The death of Elisa Lam continues to mystify everyone who hears the circumstances surrounding the tragedy. The 21-year-old student was traveling the West Coast alone and staying in the infamous Cecil Hotel when she went missing in 2013. The initial search of the hotel turned up nothing except elevator footage of Lam behaving erratically and seemingly speaking to someone off-screen.
About three weeks later, hotel guests began to complain of discolored and foul-tasting water and low water pressure. An inspection of the rooftop water tank led to the discovery of Elisa Lam’s body. How she could have gotten into the water tank without setting off the alarm or how she lifted the heavy lid and sealed herself inside has been a lingering question for many, especially considering the added state she appeared to be in the security camera footage. Her death was ruled an accidental drowning, but the evidence is inconclusive, leaving many still asking, what happened to Elisa Lam?
For every logical explanation one proposes, another unsolvable issue arises to contradict it. While there are websites and forum threads dedicated to Elisa Lam theories, no one answer has proven itself entirely probable, and no explanation ties up all the loose ends. This list contains some of the most widespread Elisa Lam explanations, spine-chilling scenarios, and downright crazy theories.
Those who have read through her blog can vouch for the fact that Lam suffered from depression and was documenting her inner turmoil.
Police found no evidence to suggest she killed herself and even if she did, that doesn’t explain the events leading up to her death or how she got into the water tank. Especially when she could have just jumped from the hotel roof or from a window.
She Accidentally Drowned
Many feel bipolar disorder was to blame for Lam’s death. Some though not all forms of bipolar disorder can cause hallucinations if not treated. Some speculate Lam had a manic episode, thought someone was pursuing her, and accidentally drowned while trying to hide in the water tank (never mind how she got into the water tank).
The biggest problem with this theory is that her medication for bipolar disorder was in her system, according to the coroner’s report, so her illness was not being left untreated during her travels. She had been prescribed four different drugs to manage her mental health conditions and the drugs were still found in her system, even after close to three weeks in a water tank. She Was Tripping On Drugs
According to police, the only things in Elisa’s system were her regular prescription medications for bipolar disorder. However, the elevator footage clearly looks as if she’s hallucinating, and considering how much time passed before her body was found, it’s possible any other drugs she was on might have passed through her system or been destroyed by decay. Or she could have been on some kind of hallucinatory drug that she wasn’t even tested for. Self-described “body language experts” have concluded that her odd behavior on the security camera footage may be consistent with someone using narcotics. (These same experts analyzed her movements and felt Lam was not afraid of whomever she was talking to off-camera. In fact, they say she is behaving like she is attracted to that person, being playful and coquettish.)
This theory has her strange behavior covered, but it still doesn’t explain how she got on the roof unnoticed or had the strength to get the tank open and then closed behind her.
She Was Killed By Some “Creeper”
One of Elisa’s blog posts apparently complained of some “creeper” while staying at the hotel. It’s entirely possible that some guy was stalking her and whether on purpose or not, was responsible for her death and tried to hide her body.
Lam was found naked, yet her clothes were thrown in with her and her phone was missing. There was evidence of anal bleeding; however, it was blamed on her body decomposing in the water tank. It’s unclear if she was given a rape kit or if it was ever processed, and she was not tested for common date rape drugs. She Was Murdered By A Hotel Employee
There’s no conclusive evidence that Elisa was murdered, but there’s nothing to prove she wasn’t, either. The Cecil Hotel has attracted serial killers before, what’s to say there wasn’t one working there during Elisa’s stay? Someone who knew she was traveling alone and had access to her room. Someone who had keys to the roof and the alarm code. Someone who knew where to stand in order to stay off-camera and had access to all the footage, perhaps doctoring it later.
As far as Lam’s reason for pushing a bunch of buttons, young travelers are often encouraged to do that in situations to throw off their attacker. If the elevator is hitting multiple floors, theoretically, the attacker won’t know which one their victim is on.
Her Death Was Inspired By The Movie “Dark Water”
Elisa Lam’s death is so eerily similar to the horror movie Dark Water (released in 2005), that it almost seems as if it were by design. A case of life imitating art, perhaps? Elisa Lam’s death could have been caused by someone trying to emulate a Hollywood film.
Not only did the film depict residents of an old (haunted) building complaining of foul-tasting, dark water coming from their taps, but the cause in both instances was a girl decomposing in the water tank on the roof. If that weren’t a creepy enough connection, the film’s main characters are a mother named Dahlia and her daughter Cecilia (like the Black Dahlia and the Cecil Hotel). There are also elevator malfunctions, and young Cecilia can be seen talking to thin air in the elevator because her “imaginary friend” is there. She Was Assassinated
With a case as unsettling as this, it’s no surprise conspiracy theorists have stepped up to share their bizarre version of events. Apparently, Elisa posted online about a Pentagon-funded, invisibility cloaking project right before she died. This project has been in the works for the United States and South Korea for some time now. Many have speculated the government or even a private company may have ordered her assassination for interfering or over-sharing.
Perhaps her strange behavior in the elevator wasn’t so strange – we just couldn’t see her invisible cloak-wearing assailant.
She Was A Tuberculosis Drug Test Subject
As it turns out, the timeframe during which Elisa Lam was staying at the Cecil coincided with a severe tuberculosis outbreak on Skid Row and in most of the downtown area surrounding the hotel. The strange part is the TB test being used in the area was the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, called the LAM-ELISA for short. Also, Isoniazid is the most commonly used antibiotic for TB patients and its side effects include confusion and abnormal behavior. Lam’s toxicology screening didn’t find anything strange in her system, but many conspiracy theories think the drug test results were forged or altered in some way because of all the delays in the report’s release.
There are those who also think Elisa Lam never existed and this case was fabricated to distract from an intentional, government-sponsored TB outbreak and testing. This would ensure anyone who tries to research the test LAM-ELISA will only be met with a flood of information on Elisa Lam. Her Death Was A Sacrifice
The Cecil Hotel seems to have a black cloud hanging over it, some otherworldly curse seeping through its halls. If ever a place could have “bad juju”’ the Cecil is it. Hotels are high-traffic areas, so there are sure to be some less-than-savory characters and associated tragedies from time to time, but the Cecil goes way beyond the norm. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Cecil was known as a place to commit suicide – and murder.
Whatever darkness lurks in the Cecil Hotel has attracted two serial killers. Richard Ramirez (AKA the Nightstalker) was living at the hotel in 1985. Jack Unterweger was staying at the Cecil in 1991 when he murdered three prostitutes, strangling them with their own bras. Are deeply troubled people drawn to the hotel’s energy? Or does its energy drive people to do things they normally wouldn’t?
The Hotel’s Ghosts Were Tormenting Her
Long before Elisa Lam walked the halls of the Cecil, there were tragic deaths and talk of ghosts associated with the property. Since its grand opening in the 1920s, there have been numerous suicides, murders, and bizarre accidental deaths. Like in 1962, when Pauline Otton jumped from the ninth floor and landed on a pedestrian walking on the street below, killing them both instantly. Some even claim the Cecil Hotel was the last place the Black Dahlia was seen alive.
Many different ghost stories about Lam’s death have made the rounds. Some say Lam was being tormented by an evil spirit in the elevator, while others say she was actually possessed by a spirit that forced her to commit suicide. She Traveled To Another Dimension
The Korean Elevator Game requires a building at least 10 stories high and one player to enter an elevator alone and press a series of buttons in order to open a gateway to a parallel dimension. This new dimension looks much the same except it’s dark, electronic devices don’t work, and once the elevator doors reopen, you’ll see nothing outside the windows but a red cross. If anything seems “off” you are not supposed to leave the elevator.
There is also a warning about a woman from “the Otherworld” who may step onto the elevator and ask you where you’re going. You are not supposed to speak to or even look at her. It certainly seems as though Lam was speaking to someone, and some have speculated that she was playing this game before her death and it went horribly wrong.
She Had A Bizarre Connection To Aleister Crowley
The Aleister Crowley connection is more of a series of strange coincidences – unless you believe in interdimensional travel, as Crowley did. The notorious occultist claimed to have met a being, described as similar to alien “greys,” named Lam. Yes, Lam. Furthermore, it’s believed that after this interaction, Crowley used a magic ritual to open a portal of entry between Lam’s dimension and ours. Which is of course of interest to those who think that’s exactly what Lam was doing on the elevator.
Crowley also wrote a poem while staying at the Cecil Hotel (in London) called “Jephtha.” In it, Jephtha sacrifices his daughter, Seila. Not only does Seilia sound close to Cecil and is the same pronunciation as the character in Dark Water, but it is also an anagram of…. ELISA!
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