History Main / Hellevator

Not to be confused with the Hellevator, the lunar-based SpaceElevator in SchlockMercenary.

* One ''SchlockMercenary'' strip ([[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20010922.html link]]) has an ''escalator'' to Hell in the background. The same strip actually has a thing called the "Helevator", but it's a SpaceElevator between the Moon's Helena Plains and lunar synchronous orbit. In case you science geeks just noticed something odd, understand that 31st century Luna has been spun up for the comfort of its citizens.

* Supposedly, this happened in Taiwan, and in Taipei's city hall no less. According to a local news report, a security guard patrolling the building was making the rounds late at night, using the elevator to get to every floor. When he was going from the third to fifth floor (no fourth floor because FourIsDeath) by the elevator, the elevator actually somehow stopped at the [[MissingFloor non-existent fourth floor]], and when the doors opened, he saw hell, as in the nether world, outside. This troper heard it from a Taiwanese paranormal talk show; if you understand Chinese, or if you have someone who can translate Chinese for you, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGtY_104A4o go here and listen to the story for yourself]] (it is from around 1:58 to about 3:10). Supposedly, this all happened because the city hall had bad ''feng shui''.

* There's an urban legend/stock horror-story plot that goes like this: Someone has a recurring nightmare that a horse-drawn carriage driven by Death stops in front of her house. Death opens the door to show that the carriage is packed with people and leers, "There's room for one more." But the protagonist doesn't get on and the deathcarriage of doom goes on its way. One day, the protagonist is waiting for an elevator. One stops that is packed with people and the operator, of course, says there's room for one more. All the little hairs stand up on the back of our protagonist's neck and she shakes her head vehemently. As she waits for the next elevator she hears a terrible crash; the cable's snapped and everyone's dead. The end!

* Supposedly, this happened in Taiwan, and in Taipei's city hall no less. According to a local news report, a security guard patrolling the building was making the rounds late at night, using the elevator to get to every floor. When he was going from the third to fifth floor (no fourth floor because FourIsDeath) by the elevator, the elevator actually somehow stopped at the [[MissingFloor non-existent fourth floor]], and when the doors opened, he saw hell, as in the nether world, outside. This troper heard it from a Taiwanese paranormal talk show; if you understand Chinese, or if you have someone who can translate Chinese for you, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGtY_104A4o go here and listen to the story for yourself]] (it is from around 1:58 to about 3:10). Supposedly, this all happened because the city hall had bad fengshui.

* Metaphorically, in ''{{Aliens}}''.
--> '''Hudson:''' "We're on an express elevator to Hell - going down!"

* In the Series/DoctorWho episode ''The Beast Below'', riding the elevators without permission (such as when you got a zero in class, for example) takes you to the aforementioned beast. It isn't hell exactly [[spoiler: and the beest turns out to be not much of a demon, but a voluntary captive of the travelling starship, which came to save their children]] but it certainly ''looks'' like it.

* In the DoctorWho episode ''The Beast Below'', riding the elevators without permission (such as when you got a zero in class, for example) takes you to the aforementioned beast. It isn't hell exactly [[spoiler: and the beest turns out to be not much of a demon, but a voluntary captive of the travelling starship, which came to save their children]] but it certainly ''looks'' like it.

* Used in ''{{Angel}}''... sorta. At some point during the "Wolfram & Hart" arc, he's invited to finally meet the "upper management", and gets into an elevator... which goes down. And down. And down. And down... and finally arrives at street-level. Even Angel has to point out the {{Anvilicious}}ness of the "Our world is Hell" moral.

->"I walked into a hotel... I say, 'Listen, could you direct me to the elevators?' ''(in a snooty voice)'' 'You mean, the elevators to the rooms?' 'No, I mean the elevator to Hell!'"

->"We're on an express elevator to Hell -- going down!"

[[folder:Comics]]
* One JackChick comic has two demons goofing off so that one guy ends up being converted to Christianity. As punishment, Satan forces them to go down another level of Hell for every time this guy ends up converting someone else. They end up going down several thousand, using the elevator to get there.
** And the operator is JosefStalin in a hazmat suit
* One recent spoof of ''{{Journey to the West}}'' has the Hellevator overshooting and ending up in outer space.

[[folder: FanFics]]
* Parodied in the "first mock-fic" of TransformersArmada on [[http://www.transformersfanfic.com/ the TF Lexicon]]. In it, a [[AuthorAvatar guy in real life]] enters an elevator and presses "ALL THE BUTTONS AT ONCE" (echo, echo)! This transports him to the world of Armada, which becomes Hell enough for him.

[[folder:Films -- Live Action]]

* Inverted in ''{{Percy Jackson and the Olympians}}'': a mysterious elevator in the Empire State Building leads to the realm of the gods, instead of the infernal realm.
* ''{{Big Trouble in Little China}}'': Jack and Wang are riding down an elevator to their [[BossFight final confrontation]]. It's taking a lot longer than they expected:

* Supposedly, this happened in Taiwan, and in Taipei's city hall no less. According to a local news report, a security guard patrolling the building was making the rounds late at night, using the elevator to get to every floor. When he was going from the third to fifth floor (no fourth floor because FourIsDeath) by the elevator, the elevator actually somehow stopped at the non-existent fourth floor, and when the doors opened, he saw hell, as in the nether world, outside. This troper heard it from a Taiwanese paranormal talk show; if you understand Chinese, or if you have someone who can translate Chinese for you, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGtY_104A4o go here and listen to the story for yourself]] (it is from around 1:58 to about 3:10). Supposedly, this all happened because the city hall had bad fengshui.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* Disney gave us ''TheTwilightZone - Tower of Terror'', a semi-nightmarish ride which takes the classic freefall ride, turned it into one of these, and randomized it so that each ride has a different drop pattern. The story of the ride (except for the Tokyo version) is that five passengers board an elevator in the Hollywood Hotel, which is struck by lightning that transports the elevator and parts of the hotel into the Twilight Zone......and it's going to happen again, this time with the ride's current riders.

* ''SilentHill 3'' has several transitions from Regular Silent Hill to Darkside triggered by riding an elevator. The first of such transitions is an example.

** Also in Silent Hill 2, don't forget that one elevator that suddenly stops, followed by the hero's radio making him participate to a game show [[spoiler:(the right answers are the code to a box that contains ammo and health bonuses)]]. As if that wasn't unsettling enough, the host promises a very bad punishment if you get the answers wrong.

* The elevator into the Undercity in ''{{World of Warcraft}} is sometimes referred to as this, both due to the Undercity's tomb-like nature and the elevator's tendency to accidentally send players falling to their deaths.

* In [[{{Persona3}} Persona 3]], Igor makes his residence in an elevator that's constantly going up, which he claims will eventually end when the main character reaches his "destination". It's actually a rather charming place, and while not a Hellevator in the sense that it goes directly to hell, it finally ends up stopping [[spoiler:right as the Main Character realizes he's going to have to kick the bucket in a HeroicSacrifice.]]

* One ''SchlockMercenary'' strip ([[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20010922.html link]]) has an ''escalator'' to Hell in the background.
** The same strip actually has a thing called the "Helevator", but it's a SpaceElevator between the Moon's Helena Plains and lunar synchronous orbit. In case you science geeks just noticed something odd, understand that 31st century Luna has been spun up for the comfort of its citizens.

* Also happens in ''[=~Rocko's Modern Life~=]'' (this time it's [[GoshdangItToHeck Heck]], though).

* ''WoodyWoodpecker'' cartoon "Wet Blanket Policy": Buzz Buzzard has just been [[AnvilOnHead crushed by a large object]], and he arrives at a lobby with elevators to both heaven and hell with Woody as the doorman: one opens and the angelic operator says "Going up" and woody forces it closed, the other opens and the demonic operator says "going down" and woody gives Buzz Buzzard a kick in the rear forcing him into the elevator
** Crushed? I thought he blew up?
* In ''Tom and Jerry'', Tom goes down the Hellevator. Except it was more of a hole in the ground, and Hell was 1 floor down. That makes some basements lower then Hell!
** Actually, after he went through that hole, he fell quite a long fall to hell.
* ''[[{{ptitle1094ykag}} Filmation's GhostBusters]]'', of all things. Except this elevator -- the Skelevator -- doesn't go down, it goes up... and up... and up, until it reaches an otherworldly, ghost-filled dimension, the centerpiece of which is an enormous Rube Goldberg machine our heroes use to change into uniform.

* The [MST3K MST'd]] movie ''Soultaker'' features one of these, partly subverted in that the Hellevator actually goes ''up'' to get to the afterlife, which is apparently on the top floor of a hospital for easy access to dying people. Apparently Joe Estevez doesn't like to walk around too much.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Supposedly, this happened '''in real life''' (!) in Taiwan, and in Taipei's city hall no less. According to a local news report, a security guard patrolling the building was making the rounds late at night, using the elevator to get to every floor. When he was going from the third to fifth floor (no fourth floor because FourIsDeath) by the elevator, the elevator actually somehow stopped at the non-existent fourth floor, and when the doors opened, he saw hell, as in the nether world, outside. This troper heard it from a Taiwanese paranormal talk show; if you understand Chinese, or if you have someone who can translate Chinese for you, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGtY_104A4o go here and listen to the story for yourself]] (it is from around 1:58 to about 3:10). Supposedly, this all happened because the city hall had bad fengshui.
** This probably fits better at Folklore; it's an urban legend, after all.
[[/folder]]

* TheHauntedMansion in The Magic Kingdom has an example of this, even though you're supposed to think the room is stretching.

* TheHauntedMansion in The Magic Kingdom has an example of this.

* TheHauntedMansion in TheMagicKingdom has an example of this.

* ''WoodyWoodpecker'' cartoon "Wet Blanket Policy": Buzz Buzzard has just been [[AnvilOnHead crushed by a large object]], and he arrives at a lobby with elevators to both heaven and hell with Woody as the doorman: one opens and the angelic operator says "Going up" and woody forces it closed, the other opens and the demonic operator says "going down" and woody gives Buzz Buzzard a kick in the rear forcing him into the elevator

* Supposedly, this happened '''in real life''' (!) in Taiwan, and in Taipei's city hall no less. According to a local news report, a security guard patrolling the building was making the rounds late at night, using the elevator to get to every floor. When he was going from the third to fifth floor (no fourth floor because FourIsDeath) by the elevator, the elevator actually somehow stopped at the non-existent fourth floor, and when the doors opened, he saw hell, as in the nether world, outside. This troper heard it from a Taiwanese paranormal talk show; if you understand Chinese, or if you have someone who can translate Chinese for you, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGtY_104A4o go here and listen to the story for yourself]] (it is from around 1:58 to about 3:10). Supposedly, this all happened because the city hall had bad fengshui.

* In "Hell" by Yasutaka Tsutsui (author of {{Paprika}}) there is a subplot about a writer and an actress sharing the ride in the elevator that goes down to 666th floor below. It makes sense, because novel utilizes {{Mundane Afterlife}} trope and [[spoiler:some characters arrive in Hell by means of transport they were using at the moment of death, for example a plane that crashed in real life. Also, you may argue, the elevator IS, in fact, personal hell of this pair]]

* Supposedly, this happened '''in real life''' (!) in Taiwan, and in Taipei's city hall no less. According to a local news report, a security guard patrolling the building was making the rounds late at night, using the elevator to get to every floor. When he was going from the third to fifth floor (no fourth floor because FourIsDeath) by the elevator, the elevator actually somehow stopped at the non-existent fourth floor, and when the doors opened, he saw hell, as in the nether world, outside. This troper heard it from a Taiwanese paranormal talk show; if you understand Chinese, or if you have someone who can translate Chinese for you, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGtY_104A4o go here and listen to the story for yourself]] (it is from around 1:58 to about 3:10). Supposedly, ithis all happened because the city hall had bad fengshui.

* in the ''LooneyTunes'' short "Satan's Watin", it was not an elevator that took Sylvester to Hades, but an escalator which seemed to go in an endless downward helix.

* Unknown ''WoodyWoodpecker'' cartoon: Buzz Buzzard has just been [[AnvilOnHead crushed by a large object]], and he arrives at a lobby with elevators to both heaven and hell with Woody as the doorman: one opens and the angelic operator says "Going up" and woody forces it closed, the other opens and the demonic operator says "going down" and woody gives Buzz Buzzard a kick in the rear forcing him into the elevator