What happened to Elisa Lam?  Murder, paranormal activity, mental illness?

 

On February 1, 2013, British Columbia native Elisa Lamb was reported missing by her parents after failing to check in with them during their daily call.  The 21-year-old Canadian college student was visiting Los Angeles while taking a break from her studies. She was last seen on January 31, 2013, in an infamously chilling hotel elevator surveillance video at the Cecil Hotel. Her body was discovered 19 days later in a cistern on the roof of the hotel.  Her bizarre behavior captured just hours before she was reported missing has led to multiple conspiracy theories regarding her death.

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The Cecil Hotel has a dark and haunted history within the paranormal community, leading people to believe a supernatural force may be to blame. People suspect Elisa was murdered due to the bizarre behavior seen in the surveillance video that suggests she was hiding from someone. After the investigation, the police surmised that her documented mental health diagnosis ultimately led to her “accidental drowning.”  Will you agree?

 

Elisa was a caring girl from Vancouver, British Columbia, who disappeared while on vacation in Los Angeles. One of her high school classmates, Alex Ristea, of Vancouver, called her death “shocking” and said she was one of the friendliest people he knew; “honestly, probably one of the nicest people I knew” (Ristea).  Katie Orphan, one of the last people to see Elisa alive, talked about how thoughtful Elisa had been while discussing the gifts she was picking out for her family members, specifically her sister (“Katie Orphan Speaks About Meeting Elisa Lam at The Last Bookstore 1).  She said, “Knowing that she was thinking about them and planning to get back to them. If I were in a similar situation and someone could tell my sister that I had been thinking of her, talking about her, and planning to get back to her, I would want to know that” (1).  Elisa was caring, thoughtful, and involved in her community.  Her family and friends will miss her deeply.

 

Elisa was talkative and outgoing. Katie Orphan, the manager of The Last Bookstore, said she was very outgoing and talkative (1). Orphan stated, “She was very outgoing; I think in a way that felt overwhelming and even possibly aggressive to some people” (1). Orphan explained how Elisa was walking up to folks, talking to them, and asking for their recommendations on places to visit and the best way to travel; “I think it was the fact that she was asking so many questions, and engaging with so many people, that made her memorable to me” (1). Orphan said she could relate to Elisa and her being a young traveler in a new city wanting to find people to connect with (1). Elisa was not shy or afraid to speak up, she was very outgoing.

           

Elsa was a young woman struggling with a mental illness. Although they kept it very private, her family shared that Elisa was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had struggled with depression for many years. (Elisa Lam Autopsy Report 1) Her sister, Sara Lam spoke with Detective Tennelle, from the Los Angeles Police Department and stated that her sister “had a history of depression and bipolar disorder” (20). In addition, she said Elisa had been prescribed four different medications to take for her condition (26).  Bipolar disorder, which is defined by the National Institute for Mental Health as, “a mental disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, concentration, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks” (National Institute of Mental Health 1). People with bipolar disorder experience periods of unusually intense emotion, changes in sleep patterns and activity levels, and uncharacteristic behaviors—often without recognizing their likely harmful or undesirable effects (1).

 

Elisa was very open and active when talking about her diagnosis of mental health struggles on her blog pages. She posted most days with her favorite inspirational quotes, art photography, and style photos, and sometimes she would share glimpses into her moods and state of mind. (Lam, Elisa 1) On November 21, 2011, Elisa says “Depression sucks. I have no control over my emotions. I will be angry for two minutes and then sad again. I haven't felt "fine" in over 3 years; This relapse makes me feel as though I haven't made any progress at all.” … “I'm not sure why I'm being so candid about my depression, but I suppose if someone else who has depression reads this, we can feel less alone” (1). There are happy posts and posts where you could tell she was struggling, but all of them had the same thing in common. She wanted to make a connection with other people.

 

Elisa was a caring friend who wasn’t afraid to speak up and live her life without letting her illness keep her down. Her death was ruled accidental, but there are still many unanswered questions about what happened to her.  She is missed dearly by her family and friends. (Elisa Lam 1) Cases like Elisa’s can open many opportunities to discuss mental health, how it affects our daily life, and the stigma of people being afraid to reach out to ask for help for fear of being judged. If only those around her would have questioned her odd behavior.

 

There are many conspiracy theories about Elisa Lam and her death at the Cecil Hotel in February of  2013. Was Elisa murdered, was she visited by a supernatural being, or was this all a horrible accident caused by her mental health condition?

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First, was Elisa in the wrong place at the wrong time, did she see something she shouldn’t have and ended up murdered?  Some theorize that she was murdered and stated, “the hotel already had a bad reputation before Elisa’s death” (Baggs 1). It was a place with a history of suicides and had been home to several serial killers (1). With the hotel being set in the heart of downtown L.A., which has a massive homelessness problem, certain floors were designated for visitors like Elisa, while other floors were accommodations for people who lived in this "skid row" area (Baggs 2).  It was not in a great part of town, so murder was everyone’s first thought when her body was discovered on the roof.

 

A less likely theory is the Cecil hotel is haunted, and one of its supernatural residents caused Elisa to flee to the rooftop in fear and hide in the water tank. There, she was unable to reach the top to get back out.  For many years people have talked about the ghosts and hauntings of the Cecil Hotel, which is even known as “LA's Most Haunted Hotel” according to Reuben Westmaas from Discovery.com (Westmaas 1). In 2020, Zak Bagans and the Ghost Adventures crew were the first team allowed to take their cameras into the Cecil Hotel (Braden 1).  Zak stated, “It doesn’t get bigger or more sinister than this” (Braden 1). He also said that Elisa’s death has stuck with him throughout the years and is one of the main things that drew him to the Cecil Hotel (Jordan 1).  Bagans stated, "I wanted to try to explore the theory that she may have been influenced by something, some kind of dark entity, possibly conjured by a serial killer like Richard Ramirez, who was said to have done rituals on the very roof where they discovered her body” (Braden 3). While the team experienced physical afflictions, including unexplained scratches, it was a moment of paranormal activity that had the biggest impact on Bagans (3). He claims that while investigating alone in one of the hotel rooms where serial killer Jack Unterweger stayed in 1991, he witnessed the bathroom water faucet turning on by itself (3). Whether you believe in ghosts or not, Bagans had some spooky experiences to share, which has led to the conspiracy that the Cecil Hotel is haunted.

 

The most likely scenario is that Elisa Lam, while in a state of mania from her mental illness, climbed into the water tank herself.  For reasons we will probably never know, she decided to seek shelter in the tank and accidentally drowned (Elisa Lam Autopsy Report 1).  The video of her behavior in the elevator the day she disappeared is a strong indicator that she was struggling with her illness (Almostzero).  You can also tell by her blood work in the autopsy report, that she was not taking her medication correctly (Elisa Lam Autopsy Report 26).  This could have led to a mental breakdown in which she was operating in a world of fantasy that only she could see. While we will never be certain, all evidence shows a young woman in mental distress.

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Elisa Lam’s case is considered closed, but many people are not satisfied with the conclusion.  At this point, we may never know, but hopefully, her case will bring more attention to mental health and the importance of speaking up, asking for help, and not being ashamed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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