In 2013, Canadian student Elisa Lam was found dead inside a rooftop water tank at the notorious Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles. Bizarre elevator surveillance footage captivated and disturbed the world.
The Cecil Hotel at 640 South Main Street in downtown Los Angeles has been accumulating darkness since it opened in 1927.
Serial killer Richard Ramirez, the "Night Stalker," stayed there in 1985. Austrian serial killer Jack Unterweger resided there in 1991. Countless suicides, unexplained deaths, and violent crimes have occurred within its walls. Locals knew it as the "Hotel of Death."
In January 2013, Elisa Lam, a 21-year-old Canadian university student from Vancouver, checked in. She was traveling solo along the West Coast, keeping a lively blog about her adventures.
On January 31, all contact with Elisa stopped.
On February 13, the LAPD released surveillance footage from the Cecil Hotel's elevator as part of the search for Elisa. The video went viral — and became one of the most unsettling pieces of footage the internet had ever seen.
In the clip, Elisa enters the elevator and presses multiple floor buttons. The doors don't close. She steps into the hallway, looks both ways as if checking for someone, then returns to the elevator. She presses herself into the corner, as though hiding.
Then comes the most disturbing sequence. Elisa steps outside the elevator and begins moving her hands in strange, fluid gestures — as if conversing with someone invisible. Or warding something off.
She walks out of frame. The elevator doors open and close repeatedly, cycling through floors on their own, before finally resuming normal operation.
On February 19, hotel guests began complaining about the water. It tasted strange. It looked dark. A maintenance worker was sent to inspect the four large water tanks on the roof.
Inside one of the tanks, he found Elisa Lam's body, floating in the water that had been flowing to every tap and shower in the hotel.
The rooftop was accessible only through alarmed doors. The tanks stood roughly eight feet tall, with heavy lids. How Elisa got inside — and whether the lid was open or closed when she entered — became a central question.
The autopsy ruled the cause of death as accidental drowning. No drugs or alcohol were found in her system. No signs of trauma or assault. The manner of death was classified as an accident.
But critical context emerged later. Elisa had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was taking several prescription medications. Investigators found evidence suggesting she may have stopped taking her medication during the trip. A manic episode could explain the erratic behavior seen in the elevator footage — the paranoia, the gesturing, the irrational movements.
The elevator video amassed tens of millions of views on YouTube. Internet sleuths launched thousands of amateur investigations. Theories ranged from ghosts to government conspiracies to the hotel's alleged curse.
Some pointed to the coincidence that a tuberculosis test called LAM-ELISA was being used in the nearby Skid Row community. Others connected the case to the plot of the 2005 horror film Dark Water.
Most experts, however, point to the simplest and saddest explanation. A young woman experiencing a severe manic episode found her way to the rooftop, climbed into a water tank — possibly seeking to hide or cool down — and could not get out.
Tragic. But not supernatural.
Elisa Lam became the newest name etched into the Cecil Hotel's long dark history. Her Tumblr blog remains online. Her last post, written days before she vanished, was bright and hopeful — a young traveler excited about life.
