Whatever happened to Elisa Lam?

The tale of Elisa Lam is as baffling as it is disturbing. Whilst, on the surface, this is a story of tragedy and human error, a closer look reveals that all is certainly not as it seems. Inexplicable activity and a history of horror mean that, in the eyes of some, it was only a matter of time before the Cecil Hotel claimed another victim. And yet, like many unnatural incidents, the opening chapters of the saga were without drama.

Elisa Lam was an adventurous young lady who was enjoying a solo holiday, travelling along the west coast of America. Her journey was recorded at regular interviews through her online blog, with further details being supplied on a daily basis to her parents. She checked into the Cecil Hotel, in Los Angeles, in January 2013. An imposing, early 19th Century, multi-storey hotel, the low cost, single-occupancy rooms are a favourite with travellers on a budget. At first sight, Elisa appeared to be a perfectly normal guest, enjoying the hospitality on offer. CCTV footage of her, shortly before her inexplicable disappearance, appears to paint a somewhat different picture.

Elisa Lam - alone and yet with company

On the 31st January 2013, Elisa failed to contact her parents, as was her unfailing habit. Alarmed, her parents contacted the Cecil - whilst her belongings were still in her room, Elisa was nowhere to be found. Worryingly, the last sighting of Elisa had been in the Cecil's lobby. Perhaps of even more concern was that video footage taken inside the hotel's lift shows Elisa acting in a distinctly disturbing manner. Gesticulating wildly and appearing to shout, Elisa's actions in the lift suggest she is being pursued, reacting to danger or extremely scared. And yet, she is alone in the lift: no assailants are charging down the corridor towards her; no visible horror can be discerned. What was the cause of her agitation? The answer is unlikely to be forthcoming.

The authorities made extensive enquiries to try and establish Elisa's whereabouts, but with no success. At the Cecil, the search for Elisa continued, but initially proved fruitless. It was only when a hotel employee, charged with investigating the cause of the foul water emitting from showers and sinks throughout the hotel, investigated the building's hot water tanks that Elisa's naked body was found. Her clothes and some personal effects were beside her.

How did she get there?

Like any hotel, the Cecil took precautions to safeguard guests from accidental injury. For this reason, entry to the roof and thereby to the tanks was only through a locked and alarmed access point. No explanation can be found for why the alarm wasn't triggered, or for how Elisa managed to pass through the access point when it was locked. Although the death was recorded as accidental, a look at the hotel's dark past may lead us to other conclusions.

The haunt of murderers and suicide victims

Although it's almost inevitable that any large hotel will see its share of human misery over time, the Cecil's past is among the darkest. Providing a temporary home to not one but two murderers, the hotel was also the scene for a woman's tragic suicide in the early 1960s. A number of other suicides have also been recorded at the Cecil over the years - in total, sixteen unnatural deaths have occurred at the hotel during its history. It's not just murder victims who appear to have stayed at the hotel with an unnatural degree of frequency: killers also appear to have been attracted to the building. Both Jack Unterweger and The Night Stalker (Richard Ramirez) stayed at the Cecil for some months. Responsible for at least 19 deaths between them, could it be that their occupancy tainted the Cecil with evil?

Whatever the truth, it may be wise to consider another choice for your accommodation should you be considering a stay in the City of Angels.