The Elevator: A Horror Novella

by Gaspar Hernandez III

Six people trapped in a high-rise elevator stuck between floors experience mounting fear and impatience when the entire system malfunctions.

As every minute stretches into an agonizing eternity, they each undergo unimaginable horrors from a psychotic occupant as they await an unknown fate. But there is something else… An unknown vulnerability…

196 pages, Hardcover

First published November 24, 2025

About the author

I wrote over 25 novels and 30 screenplays out of enjoyment into my twenties, honing my writing skills and grammar as I continued working as an electrical engineer.

To then shelve them where they collected dust over decades, being shifted from the bookshelves, to cabinets, and eventually into boxes in my attic.

A multitude of decades later, I have dusted them off and decided to publish them.

I loved working on the A-10 Thunderbolt Warthog! Therefore, some of my novels are military thrillers.

I also love stories in which multiple or dual evils are at play, with innocent people caught in the middle or in the mix.

I was fortunate enough to have gained funding for two of my stories to be produced as motion pictures.

One was called "Poker" which was produced as a short film. I will publish the novel "Poker" in the future. The second one was "Inner Rage", a screenplay I wrote and which has "Joe Estevez" starring in it.

You can watch "Inner Rage" on Amazon Prime Video, or Tubi.

You can find both films based on my stories cataloged on IMDb.

I live in New Jersey, and I am thrilled with my life and have no complaints, and now in my later years after a successful life I feel blessed I can dust my writings off, brush them up, and get them out there.

I feel further blessed that I have a beautiful and loving wife, a loving and supportive son, now a lawyer, who still looks up to me, and two beautiful, successful, and intelligent daughters. One daughter is a shrewd businesswoman, and the other is an amazing artist and marketing agent.

I think the world of, and am very proud of, all of them.

Reviews

[Eric Mielke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read The Elevator over two evenings after work and it got under my skin more than I expected. It starts as a familiar, tired end-of-day commute: everyone just wants to get out of the building, but a packed, badly maintained elevator changes that. As the car lurches, stalls, and traps its passengers between floors, the atmosphere shifts from everyday annoyance to genuine dread.

What really works here is the claustrophobia. You can almost feel the air getting thicker as tension grows between this random group of strangers. The author slowly peels back who they are and why they react the way they do, while dropping hints that something much darker is afoot. Hidden agendas along with twists and turns make this a worthwhile read for your evening commute (hopefully you don't have to take an elevator after reading it).

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very captivating horror book, had me interested from the very beginning fully invested in each character. The author goes to great lengths to describe each scene while also leaving room for your own imagination and interpretation. There is also a huge twist at the end! Highly recommend!