Who Pressed The Button?

By RCRuskin
(9 stories) (847 posts) (the author is a middle age adult)
Date: 2022-04-01
Country: United States
State: New York
Paranormal Category: Misc

My dad passed away less than a week ago, relative to the time I'm writing this. Cancer is the official cause of death, but given he'd not eaten for 9 days and not had anything to drink for 2 days prior to his death, the rational part of me says to go with starvation. Yesterday, I saw something weird happen as I rode an elevator and it happened again three times today.

I'm sure everyone understands how elevators work. Press the call button, get on, press the button for your floor, and then relax. And there's also a couple of other buttons to hold the door open to be polite, force the doors closed to be rude, and a button to call for help in the event of a malfunction.

Since I have "fat fingered" the floor buttons many times before, I make sure to press just the button for my floor and then get as far away from that panel as I'm able. Yet, once yesterday, and three times today so far, the emergency call system was activated. It would ring three times, there would be clicky static and then it would disconnect. I let building management know since having a working emergency system is quite useful to anyone trapped in the elevator. And my default to rational explanations and being skeptical makes me think it is a glitch in the system.

However, the frequency with which it has happened to me lately makes me not so sure of the rational explanation. A few possibilities come to my mind. Could be a short, could be roaches dining on wiring insulation, could also be from the fact that a part of the apartment building roof was damaged and rain got into the elevator shaft.

And I know we here tend to go to the ghostly explanation which does sometimes apply, but I'm just hoping there's a more mundane issue to explain it. Your thoughts are appreciated. Thanks.

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Comments about this paranormal experience

The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, RCRuskin, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

Paul1 (1 stories) (17 posts)

2 years ago (2022-05-26)

Oh and BTW, Sorry for your loss but my mother of 97 years passed away in February and she always use to say "When your born you cry and everyone else is happy and when you die your happy but everyone else cries"

Paul1 (1 stories) (17 posts)

2 years ago (2022-05-26)

That happens in my building where I live in Brooklyn. I think the people that were in the elevator before me accidently pressed the emergency button or a kid in the building.

RCRuskin (9 stories) (847 posts)

3 years ago (2022-04-04)

I'd be curious to know what the elevator experts have to say as well. Probably will not get a report on that from management, sadly. Oh well.

As regards phone calls from the dead, I would expect it on the home phone, my cell or mom's cell since dad knew these numbers, rather than the elevator's number. I haven't received any mystery calls and neither has the home phone to my knowledge. I'll check mom's cell later today.

To answer now Jubeele and Lady-Glow's question: Why the elevator/significant events in elevators, one does come to mind, but it is silly! Really, really silly. We were on vacation and after seeing the sights in the town we vacationed, dad and I decided to head downtown just for fun. We found a nice, old-style department store and went in, taking the elevator to the topmost floor we could (musical instruments). After looking around, we got into the elevator and went back to the ground floor. And apparently arrived in a totally different store than we had been in. So, we got lost by way of elevator. This would have been 86 or 87, I believe.

Jubeele (26 stories) (899 posts)

3 years ago (2022-04-04)

Dear Brother

Words aren't enough in times like this. Our heartfelt condolences to you for your loss.

The elevator playing up does sound a bit odd. It's the timing of it. I'm curious if the electrician found a fault with the wiring, sensors or something. Or whether there was no fault found. If it's an intermittent fault, that can be difficult to detect. Did they occur at the same time of the day? Was the weather or temperature the same during those occurrences? I'm wondering if there was a slight crack in the insulating material or seals, and moisture in the air somehow affected the mechanism.

When our friend Miriam passed last year, we experienced a few phantom calls. Her husband, Dean had missed calls on her phone, with no messages left. There are many accounts on YGS of people being contacted by loved ones from beyond the Veil. If the spirit is a form of energy, is it possible that some have discovered how to travel via electrical currents?

But why the elevator? Has your phone received any missed calls from unknown numbers? What about the rest of the family? I did wonder if there was any significance in that it was the emergency call for help. Do you think there was something unsaid, or unresolved with your father? Perhaps it might be a request for an intercessory prayer to ease his way...

Take care and be gentle with yourself. Our loving thoughts and prayers are with you.

lady-glow (16 stories) (3194 posts)

3 years ago (2022-04-04)

RCRuskin.

I'm sorry for your loss.

It's hard to reach any conclusion without knowing what the "elevators experts" have to say.
Is there any special/significant event that happened to your Father in an elevator?

Regardless, I'm sure he's still looking after you.

Thanks for sharing.

Melda (10 stories) (1363 posts)

3 years ago (2022-04-03)

RCRuskin - My sincere condolences on the passing of your father.

Your experience with the elevators does seem quite extraordinary. Have you tried to determine whether other tenants have had any problems with the elevators?

You are still very much in the grieving phase and this could cause you to read more into this event than you normally would. On the other hand, it just might be your dad. I think your own instincts will provide the answer.

Regards, Melda

RCRuskin (9 stories) (847 posts)

3 years ago (2022-04-02)

Hi, Rajine. Thank you.

To answer your second question, I dwell in an old apartment building in which many people have died, and it is across the street from a cemetery turned into a park: https://www.yourghoststories.com/real-ghost-story.php?story=24238.

This has happened to me in all 3 elevators in the building. I let management know and they agreed a malfunctioning emergency contact system is not good, but I do not know if they contacted the agency responsible for the elevators or not.

Rajine (14 stories) (899 posts)

3 years ago (2022-04-01)

Hi RCRuskin

Firstly I'd like to offer my condolences on the passing of your dad, losing someone you care about is never easy.

I just have a two questions:

Is it just one elevator you are talking about?

Also if you don't mind me asking, which building is this elevator in (apartment, hospital)?

Like you I also try to find a reasonable and logical explanation for certain unexplainable moments, if I were to give you a non supernatural explanation regarding the elevator I'd probably go with a malfunction or electrical fault, and I'd ask maintenance to check it out and also ask around if the same thing happened to anyone else in the building.

And if there's no rational explanation I'd say it was supernatural and that it could be your dad giving you a sign to show you he's around.

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