Reader Information

Friday, February 12, 2021

The Cecil Hotel: Evil, Death & Elisa Lam

The Cecil Hotel, located in downtown Los Angeles, California, has a long history of death and violence. Could there be an inherent 'evil' lurking within the building?

I recently watched the new Netflix 4-part documentary 'Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel.'

The film's main concern was the vanishing and death investigation of Elisa Lam, a young woman who suddenly disappeared. Her body was eventually found floating in the water tank on the roof of the hotel. After a lengthy investigation and forensics probe, it was determined that Lam had accidentally died during a psychotic episode brought on by her failure to take her medications for bipolar depression. It was a very tragic incident.

But, beyond this particular death, the Cecil Hotel has had a strange history of sudden and violent deaths since it opened in December 1924. The location is in downtown Los Angeles' 'Skid Row,' a designated area for the homeless, disenfranchised and mentally ill. Every vice imaginable can be found in the part of the city. Ever since the Great Depression, the city has used 'Skid Row' as a depository for undesirables.

The hotel has been an integral part of this misery and suffering. But there seems to be an underlying 'evil' associated with the building. People I have talked to describe it as a living malevolency embedded within the hotel.

Below is a list of the well-known deaths and violence associated with the Cecil Hotel:

On the evening of January 22, 1927, Percy Ormond Cook, 52, shot himself in the head while inside his hotel room after failing to reconcile with his wife and child. Although the Times reported that he was rushed to the Receiving Hospital with a slim chance of survival, death records reveal that he died that same evening.

On November 19, 1931, Manhattan Beach resident W. K. Norton, 46, was found dead in his room after ingesting poison capsules. A week prior, he had checked into the Cecil under the name "James Willys" from Chicago.

In September 1932, a maid found Benjamin Dodich, 25, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He did not leave a suicide note.

In late July 1934, former Army Medical Corps Sgt. Louis D. Borden, 53, was found dead in his room at the Cecil. He had slashed his throat with a razor. Borden left several notes, one of which cited poor health as the reason for his suicide.

In January 1938, United States Marine Corps fireman Roy Thompson, 35, jumped from Cecil's top floor and was found on the skylight of a neighboring building. He had been staying at the Cecil for several weeks.

In May 1939, Navy officer Erwin C. Neblett, 39, was found dead in his room after ingesting poison.

In January 1940, teacher Dorothy Seger, 45, ingested poison while staying at the Cecil and was reported by the Los Angeles Times to be "near death." No further reports were published about her condition.

In September 1944, Dorothy Jean Purcell, 19, was sharing a room at the Cecil with her boyfriend, shoe salesman Ben Levine, 38. Purcell, who had apparently been unaware that she was pregnant, went into labor. She later testified that she did not want to disrupt the sleeping Levine, so she went to the bathroom where she gave birth to a baby boy. Thinking the baby was dead, she threw him out of the window, and he landed on the roof of an adjacent building. Purcell was charged with murder. Three psychiatrists (then known as "alienists") testified that she was "mentally confused" at the time of the incident. In January 1945, she was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

In November 1947, Robert Smith, 35, died after jumping from one of Cecil's seventh-floor windows.

On October 22, 1954, San Francisco stationery firm employee Helen Gurnee, 55, jumped from the window of her seventh-floor room and landed on top of Cecil's marquee. One week prior, she had registered at the hotel under the name "Margaret Brown."

On February 11, 1962, Julia Frances Moore, 50, jumped from the window of her eighth-floor room and landed in a second-story interior light well. She did not leave a suicide note. Among her possessions were a bus ticket from St. Louis, 59 cents in change, and an Illinois bank book showing a balance of $1,800, or around $15,500 adjusted for inflation.

On October 12, 1962, Pauline Otton, 27, jumped from the window of her ninth-floor room after an argument with her estranged husband Dewey. He had left the room prior to Otton's suicide. Otton landed on a pedestrian, George Gianinni, 65, killing them both instantly. As there were no witnesses, police initially thought Otton and Gianinni committed suicide together. However, it was soon determined that Gianinni had his hands in his pockets at the time of his death, and he was still wearing shoes. Had he jumped, his shoes would have likely fallen off during the fall or upon impact, and his hands would not have been in his pockets.

On June 4, 1964, a hotel worker discovered "Pigeon Goldie" Osgood, a retired telephone operator, dead in her room. She had been raped, stabbed, and beaten, and her room was ransacked. Osgood was well known around the area and had earned her nickname because she fed birds in nearby Pershing Square. Near her body was the Los Angeles Dodgers cap she always wore and a paper sack full of birdseed. Hours after her murder, Jacques B. Ehlinger, 29, was seen walking through Pershing Square in bloodstained clothing. He was arrested and charged with Osgood's murder but was later cleared of the crime. The murder remains unsolved.

On December 20, 1975, a still-unidentified woman, approximately 23 years old, jumped from her twelfth-floor window onto the Cecil's second-floor roof. She had registered at the hotel on December 16 under the name "Alison Lowell" and was staying in room 327.\

In 1985, serial killer Richard Ramirez begins staying at the hotel.

In 1991 serial killer Jack Unterweger becomes a resident.

On September 1, 1992, the body of an African American man was found in the alley behind the Cecil. Police said he had either fallen, jumped, or been pushed from the hotel's 15th floor. The 20-to-30-year-old male has never been identified.

On February 19, 2013, the naked body of Elisa Lam, a 21-year-old Canadian student, was found inside one of the water supply tanks on the hotel roof. She had gone missing almost three weeks earlier, on January 31, 2013. Her decomposing body was discovered by a maintenance worker in one of the rooftop water tanks, after guests had complained about low water pressure and water that "tasted funny." Authorities later ruled Lam's death as an accidental drowning. Video surveillance footage taken from inside an elevator shortly before her disappearance showed her acting strangely, pressing multiple elevator buttons, hiding in the corner of the elevator, and waving her arms wildly, causing widespread speculation about the cause of her death. After the elevator video was released, many theories arose about Lam's death. She was reported to have had bipolar disorder, for which she was prescribed various medications, which could have contributed to her death as well as her strange behavior in the elevator. However, rumors persist that she died as a result of playing "the elevator game," a paranormal urban legend that claims to take the player to another dimension.

On June 13, 2015, the body of a 28-year-old man was found outside the hotel. Some conjectured he may have committed suicide by jumping from the hotel, although a spokesperson for the county coroner informed the Los Angeles Times that the cause of death had not been determined.

Besides the listed deaths, I have been told that the number of additional deaths (natural, suicide or homicide) could reach well over 2500 incidents.

As the result of these continued tragedies, could there by an unknown evil lurking within the hotel? What are your thoughts? Lon


Please Consider a Donation to 'Phantoms & Monsters'

Your financial support of Phantoms & Monsters and our other pursuits is much appreciated. This all depends on you, the readers and followers.

Please use the PayPal donation buttons on the blog site and newsletter. You can also go directly to Phantoms & Monsters donation. Thanks again for your loyalty and continued support. Lon

**********

**********

TODAY'S TOP LINKS

Alien Abductions: From the 1970s to the 1990s: Part-2

Tour Group Visiting Dyatlov Pass Sparks Panic After Going Missing for Hours

Aliens Must Be Out There

Bizarre Encounters with Alien Avian Humanoids

Nuclear Scientists Join the Search for Amelia Earhart

Terrifying Alien Mantis Humanoid Encounters! Four Insectoid Reports from IL, NY, NJ & PA | BXP A159

Five Terrifying Alien Encounter and Abduction Reports from NC, SC, MN and OH | BXP A161

Four Frightening Men In Black Encounters! MIB Lost Time, Abduction and Experimentation | BXP A160

PODCAST - Lon Strickler's ARCANE RADIO - Wild Trees | Paranormal Phenomena and Experiences | Feb.5.2021

PODCAST - Amy Bue with Marc Myrsell | Ape Canyon attack cabin site | Wild Bue Yonder - Feb.2.2021

PODCAST - Jack Cary's PARANORMAL PLANET | DOGMAN - Shocking Reality & Explanations | Feb.11.2021

PODCAST - Carter Buschardt BFRO Investigator Author | From Behind Tall Trees | Feb.9.2021

PODCAST - Elizabeth Howell's Cosmic Traffic Report | Noted Astrologer Diane Trimbath | Sun Feb.07.21

David Eckhart's Photographs of the Aliens and Entities Emanating In His Home | BXP

David Eckhart's First Recorded Alien Encounter | Original Video

David Eckhart's Encounter Alien Portal Sound Recording; Alarming, strange and frightening! | BXP

Chicago / Lake Michigan Winged Humanoid / Flying Entity Sightings & Encounters

UPDATED: Chicago / Lake Michigan Winged Humanoid Regional Interactive Map

Phantoms & Monsters Fortean Research Website

Donate to 'Phantoms & Monsters' at PayPal

Paranormal / Cryptid / UFO Books You Should Read

'Beyond Explanation' is a collection of first-person encounters, directly from the pages of Phantoms & Monsters. Please SUBSCRIBE and recommend to your friends and enthusiasts. Your support will help Phantoms & Monsters and Arcane Radio to continue providing you up-to-date cryptid/paranormal reports and information.

The Facebook page can be found at Beyond Explanation on Facebook - Thanks for your help. I hope you enjoy! Your comments are welcomed. Lon


Explore becoming a member
BXP Member Premieres lets members watch and experience a new video two weeks early and together with the author and creator. It's like a movie or TV show premiere just for our members and with the opportunity to ask questions and learn more in a live chat. Click here for our presentation video that describes the advantages of membership.


Would your paranormal / cryptid group like to become an affiliate of Phantoms & Monsters Fortean Research? By becoming an affiliate investigative group, we can forward reports to you from your area in which none of our team can physically investigate. If interested, send me an email at lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com. The member / affiliate list can be found at Phantoms & Monsters Fortean Research Team / Affiliate Groups. Thanks. Lon




Join Research of Anomalous Phenomena on Reddit

Follow Cryptid Encounters & Sightings on Feedly

Follow the Phantoms & Monsters Archives on Flipboard

Follow the Phantoms & Monsters Archive on Mix














----------

This blog and newsletter are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Please Note:

On this day, November 27, 2014, in accord with 15 U.S. Code Chapter 107 - Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, I declare that my rights are attached to all personal data, voice recordings, photos, art, text, titles, etc. published or reproduced at any media source. For commercial and/or recreational use of the foregoing my written consent is required at all times. By this release, I tell all unauthorized person and/or parties that it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, broadcast, or to take any other action against me on the basis of its contents. The actions mentioned above apply equally to employees, students, agents and/or other staff under the direction of the offending parties. The contents of my profile include private information. The violation of my privacy is punished by the law (UCC 1 1-308 - 308 1 -103 and the Rome Statute)

Any use of witness information, which includes any attempt to contact a witness or persons involved in an event, is strictly prohibited without the written consent of Phantoms & Monsters / Phantoms & Monsters Fortean Research.

Any use of our private intellectual research & investigation property on YouTube or other streaming services will result in an infringement complaint. This action could lead to a possible takedown and strike to your account.

----------

Disclaimer:

The publication of any and all content e.g., articles, reports, editorials, commentary, opinions, as well as graphics and or images on this web-site does not constitute sanction or acquiescence of said content unless specified; it is solely for informational purposes.

Fair Use Notice:

This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which may not be specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific, social justice, and religious issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

You understand that all Content posted on, transmitted through, or linked from the Phantoms and Monsters Site, are the sole responsibility of the person from whom such Content originated. You are responsible for all Content that you post, email or otherwise make available via the Phantoms and Monsters Site. Phantoms and Monsters does not control, and is not responsible for Content made available through the Phantoms and Monsters Site. By using the Phantoms and Monsters Site, you acknowledge that you may be exposed to Content from other users that is offensive, indecent, inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise objectionable.

© 2005-2020 Phantoms & Monsters - All Rights Reserved