it just in time. Andy: What do mean? I got here exactly on time. Mark: Well, I've already had a busy morning. I've already been mounting swings in the garden. Andy: You've been mounting a what? Mark: A swing. You know what a swing is? For children. Andy: Aren't you banned from having children on the property? Mark: No, luckily my grandchildren are free to visit at any stage. Andy: Ah, do you know what? bet your swing is very, uh, health and safety box checking. It's not a piece of rope tied to a tree, is it? Mark: Now that's... No, it's not a piece of rope title tree, but it's very interesting you say that because I had a choice. I either went for a swing that cost over a hundred pounds, twelve hundred, twelve hundred kroner, that was approved for public places, or, or... Andy: my lord! Fuck that, it's not for public people. Mark: Or I spent £10, 129 on a children's swing from Biltema. Andy: Yeah. and you went for the publicly approved one. Mark: No I didn't actually. Funny enough it wasn't the Beale Tamer one is more than adequate for my little grandson. Andy: It can't be very big for a tenner. Mark: Well, it's 2 and 1 metres of rope and 38 centimetres wide. Andy: Where do you fit it up? Mark: Well, you know I built this pagoda. So my pagoda is substantially structurally sound enough to certainly support a swing. Andy: Yeah. So it's the swing inside the pagoda. Mark: It's on the outer horizontal limb, if that's the right word. Andy: So if he, when he falls off, he's not going to go cracking down onto oak flooring. Mark: No, no, no, it's outside. I mean, actually, it's worse. It's gravel. Groose. Andy: Ugh. Mark: But hopefully that won't happen. Andy: Of it's going to happen. When I was a kid, we used to go to the adventure playground, which would be fucking illegal in this country. It was basically a bunch of hippies, unemployable people who the council employed to run this adventure playground. It was on Parliament Hill, just behind Parliament Hill, Lido. And it consisted of a bunch of telegraph poles. and they'd take telegraph poles and they'd construct swings out of them. They were deadly. Deadly I tell you. There was one swing which had two platforms and different heights like diving boards almost, two telegraphs like a hundred feet tall, one across the top and a rope dangling down the middle. And the idea was that the rope didn't quite reach the platforms. Mark: Yeah. Andy: So someone passed it up, you reached forward and then you threw the rope and you waited for it to come back and then you jumped off. Mark: and you had to jump off. yeah. Perfect. Andy: I swear, but thinking back on what we used to do in that adventure playground makes me sweat now. Mark: Well, everything we used to do as children makes me sweat now. mean, I used to disappear off into the woods for probably not quite the whole day, but pretty much the whole day, the woods near our house. And they were called mad best woods. Andy: Luckily, pervy Uncle Paul was always on hand to guide you out again. Mark: You So yeah, that was, yeah, yeah. Anyway, times have changed, I'm afraid, Andy. With the... Andy: Yeah, it's a shame in many ways. I mean, I was cringe a little bit inside when I pass a children's playground and I see crash helmets and knee pads. Mark: Yeah. Andy: That's just true. Mark: Yeah, no, but you know we live in that world. Unfortunately, I say unfortunately we live in that world now. It's all relative. You know 20 years before we were young kids were probably encouraged to play with fire. Why don't you go out into the street? Andy: Well, we weren't encouraged, but we all were issued with a box of swan vestas before we left the house. Mark: You Yeah, no, today is a different world, that's for sure. Andy: Talking of playing with fire, Belgium are to blame. Knocking the USA out of the World Cup after Trump cheated to get his red card overturned, Belgium beat them 4-1. So then Trump made an announcement that Belgium are only two weeks away from having a nuclear weapon. Mark: for. What would? Yeah. Andy: And when no one was swallowing that, he fucking decided to bomb Iran again. Just because he's fed up with, and I quote, the scum. Mark: Yeah. Yeah, sick people. Andy: Honestly, it's not even funny anymore. Mark: And now as I say it's long past entertainment. But as long as he has this fanatical support in his home country, which he clearly does to some extent. Andy: I hope it's not as fucking fanatical as it used to be because if it is there's no hope for the world. Mark: I think he's on his lowest ratings for a president ever, but I don't know if that means anything. Andy: It doesn't seem to mean anything because no one holds him to account for anything. Mark: No, no. And have we talked about this poor fellow Mitch Mc... Mitch McDonnell, who everybody suspects is basically he's died or they're keeping him alive on a life support system because they don't want an election or something? You know, he's the old boy, he's 82 years old, he really looks haggard and old. He's a, you know, key Republican. Andy: I don't know who Mitch McDonnell is. Mark: Anyway, He's on his last legs. Farage is on his last legs. Andy: Farage is pathetic. To be honest, if you resign as an MP, you shouldn't be allowed to re-stand as the same MP for the same place. It should be illegal. Someone is, in fact, the constituents, the taxpayers are going to pay a quarter of a million pounds to hold that by-election that he is running as a popularity contest. Mark: What's? A day later. But you know, the perfect example of the ridiculousness of Nigel Farage, he was having a go, I think it was at Sky News, because in some way they released the address of his daughter. and so what think it's sky news what sky news did they did a montage of all of the times that nijel farage was interviewed standing in front of his daughter's house with her car and registration number and everything i mean there was multiple pictures so it's absolutely fine when he's doing a publicity stunt or some nonsense press conference in front of his daughter but when sky news i don't think they Andy: There. Mark: said this is where she lives go and and complain to her about her father but it's just you know what it's just ridiculous anyway Andy: He's just a tosser. Mark: Yeah, but you know, I think... Andy: Anyway, it would be great if the voters of Clacton decided to elect Mr Binface. Mark: Well, this is what I can't quite understand. Have I understood it correctly that all of the other parties are not going to participate apart from bin man? Andy: Yeah, they're not going to play his game. They don't want to play his game. Mark: But what does that mean? He will just get voted back in. Andy: It means that... Yes, exactly. won't... I mean, technically it won't mean anything. Mark: But why is that advantageous? I see, because he... Andy: They're just showing their contempt at the obvious game that he's playing. Mark: The games. Yeah, well it would be funny if Binface does get into Parliament. Andy: That would be, I mean, in this day and age, why not? If fucking Trump can run a country, can't a rubbish bin run Clapton? Mark: Do we know who Bin Man is? Andy: Uhhh... I think it's Trigger. Mark: From only fools and horses is that trigger. Maybe. Andy: or a trick or a type. Mark: yeah yeah yeah yeah anyway so that's all going on you got Farage you got Trump is there anything else go the World Cup of course yes you've mentioned it Belgium beat US Argentina beat Egypt Andy: Ugh. Nothing better could have happened. mean that was karma coming to kick that cheating orange turd right in the teeth. so you want to cheat your way through the World Cup. Cheat your way out of this one. 4-1. Mark: Yeah. Yeah. So, I don't know why I'm asking you, but do you know who England meet in the quarterfinals? Or is it semi-finals? that's right, yeah. Andy: I think it's actually Norway. I don't think it's the semis is it? I think it's the last eight. Mark: I don't know. The last eight. All right. Andy: which is bye bye England time, frankly. Mark: No it's not. No no no, we usually get into the semis of these competitions. Andy: Here's a thing that I'm surprised you don't know. Mark: Maybe I do. How do you know? You haven't said I could know all of these things. Andy: Yeah, but you're a fucking toff, aren't you? And no mistake. So how do you not know that there is a completely unseeded English guy in the fucking finals of Wimbledon? Mark: I think he's unseeded, but he was 100 or something. And now he's 35. You see, I'm completely up to it. Up to speed. He is in the semi-finals, yes. Yeah. Andy: He is, he was 140 something. Well he's in the semi-finals not the finals. and Camilla got all wet in the pants about him. he was such a wonderful chap. Yeah. Mark: Well, I think she met him before the match and after the match. Andy: Charlie boy better watch out there. It's all coming on top. Mark: Yeah, yeah, yeah. What's his name? Beth. Beth or Ruth Ferrie. Yeah, I have a... I think there might be a little bit of a French connection there actually. Andy: fairy Arthur fairy Or is he a policeman in a drugs case? Mark: No, I think he might be half French. Andy: What? well then needs to be knocked out as quickly as possible. Can't be having that. Fucking hell, I'd rather let that jock win. Mark: But having said that, Arthur... Arthur's definitely in England. There isn't an Arthur equivalent in France. Andy: A tootle. Mark: might be Arthur. Anyway, whatever. Good luck to the chap. Andy: Now I did read something uplifting in the Sun earlier and I can't find it now. Typically. Yeah. Mark: It's been deleted. This uplifting stories always get deleted straight away. Andy: It's really annoying because I remember thinking this is great. Mark: What a good story. And it's gone. Is it something to do with the voice you've taken on implies it might be to do something with Victoria Beckham? David Beckham, sorry. He's got the same wife as he's got the same voice as his wife. I don't think he does anymore. Andy: Mark, we love this. It's nothing to do with Dave. Hello Dave. I'm out of lot of electrocution missions you know. Mark: Let's have some celebrity gossip. Andy: celebrity gossip, never mind. But this is good news, actually. And I've found it. was the last woman ever to be hanged in England, which we did a story about, which we did a podcast about, Ruth Ellis. She has been pardoned. Mark: Yes, Ruth Ellis, yeah. Really? Andy: Yeah, out of the blue a parliamentary announcement was made that she's finally been pardoned. It doesn't fix anything of course, it's too late. You know, because her crime was committing murder of course, but the bloke she murdered had been abusing her for years, like physically and mentally. Mark: Thank you, Leo. Thank you. Yeah, if you close the door. Sorry, Alex. Yes, very good. Andy: So that was the end of that. But well done, Ruth. Mark: well done Ruth Ellis. Something else happened the other day. something about... yes! that made me think of you funny enough with your Irish connections have we talked about this before? no, that the forced... the forced adoption have we talked about this? it happened in England as well it wasn't just Ireland Andy: Are you saying I'm a terrorist? yeah. Yeah of course, it happened all over Europe you know. guess where all the babies were going? Mark: I don't know what. Andy: America. Mark: But... But how did they get hold of these babies? Andy: the great slave importers. Well most countries like England had fucking workhouses for single mothers. And they were removed from their mothers. Mark: Right. Andy: They were just stolen. Mark: But was there a law about this? Andy: Yeah, the law was you're a fucking harlot and you are not to have a child. God says so. The prime minister says so and we say so. So if you want your bowl of gruel, you will hand over that baby right now so it can have a proper life with a mother and a father. And you won't go to hell, probably. Mark: But I always thought it was the Catholic Church that was behind it all in Ireland. Andy: The Catholic Church was the prime mover in Ireland. But I mean, I've done stories with Richard about people who were running adoption agencies in Victoria and London, where they were basically taking people's babies from families and they were running it as a scheme where if you couldn't cope with the baby, give it to us and come back to us when you're ready and we'll give you the baby back. But as soon as the baby was gone, it was gone. Mark: Mmm. Andy: It was sold, stamped and put in the post via Amazon to the highest bidder. Mark: I wonder if that means that these poor, poor mothers are going to get some sort of compensation for their babies having been stolen from them. Andy: It's all too far away in the past now, none of those mothers are probably alive today. Mark: That's a very good point because I think it stopped in 70 something. Andy: If you're going to do that, then we might as well pay reparations to everyone who was ever a slave from the 12th century onwards. Mark: not quite the same, Andy. Andy: Please don't start me. Mark: I mean if it happened in our generation. Andy: Yes, if anything happened in our generation then fair enough, reparations can be discussed. But not when it happened fucking 200 years ago. Mark: Yeah, but it is our generation. No, that's exactly my point. I'm not saying it's justified, it's just it's more complicated to organise. Alright, so yes, that was... Andy: Yeah, because first of all, who's going to pay for it? I ain't. Mark: Well, you don't live in England anymore. You're not an English taxpayer. Andy: Thank God. Anyway, let's see what happened on this day in history in our past. Mark: Just a quick question for you. Are you going to be entitled to a UK pension? Andy: Let's not go into that on air, thank you. Mark: dear. Alright, this day in history. Andy: In the year 1762, Catherine the Great becomes the Empress. Mark: of Andy: Russia, of course. Who else would call themselves the great? had Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Putin the Fabulous. Mark: Yep, yep, it's Trump the Great. Andy: And that was after she, and it was in fact, after convincing the army to support her husband, Emperor Peter, later known as Peter the Great. Mark: 1762 Andy: The monarch, she ruled over Russia for the next 34 years and was the country's longest ruling female leader. She actually expanded Russia in a way that would have made Putin proud. Mark: Mmm. Andy: and she brought the country closer to Europe and championed the arts before she died in 1796. Mark: Hmm. Andy: Now do you remember the American president, Zachary Taylor? Mark: No, I don't actually. Andy: Neither does anybody else, but apparently he died in 1850. Mark: And how long did he serve for? Five days? Andy: 18 months. Mark: So that's probably not the shortest, but pretty close to it. Andy: But I mean, again, he was 65 when he died, so fucking stop employing these people who shouldn't even be allowed out without a carer. There has to be a age cap on becoming president even if it's 60 which I still believe is too old. Mark: I wouldn't be surprised if after Trump they do actually do that. Well, you've had two. You've had sleepy Joe Biden and now you've got crazy Donald Trump. I think they should, I mean, I think they'll probably do it at 70 or something like that. Andy: No! 70 is too fucking old. Honestly, I wouldn't put me in charge of anything and I'm not even 70. Mark: Yeah, you act like a 70-year-old the way you rant about everything. Yes, actually. Andy: No I act like a seven year old. Let's get it right. apparently... Taylor grew ill after consuming cherries and iced milk during 4th celebrations. Mark: What do mean she was at her wedding? Andy: Not Taylor Swift. Zachary Taylor, President of the United States. What is your fucking problem with Taylor Swift? What has she ever done to you? Mark: I see. I don't have anything against her. Sorry, he died of eating strawberries and ice. Andy: strawberries and iced milk, cherries, cherries and iced milk. Mark: Maybe he was allergic to the cherries or something. Andy: Well, they claimed he was actually assassinated with arsenic, but a test of his bonyos in 1991 found very low levels of the poison. Mark: Well, an arsenic isn't fast acting, is it? Isn't arsenic a snow-ack, slow-acting one? Andy: No, arsenic is one of those things that you feed people over time, let it build up in the system. On a happier note, but also a sad note, in 1856 Nikola Tesla was born. Mark: Exactly, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now, he invented the... Andy: He invented everything that Edison claimed to invent basically. Mark: No he didn't, not the record player or the light bulb. Andy: When it came to electricity, Tesla was the man. He invented alternating current. Mark: Hmm. Right? Andy: which was so much safer than direct current, but because of politicals, it was dismissed. Mark: Yeah. Andy: He also invented free energy which the government stole and covered up before assassinating him. Mark: Yeah. Andy: He died in poverty and near anonymity. But today we all know that he was a fucking historic inventor who was decades ahead of his time. Mark: I saw a recent article about really significant inventions that history understands were invented by men and in fact it was women who invented them and the men just took the cr- and the men just took the cr- Andy: That never happened. Was it written by a women's? Mark: You can just imagine. Any woman who invented something in 1890, they're not going to get credit for it. Andy: What the woolly doing out of the kitchen? That's the first question you have to ask yourself. Mark: Yeah, well, that's right. Yeah. Yeah. Andy: And on this day, funnily enough, in 1877, the first ever Wimbledon tournament took place. it was held on a croquet lawn at the All England Croquet Lawn Tennis Club. Mark: It wasn't called that then, was it? Or maybe it was. Andy: No was, it was called the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. Mark: Alright, but it was the first Wimbledon Championships. Andy: Yeah, since then of course thanks to health and safety Croquet has been banned. You can't be running around here with them emas! Mark: And who won? Obviously you've got that. Andy: Yeah, was Mildred O'Shaughnessy. How would I know? Mark: Another sporting event that's going on at the moment that you're obviously aware of that's right up my strasa. What's happening in England at the moment? Andy: Is it? Mark: Bearing in mind I'm asking, what's the clue? Well, that's the clue. Andy: Is it the BBC PEDO finals? Mark: I thought you were going to say something like the Windsor Polo World Cup or something. Andy: No that would be the water polo. Mark: No, it's Henley. Yeah. Yeah. It's Henley Regatta this week. Andy: rowing? Seriously? That's not a sport is it? That's like saying dance is a sport. Mark: What are you talking about? Andy: Rowing is the upper class equivalent of darts. You have a couple of couple of pins. Get the buzz on. How do you do the perfect posh face? Mark: I don't know how to do a posh accent. Andy: He freeze frame halfway through a sneeze. Mark: Oh dear, there been some cracking races actually, I have watched a few of them. Even a few crashes, there have been a few pile ups, it would have been entertaining for you. Andy: That's what I mean, it's too many Pims. It's like with the dance, sometimes somebody gets one in face. Mark: I think so. I don't think that's ever happened in any competition ever that someone has got a dart in the face. I bet you couldn't. Andy: I bet I could find one. I bet I could. Anyway, his good news story. Gary Hoy. You don't know who he is? my Lord. In 1993, Canadian lawyer Gary Hoy fell from the 24th floor of the Toronto Dominion Bank Tower after trying to demonstrate. Thank you, Darwin. Mark: Now know who Chris Hoy is. How strong the windows. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that story I do know. He'd done it several times. I mean, he used to, you know, people came in for a meeting or something and he'd throw himself against the window to show how strong the windows were. And eventually... Andy: how strong the windows were. Well, I'm afraid that's natural selection. Mark: It is. It's a perfect example of Darwinian theory. Andy: And there was another example of Darwinian theory in the newspapers today, which of course I can't find. But do remember we talked about this looks maxing thing where people hit themselves in the face with a hammer to reshape that? To reshape that. No, it's true. It's absolutely true. Mark: No, you must have spoken about that with Peter. would definitely remember. Richard, I must have remembered that. Andy: No, this is true. It's looks maxing it's called. Where you... Yes. Where you hit yourself in the face with a hammer to reshape your bone structure to change the way you look. And these fucking scientific surgeons smashed themselves in the face with a Stanley and like reshape... Anyway. Mark: looks maxing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah No, but these are obviously unwell people. Andy: One of these looks maxing influencers got himself chased by the police in Thailand for some reason, which we won't know about probably because it will make me laugh again, and managed to run into a lake and drown. Mark: looks maxing Andy: Look Maxing, you wouldn't believe it, this guy had millions of followers on fucking Twitter or Instagram or whatever. Because he hits himself in the face with a hammer. What the fuck has happened to our world? Mark: What... What I think should be a prerequisite for any plastic surgery or what's that stuff, botoxy stuff, I think everybody should be submitted to an intelligence test and a general knowledge test and if they don't get 80 % uh-uh. Andy: Unfortunately. Unfortunately, we don't have anyone left who is clever enough to devise such a test. Mankind has sunk so low into the mire now that there is no bar to be set. Mark: How would you score? Andy: come on, I am so intelligent. And I'm already maxed on looks, so you wouldn't find me smashing myself in the face with hammer. Mark: What would you change? If there was one bit that you thought of changing, what would it be? Andy: the size of my wallet. Mark: Yes, actually. That's a good one, in fact. Andy: I would have the most enormous wallet. Mark: You dear. Andy: I wouldn't change anything. mean, you know, learn to love yourself, The world would be such a better place if people didn't fucking strive and yearn to be something they aren't. Mark: Well, funnily enough, totally agree with you as far as looks are concerned, but as far as knowledge, wisdom, reading, exposing yourself to the world as a whole. Andy: No, absolutely aspire to be smarter, aspire to be smarter, but be smarter with whatever boat race the Lord blessed you with or cursed you with, depending. And in fact, you know, being an unusual looking person is so much more interesting than being, look, she looks just like all the other housewives on the real housewives of fucking who gives a toss. Mark: Yeah, yeah, yeah. talking about looks and I, you know, normally I would never, never ever comment on these things. But have you seen quite often when Trump is being interviewed in the Oval Office, there is a woman standing behind Trump. You don't. Because it's like... Andy: I never watch any of that stuff, so I wouldn't know. Mark: caricature of someone who wears too much makeup she's got really dark really dark eyes bright red lips she and she's always you know laughing at just the right moment she does not look well which is what Andy: Yeah, like Donald Trump. She's his fluffer. She gives him little nosh before the cameras start rolling. That's all that's about. Hello Mr Trump. Tastes like pumpkin today sir. I think someone needs to change a nappy. Mark: Tastes like what pumpkin did you say? I mean as I say I would never comment normally but the fact she's standing behind Trump very often looking completely weird. Andy: Anyway, you're going to moan if we don't start soon because we're going to go over. Mark: No we're not, no 10 o'clock, you've got 29 minutes, 28 minutes and 15 seconds. Andy: I've got an hour if you say 10 o'clock. Mark: No I don't. you're right I'm looking at the wrong thing. I've got visitors. You're lucky I don't have to cook lunch. Andy: So you had visitors on Monday. You can't just keep using this as an excuse. Mark: I've got to mount another swing. I've only done one. Andy: I'm going to swatch you if you carry on with this visitor nonsense. Mark: I don't know what's what at what's what. Andy: That's when I call SWAT and tell them that there's an armed man prowling around your house. Mark: yes, that's right, that's a bit of a trend these days in the States, calling the SWAT team. Andy: Yeah, it's not trend anymore because there have been of course fatal incidents where the SWAT team swatted the wrong house and shot a completely innocent man while he was standing on his doorstep and he happened to be an Indian man. Mark: And did the person who did the swatting, if that's the right phrase, did they get prosecuted for a face false swatting? Andy: Certainly, certainly not to the extent where anyone's in prison, I don't think. After all, it was just an Indian. Mark: Aren't we on part two of something today? Andy: No we're not because that happened on our Patreon episode and I can't do part one on Patreon and then part two out to the other five listeners because they won't know where they stand. So we have to wait until Monday for part two. Mark: For God's sake. with a chronology of you. The chronology of your stories is such no one would know whether you were at the beginning, middle or end anyway. Andy: I can't remember what we were even talking about. So I'll have to watch the bloody episode myself to catch up. But anyway, today we're going to talk about something very strange. It's possibly internet. Yeah, in fact it is. It's a legend or a story that originated from the internet and has grown on the internet and has become a real thing. Mark: You Ha ha ha. Andy: And it has even now spawned a movie. Mark: What? So it started off as completely fictional, turned into reality and then they made a movie of it. Andy: Possibly, possibly. I mean it started off as many of these stories do as a tag. We'll go into it. And it's known as the Elevator Game. Have you heard? Mark: No, mate, I don't think so, no. Andy: Well, there are stories that are sort of designed to exist and be shared in whispers. And not because anyone truly believes them, but because repeating them feels strangely irresistible. And they spread through late night conversations and anonymous message boards and videos watched alone at night with the lights off. There are kinds of stories. that invite the question what if. The elevator game is one of those stories. Unlike towers of haunted houses or cursed objects, the elevator game comes with set of instructions. It promises that if you follow a precise sequence of actions inside an elevator, you'll reach a place that doesn't exist, a world that resembles our own, but actually isn't. Some people call it another dimension. Others describe it as a parallel reality. And skeptics, of course, dismiss it as an elaborate urban legend. fuelled by coincidence and suggestion. But regardless of what you believe, something is undeniable. Mark: And that is... Andy: Over the last two decades, thousands of people across the world have played the elevator game or claimed to. Many insist nothing happened at all. Others describe unsettling experiences that they struggle to explain. And a small number tell stories so disturbing that they have become legends in their own right. So today we're going to explore where this came from, why so many people continue to try it, and the stories that transformed the little known internet post into one of the most famous paranormal games ever created. Kind of the internet's version of the Ouija board. Mark: you slight exaggeration maybe, Andy. Andy: Just because you haven't heard of it, I mean, you haven't heard of 98.17 % of everything we talk about. Mark: Carry on. So what are you going to? Andy: If it wasn't in Wimbledon, Oxford, Eden or BBC then it didn't really happen. Mark: Are you going to tell us what the game is? Andy: Yes, but first throughout history we've recreated elaborate ceremonies to gain knowledge, protection, luck or contact with forces beyond ordinary life. Ancient civilizations developed rituals involving fire, mirrors, circles, chants and sacred Mark: god. Elevators? Andy: buildings, and whether these practices held supernatural power or simply reflected cultural beliefs is a matter of perspective. But they all had one common feature. They relied on rules. You have to do this. Don't do that. Speak these words. Never look back. Now, the stricter the rules, the more believable the ritual became. And modern folklore has inherited this structure. So instead of handwritten grimoires on human skin with human blood, we have online forums. And the elevator game belongs to an entire family of internet rituals. If you've ever spent any time exploring paranormal communities, I have, you have not, you've probably encountered games with names like the Midnight Game. One man hide and seek. this one you have played, the closet game. Mark: No. No. Andy: Each claims to open a passageway or a doorway to something unknown if performed correctly. Mark: Narnia. Andy: Yeah, maybe. They're often presented as instructions rather than stories, and that format makes them feel strangely authentic. Reading a ghost story is one thing, but reading a list of exact steps feels a bit different. So it almost resembles a scientific experiment run by experts. Follow the procedure, observe the results. report what happened. And that subtle difference helps explain why these rituals spread so effectively. The elevator game follows this formula and according to most common version, a person has to enter an elevator alone in a building with at least 10 floors. The player then presses a specific sequence of floor numbers. If another person enters the elevator at the wrong time, the ritual will fail. If everything happens correctly, strange events are expected to begin. One variation claims that a mysterious woman may enter the elevator during the sequence. The instructions are very clear. Do not acknowledge her. Do not speak to her. Do not make eye contact. If the ritual succeeds, the elevator supposedly arrives somewhere impossible. The descriptions vary from storyteller to storyteller, but details several of the details appear repeatedly. The city outside appears empty, electronics malfunction, the atmosphere feels unnaturally quiet, lights flicker or disappear into darkness. Some players report seeing a distant red cross glowing on the horizon. Others claim the experience claim that they experience an overwhelming sense that something is watching them. Eventually the player is instructed to reverse the sequence and return home. One warning appears almost everywhere. If anything tries to stop you from leaving, do not listen. Mark: stop you from leaving what the elevator? Andy: No, the place that you've ended up. People hear voices of people they know calling to them. That's one thing that tries to stop you leaving. Do not care. More. Mark: So you're talking the elevator turns into some sort of portal. Andy: No, it's yes, yes, and that's not too hard to believe. Mark: no, I believe it. Straight away. It makes perfect sense to me. If a strange woman gets into the elevator with you, start talking to her. Who would? How often do you start talking to perfect strangers in elevators? Andy: Hmm. Now. Me? I'm guilty. Mark: you start talking to perfect strangers in elevators in such a closed space. Andy: If it's a very attractive word, yes, it's been known. Mark: And have you been prosecuted for this sort of activity in the past? Andy: Now that I have been rewarded. Whether these rules are designed to entertain, frighten or genuinely warn people, it's impossible to know. Mark: But hang on, you haven't given us the bloody sequence of things you have to do. Andy: I will, but not yet. Anyway, I don't want to be responsible for you going to another dimension. And then... Mark: When was the last time I was in a building with 10 floors for God's sake? Andy: yeah, we live in Sweden, we haven't got any of those. The earliest version of the elevator game don't really appear in printed books or television programs. They only ever emerged online. Most researchers trace the story back to South Korea during the early 2000s. And at that time, South Korea had one of the fastest growing internet populations in the world. Online forums were flourishing. Anonymous communities discussed everything from technology and gaming to horror stories and paranormal experiences. And technically, if you want to get racist about it, the Koreans do love a ghost story. Mark: Well, I don't think that's racist. Andy: No, but you know, sort of racial profiling, I guess. Mark: What do mean, why are you saying Koreans like a ghost story? Andy: They have a very rich ghost and spirit, history, a spirit enriched history. Yeah, Korea, seriously, it's like most of Asia. Well, South Korea, clearly, because we wouldn't know if it was in North Korea. Nobody would tell us. Anyway, it was the perfect environment for modern folklore. Unlike traditional legends that spread slowly over generations, such as Mark: Korea? North or South? Andy: If you don't clean your ears, potatoes will grow in them. Remember that one? No, of course not, because Nanny kept your ears spotless. Mark, Mark, come here so I can Q-tip the feck out of your ears. Yes, Nanny? I won't. Mark: that what they say? No, I don't remember that. potatoes will grow. Andy: One user would post an experience, another one then would add details to it for some reason, and someone else would claim to have tested it. Soon, dozens of slightly different versions existed simultaneously. Pinpointing the exact first appearance of the Elevator game is basically impossible. Some archived forum posts reference a mysterious elevator ritual years before it became internationally known, but many of those websites have disappeared and others were never archived at all. What survives are basically fragments of translations, screenshots, retellings. And as the story spread beyond South Korea, details changed. Some versions required 11 flaws, some required 10. Some issued different button sequences. But the mysterious woman appeared in certain tellings, but not in others. And the differences are pretty typical of urban legends. Contrary to popular belief, inconsistency doesn't weaken folklore. Instead, it often strengthens it. Every retelling feels slightly personal and every storyteller adds something new. As a result, the legend remains alive rather than fixed. By the late 2000s, English speaking paranormal forums that began had begun discussing the elevator game with growing interest. Anonymous users claimed they had tried it. Some reported failure. Others described unsettling coincidences. One person claimed there is suddenly began ringing. Another insisted the elevator behaved unpredictably. Someone else described feeling overwhelming dread despite nothing unusual occurring. And these accounts rarely included evidence and none of them could be verified. They shared yet they shared something important. They sounded sincere. And that's one reason the elevator game has remained compelling. Many internet horror stories announced themselves as a fiction, but the elevator game usually doesn't. Instead, it's presented through ordinary language. It starts with, I tried this. My friend experienced something strange. I don't know what happened. And those statements invite others to decide for themselves. And because people naturally remember unusual experiences more vividly than ordinary ones, the dramatic stories spread much farther than the uneventful ones. Imagine two people attempting the ritual. The first one rides the elevator for 15 minutes, becomes bored and goes home. The second one notices the lights flicker once. Here's a mechanical noise and later convinces themselves that something impossible almost happened. Which story goes online? Which one becomes a video? And which one gains millions of views? The answer is obvious. Mark: What do mean hang on hang on there's YouTube YouTube videos of this going on is there? Andy: Yes, people have done themselves playing the elevator game on YouTube. Honestly, you will find millions of them. The elevator game exploded in popularity during the rise of YouTube. Creators filmed themselves attempting the ritual in apartment buildings, hotels, office blocks and abandoned structures. Some uploaded raw footage, others created cinematic type documentaries. Mark: Cinematic Hollywood style Andy: Many claimed success. Many admitted failure. Some disappeared from the internet altogether, adding another layer of mystery that audiences eagerly filled with speculation. But in reality, people just stop posting online for countless ordinary reasons. They lose interest. They change hobbies. They delete accounts. But once a supernatural story gains momentum, Ordinary explanations often become the least satisfying. Silence itself becomes evidence, and the legend feeds on uncertainty. The elevator game also arrived at exactly the right moment because the internet had become deeply fascinated with liminal spaces. Empty hallways, vacant hotels, office buildings at night. Places that should be full of people but aren't. Elevators fit perfectly into that aesthetic. They're transitional spaces. You enter one place and you leave somewhere else. For a brief moment, you're suspended between destinations. And perhaps that's why elevators have appeared in horror stories for decades because they're enclosed, they're unpredictable. controlled by invisible machinery hidden behind walls. Mark: hang on a second what's unpredictable at getting into an elevator? you get into an elevator you press button seven it goes to the seventh floor what's unpredictable about that? Andy: You don't know. Not always. Have you never been in an elevator that has behaved strangely? I know I have. Mark: No? You know you have. Yeah, that's when you woke up in an elevator having passed out through alcohol consumption. Andy: I have. his drugs but yeah. Mark: What do you mean it's unpredictable? You can't get much more predictable than a bloody elevator. Andy: I'm sorry, but I'm sure that 99 % of the real world have got into an elevator that has gone down instead of up. Mark: that's not unpredictable, well it's unpredictable but it's completely understandable. Andy: ha ha ha, you've just said that it does do unpredictable things. Mark: It doesn't move sideways does it? It doesn't move sideways does it? It still goes up or down. Andy: It's all fake news. It's f— What? it? Sometimes it does move sideways through different dimensions. Mark: Actually there are lifts that go sideways actually, you're right. Andy: So you surrender control the moment the door is closed. And in fact, an elevator is a perfect example of a liminal space because once those doors shut, whoever is inside that elevator suddenly becomes Schrodinger's cat. And the whole process is inverted because now inside the elevator, Nothing outside exists until those doors open. Mark: What are you talking about? No, tell me. Andy: You know the story of Schrodinger's cat. Really? When you put a cat in the box and you close the box and you don't know until you open the box if the cat is in the box. Schrodinger's cat. How do you know? Mark: Yeah. Yeah. Of course you do. Because you put it in there. Andy: you don't get the whole idea of the experiment. should bone up on your experts a bit more. After this show, your homework is to do the Schrodinger's cat experiment. Mark: That's as ludicrous as that idea that if you're not in the forest you can't hear the woodpecker, that the woodpecker doesn't make a sound. Andy: It's if a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Mark: Yeah, exactly. Well, of course it does. Why is your presence relevant to the sound being made? Andy: because what the inference is that the sound is being made for your benefit. Mark: exactly how pompous or inflation of your own importance people should understand their own insignificance Andy: And that's Mark's pep talk for today. Believe in yourself. Understand your own significance, you nothing. Mark: dear. Andy: So most of the time, of course, nothing unusual happens, but the possibility lingers. if, just once, the elevator stopped somewhere impossible? And that question lies at the heart of the elevator game. Not because the story offers proof, but because it offers possibility. And possibility is often far more powerful than certainty. Mark: Yeah, of course there's always a possibility, absolutely. Andy: As the legend spread from forum to forum and country to country, it picked up something even more compelling than anonymous eyewitnesses. It gained stories. Not fictional tales openly presented as entertainment, but personal accounts from people who insisted they had followed the ritual exactly and that what happened next had changed the way they viewed reality forever. Mark: 100 % believable. I believe every one of them. Andy: Good, because you're going to have to after I tell you these stories. Now, whether these stories describe genuine paranormal encounters, psychological experiences or misunderstandings, or even deliberate fiction remains fiercely debated. But together, they transformed a simple list of elevator instructions into one of the internet's most enduring modern legends. And that's where we're turning next. If the elevator game had remained nothing more than an obscure list of instructions buried on an odd internet forum, it's unlikely that anyone would remember it today. Instructions on their own rarely survive, but stories do. People remember the account of the friend who vanished for three days. They remember the traveler who claimed to step into an empty city. They remember the woman who insisted she returned home only to spend weeks feeling as though something had followed her back. Whether any of these stories are true is another matter I entirely, but what matters is that these stories gave the ritual a life of its own. As the elevator game spread beyond South Korea, the instructions became almost secondary. The real attraction became the experiences, hundreds of anonymous posts written by people who claimed that they had tried it. Some were only a few sentences long, others read like diary entries. Many contradicted each other. But despite these differences, several themes appeared again and again. The first was an overwhelming sense of dread. Players frequently described a sensation that began before anything unusual actually happened. They would step into the elevator expecting nothing more than a stupid experiment. And then somewhere in the sequence of pressing buttons and watching doors open and close, they would feel an almost instinctive urge to stop. And then it was compared by some to stage fright. Others described it as the unmistakable certainty that they were making a terrible mistake. Mark: Yeah, but these are obviously mentally sensitive people who are self-perpetuating their own outcomes. Andy: Objectively, there's nothing supernatural about fear. The human brain is remarkably sensitive to expectation. If someone walks into a supposedly haunted building at midnight, your heart rate will increase. Every second seems louder. Every shadow appears darker. And your expectation changes perception. Mark: Exactly. I mean I don't want to knock these people but if you're stupid enough to believe that pressing a series of buttons in an elevator is going to take you to a different bloody dimension then really you've got bigger problems than what happens to you as a result of pressing those buttons that's for sure you need your bloody head examined Andy: Well, when you press a series of buttons on your computer keyboard, you get transported to other dimensions. Mark: Yeah, exactly. Thank you very much. Yeah. Why do you need to get into an elevator to do it? Andy: because these ones you can actually physically walk into. So expectation changes perception, but that doesn't make the experience any less real. The fear is genuine and the pounding heartbeat is genuine. The sense that someone is standing just outside your field of vision is genuine. The question is simply what caused it. For believers, that feeling is interpreted as the ritual beginning to work. For skeptics, It's exactly what we'd expect from someone performing an unsettling psychological exercise. Then there are reports involving the elevator itself. One anonymous account tells of an elevator stopping repeatedly on empty floors. The doors would slide open. No one would enter. No one would leave. After several seconds, the doors would quietly close again. On paper, that's not unusual. Elevators occasionally stop because another button has been pressed, or because of maintenance programming, or because of brief mechanical quirks. But context, of course, changes everything. If you're simply riding to work, you probably shrug and check your phone. If you're convinced you're in the middle of a paranormal ritual, every unexpected stop feels significant. Several witnesses describe Hearing sounds they couldn't identify a knock, footsteps or whispering. One person claimed they heard someone breathing outside the elevator, despite seeing an empty hallway. Another insisted they could hear footsteps following the elevator from floor to floor. Again, none of these accounts can be verified, but together they establish a pattern. The elevator game wasn't just supposed to transport you somewhere impossible. It was supposed to make you question everything you experienced before you ever got there. Mark: This... I might miss reading this, but all the evidence you're giving actually dispels this as complete and utter bullshit. I mean, if the peak story in conclusion is that the elevator stopped on an empty floor, is that it? That's the other dimension that you're going to, is it? That's as exciting... The elevator stopped at an empty floor! I think I've been transported to another dimension! Andy: No. No. Well, mean, that in itself, that in itself, whilst terrifying, is not actually the peak of this story. Mark: Well let's cut to the peak because so far it's been pretty tame. Andy: Look, just because you are so closed minded to anything outside the ordinary, if it's not taxable, it doesn't exist. Now, perhaps the most famous element of the ritual. Mark: Thank no, is this the most famous outcome or the most famous element? All right, yeah is Andy: The most famous element is the mysterious woman. Depending on which version of the story you read, she enters the elevator during a particular stage of the sequence. She is often described in similar ways. She is either a young woman, long dark hair, ordinary clothing, nothing outwardly threatening except for one detail. Players are instructed to ignore her You're not allowed to look at her. Do not answer if she speaks. Do not acknowledge her presence. Mark: Yes, completely normal behavior. Yes. Yep. Andy: but the instructions never clearly explain why. Mark: Why why because it's common sense. It's normal bloody behavior in an elevator Andy: Elevator etiquette is just embarrassing. It's so un-British. Mark: Yes. Andy: you should at least discuss the weather in an elevator. Mark: Don't be mad, people haven't got time to discuss the bloody elevator. You don't strike up a conversation with someone in an elevator for one very good reason. You don't know where the hell they're getting off. There's no point in starting talking about the weather the doors open as she's out the door. Andy: lovely day today. Bye! Mark: Exactly and even what she looked like she said you said she could be a young a young woman with long blonde hair or maybe she could be an older woman with short blonde hair. I mean what the what possible relevance as a woman getting into the elevator is just nothing. Andy: talk here. Some versions claim she isn't a human. Mark: I'm sure they do! Andy: Others suggest she's merely a guide. Mark: A guide to what? Elevator etiquette. Andy: A few imply she's testing whether the player deserves to continue. And the ambiguity is what makes her especially unsettling. Monsters are frightening because they look dangerous. Ordinary people who might not be ordinary are often even more disturbed. Mark: God. Now they're monsters these people. Where did the monster element come from? Andy: It's worth noting that almost no first-hand account describes this woman in exactly the same way. Some people do say she appeared elderly. Others describe a teenager or a business woman, someone crying, someone smiling. One narrator even claimed she looked exactly like his sister. I think he needs to go and get help. Mark: But what happened with these women? Did their heads spin round or something? Andy: These inconsistencies suggest that a figure functions less as a fixed character and more as a symbol, the unknown taking a familiar shape. Mark: A symbol of what? Andy: A symbol of your fear. A symbol of your mortality. Mark: I was talking about these people need help. You're in an elevator, a woman gets in and you get frightened. Andy: Well, it would appear so if you're going to just clam up and look at the floor. You're frightened of something. Mark: I think there's been something that's been lost in translation from South Korea, seriously. Andy: Interestingly, psychologists have long documented how low expectation influences perception. When people are primed to anticipate a specific event, they're more likely to interpret ambiguous situations as affirmations of that expectation. But that doesn't mean people are lying because memory itself is surprisingly flexible, especially during stressful experiences. And as more people attempted the elevator game, stories became increasingly dramatic. One anonymous writer claimed the doors eventually opened onto a hallway illuminated by dim red lighting. Everything appeared normal, but something felt profoundly wrong. Mark: Excuse me. I think I burped. Andy: The air seemed heavy. The silence was complete. The player stepped outside briefly before becoming overwhelmed by panic and returning to the elevator. They later admitted they couldn't identify a single objectively strange detail. There were three walls. There was carpet. were doors. Exit signs. Nothing impossible. No ghosts. no impossible landscapes, just an overwhelming feeling that reality itself had shifted slightly out of alignment. And many horror writers understand that reality itself often creates more fear than certainty. The unknown is difficult for the mind to process. Our brains constantly try to make sense of incomplete information. When they fail, Anxiety fills the gap. As years passed, online communities began collecting these stories together, and patterns were emerging. People claimed watches stopped working. Phone batteries drained unusually quickly. Time seemed distorted. Objects appeared slightly different after returning home. Friends behaved strangely. Streetlights seemed unusually bright. Animals reacted unexpectedly. Most of these claims are impossible to investigate, few included photographs and even fewer included time stamps or independent witnesses. But they accumulated. Each story strengthened the legend, not through evidence but through repetition. Eventually the elevator game became attached to one of the internet's most persistent misconceptions. It centred on a tragic death that occurred in 2013. And we did do in one of our episodes a story on this particular place and this particular instance. A young Canadian student named Elisa Lam was staying at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles when she disappeared. And you may not remember this episode. But security footage later showed her inside an elevator behaving in ways that many viewers found unusual. She appeared to press multiple buttons. She stepped in and out of the elevator repeatedly. She looked down the hallway. She gestured with her hands and eventually she left the elevator. Weeks later, she was found dead in a water tank on the roof of the Cecil Hotel. Do you remember the story? The water tank itself was pretty much inaccessible if you were on your own. It sort of took two people to access the top of the water tank and lower yourself in. And she was butt naked in the water tank. Mark: Maybe. Andy: It was a very strange story. And the case itself attracted international attention. Authorities concluded that her death was accidental and her behaviour has often been discussed in connection with mental illness, particularly because she had a documented history of bipolar disorder. But there was no evidence that the elevator game played any role in the case, but... Online speculation connected the two because of the elevator footage and the timing of the legend's popularity. Despite the lack of evidence, countless videos, blog posts and social media threads claimed that she had attempted the ritual. Some even presented fabricated timelines and altered details to support the theory. And once misinformation becomes attached to a compelling mystery, It can be remarkably difficult to separate fact from fiction. So in reality, in reality, in reality, there is no credible evidence linking Elisa Lam to the elevator game. The association appears to have emerged after her death through internet speculation rather than documented fact. Ironically, Mark: Thank you. Finally, in reality no, in fiction. Andy: That false connection probably did more to popularise the elevator game than any anonymous forum post ever could. Mark: I hope you are going to release the name of this movie that's been made about the elevator game so I can avoid it like the plague. Andy: I to watch it. Mark: You've watched it. Andy: Had to. Fuck me, it was difficult couple of hours. Mark: For god's sake Andy, you're getting sucked in. Andy: I had to do my research. Mark: Seriously. Andy: You always accuse me of never doing research and there I was researching away. Anyway we'll go into that maybe later. Mark: Maybe later? There is no later. Andy: Millions of people who had never heard of the ritual suddenly encountered it while searching for information about the Cecil Hotel case. And the legend reached an entirely new audience. And from that point forward, thousands of more people decided to try the game for themselves. Some approached it as entertainment. Others genuinely believed and hoped that they might encounter something extraordinary. Most experienced absolutely nothing. A smaller number Mark: Exactly. Andy: returned with stories that seemed impossible to ignore. And among those accounts were a handful so strange that true or not they've become permanent fixtures of the internet folklore. By the mid 2010s, the elevator game had become much more than an obscure internet ritual. It had become a challenge. Videos were appearing on YouTube, discussion threads multiplied across paranormal forums, and anonymous users were posting long detailed accounts of what they insisted had happened after following the ritual exactly. Some were almost certainly fictional, others were impossible to verify, and a few were so ordinary they sounded believable simply because they had no dramatic endings. Taken together, these stories revealed something interesting. There's no monsters, they rarely describe violence, all they describe really is uncertainty. And uncertainty has always been one of humanity's greatest fears. One of the earliest recurring stories involves what players call the silent floor. In these accounts, the elevator doors eventually open onto a hallway that appears completely normal. The carpets clean, the lights work, the walls are painted in neutral colours, nothing obviously unusual, until the player steps outside and they notice the silence first, not the ordinary quiet of an empty building, a deeper silence. No ventilation systems, no distant conversations, no traffic outside, no humming of electricity, no footsteps, nothing. One anonymous poster wrote that the silence became so intense they could hear their own heartbeat echoing in their ears. Another became convinced that they had gone deaf. Only after returning to the elevator did ordinary sounds gradually return. Could this happen naturally? Absolutely. Many office buildings become remarkably quiet during the middle of the night. Hotels often have long stretches without any activity. And combined with heightened anxiety, that silence can feel almost supernatural. Another frequently reported experience involves altered perception of time. One player claimed that the ritual lasted nearly two hours. When they checked their phone afterwards, only 18 minutes had passed. Mark: How can you spend 18 minutes in an elevator? Andy: There is a sequence of flaws that you have to go through. It's like four, two, six, two. blah, blah, blah, five, which is the important one, and then two. And if you've done it right, when you press two, the elevator will rise to the 10th floor instead of going down to the second floor. That's when you know. Mark: That's when you know the bloody poor old elevator's confused with all these conflicting instructions. I'm not surprised it goes wrong. Andy: Another player insisted they'd been inside the building for less than half an hour, but family members claimed they'd been gone all night. And these stories appear repeatedly in paranormal folklore. Time distortion is reported in alien encounters, ghost sightings, and near-death experiences, as well as dreams. Interestingly, psychologists have long recognized that our perception of time is surprisingly unreliable. I mean, you, for instance, feel like you've been here for hours. Mark: And soon I will be Andy: During moments of intense emotion, minutes can feel like hours. Conversely, long periods of concentration may seem to disappear in an instant. Memory doesn't always record time accurately, especially during stressful situations. Still, these explanations rarely satisfy someone convinced that they're experiencing something impossible. Then there are the stories involving electronics and these are among the most common. Phones freezing, screens going black, compasses spinning. I mean, when was the last time you saw your compass just spinning? Mark: When was the last time I used a compass? 40 years ago. Andy: Cameras refusing to focus. One particularly detailed account describes a fully charged phone discharging to 1 % battery immediately after the elevator doors opened. The player claimed everything returned to normal once they left the building. Modern electronics occasionally malfunction for entirely ordinary reasons. Cold temperatures, old batteries, software errors and poor signal can all produce unexpected behaviour. But when these problems occur during a ritual that's already designed to make you hyper aware of anomalies, coincidence can quickly become evidence in the mind of the observer. And perhaps the most unsettling reports involve encounters with other people. Or rather, people who don't seem quite right. One writer described exiting into an otherwise empty floor before spotting a man standing motionless at the end of the hallway. He wasn't facing them and he wasn't moving. He simply stood there. After several seconds, the player became uncomfortable and returned to the elevator. As the door closed, they claimed the man slowly turned his head towards them. Nothing else happened. But years later, the writer insisted it remained the most frightening experience of their life. Another account tells of a receptionist sitting behind a brightly lit desk. The player waved. The receptionist didn't respond. Not because she ignored them, but because she never moved at all. The narrator compared her to a mannequin, perfectly still, perfectly silent. unable or unwilling to acknowledge another human being. It's impossible to know whether these stories describe genuine experiences, embellished memories, creative writing or something else entirely, but they share a common emotional bond. The familiar becomes unfamiliar. Mark: So, sorry, you've actually included a story about someone who's on an elevator, the door opens, the receptionist ignores them, and they get back in the elevator. And that constitutes a strange occurrence. Andy: No, it was the demeanour of the receptionist, the fact that she was sitting at a desk, absolutely still, not acknowledging her surroundings or anyone around her, and unresponsive when she was waved at. Mark: No, he, come on Andy, you have to admit even you're struggling a bit now. This is worse than. It is just... Can we just get to the name of the movie to avoid and call it a day? I'm starting to... I think I must have partaken in this elevator game because I'm starting to feel very anxious. I've lost all sense of time. I think we're in a loop that we're just going to be stuck in this thing forever. Andy: No! You see, you are so closed minded. I'm offering you a portal to another dimension, a whole new world. Mark: The portal opens, you see a receptionist sitting there who ignores you. The portal closes and it's the most frightening experience in my life. Andy: Would it not creep you out if the doors opened and there was a man standing at the other end of the hallway, facing the other way, just standing there not moving? Why? Mark: No, unless his head was spinning. If his head was spinning, I might get concerned about it. Who knows? Or is he just waiting for someone to answer the door? He's probably waiting for the bloody lift because this idiot has been playing this stupid game, bouncing between floors not surprised he's refusing to look at you. God, dear. Andy: What is he waiting for? Is he waiting for you perhaps? But he's at the other end of the hallway. The ordinary places become subtly wrong and that's often far more disturbing than obvious horror. Mark: I completely agree. This is horrific. Now the name of the movie is... Andy: Among all reported experiences, one detail appears with remarkable consistency, the feeling of being watched. And this isn't about a movie. I used the movie as part of the research into the elevator game. It's not the other way around. Mark: Look, I'll tell you what. This is spooky. This is really spooky. This has taken so long my watch has reacted to the story and it's saying, time to stand. That's pretty spooky, isn't it? Time to stand, it says. Andy: my god! Honestly, I give up. Mark: Yeah, I would. You Andy: Players describe it in different ways. Some say they sense someone standing directly behind them despite seeing nobody. Yes we are! I am not finished with this episode just because you are fucking too terrified to continue. You're clearly never going to enter an elevator again despite your bravado. Mark: We're still carrying on? Andy: Others felt eyes following them through empty hallways. Several admitted they became too frightened to continue because they couldn't shake the certainty that another presence occupied the building. And that sensation is well documented outside of paranormal context. Neuroscientists have studied what's sometimes called the felt presence phenomenon. A compelling impression that another person or being is nearby, even though nobody is present. It has been reported by mountain climbers experiencing exhaustion, sailors alone at sea, people under extreme stress and individuals suffering from sleep deprivation. The experience feels completely real. But that doesn't Mark: Why is this relevant to people getting in an elevator? But these are people up a mountain or extreme sleep deprivation. What's that got to do with people walking through? Andy: because they feel they're being watched or that somebody... Yes, I told you it's a psychological fact, the felt presence. It happens to people. It's not, it happens to people in other situations. I'm explaining. Lordy God. It is relevant. You wouldn't understand, but ask Nanny to explain it to you later. Mark: which is completely irrelevant. like getting into an elevator Andy: The experience feels completely real, but it doesn't necessarily reveal its cause. One particularly famous online account came from a user who claimed they successfully reached what they called the other place. According to the story, the city outside looked almost identical to their own, except the streets were empty. The traffic lights cycled through colors for cars that never arrived. Storefronts remained illuminated despite the complete absence of people. The sky appeared darker than normal, and in the distance, a single enormous red cross glowed against the horizon. That image has become one of the defining symbols of the elevator game. Interestingly, the earlier versions of the ritual rarely mention it. The red cross became increasingly common only after later retellings appeared across international forums. So whether it emerged from one storyteller or evolved collectively is impossible to determine. Either way, it demonstrates how the folklore changes over time. If one compelling image is repeated often enough, it gradually becomes part of that legend itself. Another recurring claim in Kurz involves overwhelming difficulty leaving. Several narrators describe suddenly forgetting the instructions. Others say they became convinced they should stay just a little bit longer. One writer claimed he felt an irresistible urge to continue exploring despite increasing fear. Only after remembering the ritual's warnings did they rush back to the elevator. Psychologists refer to something similar as cognitive narrowing. Under stress, attention becomes focused. Decision making changes and simple tasks become surprisingly difficult. People forget information that they knew moments ago. And again, that doesn't invalidate the experience. It just simply offers a possible explanation. But of course, the Internet tends to reward dramatic endings. As the elevator game grew more popular, so did increasingly extraordinary stories. Some claimed to return home only to discover objects missing from their apartments. Others insisted that family members behave differently. One person believed that their pet no longer recognized them. But that can happen with hamsters. Mark: Please, please put an end to this. People need to get back to work or finish their lunch or something. Andy: Another person claimed photographs in their house had subtly changed. These accounts resemble a broader category of internet folklore sometimes referred to as reality shift stories. They rely on inconsistencies rather than spectacular events, a misplaced object, an unfamiliar memory, or a friend insisting a conversation never happened. Mark: Not as... Not as... Andy: Each incident is small enough to dismiss, but together they create an unsettling impression of something fundamental changing. Human memory, however, is far less reliable than most people realise. Research has repeatedly shown that people confidently remember events that never ever occurred, a bit like you and losing your virginity. They misremember conversations and overlook ordinary explanations to everyday mistakes. Our brains don't record reality like video cameras. They reconstruct it, usually with remarkable accuracy, but sometimes with surprising errors. Perhaps the most believable accounts are also the simplest. Players who abandoned the ritual halfway through because they became overwhelmed by fear. People who admitted nothing supernatural happened, but confessed that they never wanted to try it again. These stories lack impossible claims. They simply describe an experience that was deeply unsettling. And in some ways, these may be the most revealing accounts of all, because whether the elevator game opens a doorway to another dimension, or merely reveals how powerfully expectation can shape perception, one fact remains consistent. People who fully immerse themselves in the ritual often leave convinced that something happened. Not always something they can explain and certainly not something they can prove, but something they continue thinking about long after the elevator doors finally open. And that... is why the elevator game is so compelling. Because it plays on your fear. The fact that you play the game solo means you haven't got anyone to back you up, there's no bravado, no laughing and joking in the elevator. You press that sequence of buttons and you expect Mark: Are we finished? Andy: An unknown woman to get on at the 5th floor who you are not allowed to look at, interact with and if you played a game correctly you will then be sent up to the 10th floor and on returning to floor 1 the doors will open into a different world. That is the fear that plays on your mind after you've been pressing those buttons in sequence for 15 minutes. Mark: I'll tell you what, this story is so engrossing. I think I'm going to go off and play this game. I'm going to get on a train to Stockholm where I think there is a 10-story building. I'm going to try it and I'm going to report back next week what extraordinary events I experienced. It's going to be riveting. It's going to be absolutely riveting. Andy: We look forward to hearing your experience. If you come back. Because these games have a way of sucking you in. Remember Jumanji? You thought that was just a film. There are people still trapped. People are still trapped in that jungle. Anyway, mean, to be honest, we were only two thirds of the way through my fucking story, but I just can't cope with the haranguing I'm getting from you. Mark: I do remember it actually. Jack Black. Ugh. You can't be too sure, we've covered every possible aspect of it. Andy: We haven't had we haven't covered what happens after you come back. Mark: Well, it is an hour and 30 minutes we've been on board this. You have to do a part two of this one as well then. Andy: Yes. No, because you're just going to start part two with here we go. my God, is it finished yet? Mark: No, no, no I won't because by that time I will have done the procedure in Stockholm. Andy: Look, five minutes after we stop recording, you will have forgotten what this episode was about. So there's not a chance in hell of you going to Stockholm to play the elevator game. Mark: No. I can even remember the code. 5241027 Andy: Nope, five is the second to last button that you press. Mark: you can text me the the right sequence of buttons does it work on a if i press the telephone that sequence of exactly i was just thinking it might be go for it Andy: No, because if I text it on my telephone, I might open a portal. Anyway, that is the story of the elevator game and the telephone game. It was the elevator game. Mark: What was the name of the film? I see that was the name of the film was it let me check it out See what the internet movie database have to say about it Andy: it's going to be a one. now tell me that hasn't sent shivers down your spine. Mark: No, no, hang on, the elevator game. The eleva- I can't really spell. Elevator. Andy: You can't spell it wrong. E-L-E-V. Mark: game. The elevator game. Here we go. it came out. Well, you won't believe. Is this the same movie? It's called The Elevator Game. A desperate father in search of his missing daughter uncovers sinister events that lead him to a horrifying truth. Andy: Yeah. That is a different film. Mark: because that got 7.1 on the internet movie database. Andy: That is a different film. Now I'm going to have to search it out to continue my research. Mark: There was one in 2023. Andy: That sounds more like the rubbish, I mean the film that I watched. Mark: yes, that didn't get a very good score. That's only got 4.2. Supernatural horror based on the eponymous... What does that mean? Andy: Podemas. be internet famous. Mark: You're right, eponymous online phenomenon. A ritual conducted in an elevator. 4.2 Andy: Honestly, as soon as it started, I wanted to turn it off. But in the name of research, in the name of trying to present a professional programme for all of our 17 listeners, I thought I would suffer through to the end of this film. And I'm so disappointed in myself that I did. It's possibly one of the worst films I've ever seen in my life. Mark: 4.2 is pretty bad, have been worse, Melania I think is 2.4. Andy: Nobody ever saw that. Mark: I mean it was mildly entertaining but honestly the internet phenomenon Andy: Yes it is, because you don't understand the internet or phenomenon. I mean if a guy hitting himself in the face with a hammer can get millions of followers, what do you think pressing a bit of button pressing in an elevator is going to get you? If someone can sell pictures of their feet for thousands of dollars, you're going to get someone who's going to be pressing buttons in an elevator. Mark: You're right. Yeah. What have you tried there? You've sold pictures of your feet. Andy: Unfortunately not mine but I have paid thousands of dollars for a picture of... Oh dear God! Anyway, that brings us to the end of this episode. Well it doesn't actually, it brings us to 75 % of this episode. But I had to bring it to a close because somebody was misbehaving. Have you not had your nap today? Mark: Yeah, that's that's more like it All right, well done What do mean it's 10 o'clock in the morning? I haven't had a nap yet. That's 11 Andy: Anyway, join us again next week for another absolutely thrilling story of the paranormal, strange, unusual or weird, where your mind will be open, but marks will not. In the meantime, have yourselves a strange week. If you do play the elevator game, please stream it live to the cloud. Otherwise, if you do disappear forever, no one will ever know. Mark: Yeah. Yeah. You're right, no one will ever know. Andy: In the meantime, yeah, in the meantime, have a great time and we'll see you same time, same place next week. Bye for now. Mark: Bye for now.