The Cecil Hotel could be one of the spookiest places to stay on the planet. Currently known as the Stay on Main Hotel, it is located in Downtown Los Angeles and is only a few blocks away from Skid Row. The Cecil started off as a comfortable stop for traveling business men as well as families on vacation. This all changed when drug use, sex, and violence became trending themes throughout the hotels future history. There are many scary events on the Cecils list, but I am going to focus on two specific stories.
The first story is about a young girl by the name of Elisa Lam. She is a student from Canada and happened to be staying at the Cecil Hotel. A few days into her stay she vanishes without a trace. Nineteen days later her body was found in the water supply tank on the roof of the hotel, due to guests complaints about tainted water. The location of her body was not only suspicious but the last seen footage of Elisa Lam is even more disturbing. The video footage shows her franticly running into the elevator, looking around suspiciously as if someone was chasing her. She also exits the elevator for a brief moment and seems to be talking to someone outside the elevator doors. All of the attention focused on this tragedy created many conspiracy theories about the truth behind Elisa Lams death. Many people believe she might have taken a psychedelic drug while passing through Skid Row or that the hotel might be covering something up. It is still unknown how Elisa ended up in the water tank and I believe this story is one of the scariest stories because of this.
The Hotel has also been a home to the notorious Richard Ramirez. He is a serial killer who viciously murdered thirteen people in the span of one year. When staying at the Cecil, other guests reported him returning to the hotel covered in blood with no clothes on because he had just previously threw his clothes away. Richard Ramirez’s presence in the hotel just adds on to the overall eerie aspect of the Cecil Hotel.