Description

Recording spooky elevator sounds in an old building

Our friend’s own an apartment complex called ”Ambassador” in Omaha, Nebraska. This building alone has an incredible spooky vibe even though it has been very well preserved.

The apartment complex was built in 1928 and has the original staircases. In the mid-1940s, elevators were installed to provide easier access for the tenants. What I really loved about the sound is that there was no distraction coming from any air conditions or other noises that you can find in modern buildings.

For the recordings, I used the Lom Usi Pro with magnets to fix the metal surface in front of the doors and inside the elevator. I captured two elevators this way and then I switched to the Zoom H3-VR to get ambisonic sounds (which can be found inside the VR Sound Library.) I also exported the sounds to stereo and included them in the free sound effects library down below!

I added more bonus sounds too…

The building has three original 1944 OTIS elevators and I recorded all 3 of them. Enjoy the sound the doors opening/closing sounds, waiting for the elevators to come back & riding up and down inside (interior) the elevators.

ambience recordings from the area outside the building

room tone

spooky glass door opening with automatic door beeping sounds

Review & download the metadata here!