The Death of Elisa Lam

There are three main conspiracies that surface when talking about Elisa Lam. The first, and least likely scenario, is that she was possessed by a supernatural entity. The second is that she had accidentally drowned in the water tank she was found in. This is ultimately what her death was ruled as; however, that does not necessarily paint the whole picture (Welch, 1). And finally, the more popular conspiracy is that she was murdered. 

The first conspiracy theory is that Elisa was possessed by a ghost. While this theory is the least likely of the three, it is still important to discuss given the strange nature of her death (Dutta, 1). The elevator video plays a very important role in fueling the fire of this conspiracy (1). Some people believe Elisa was playing The Elevator Game, an urban legend originating from Korea where players can enter an alternate dimension (1). The Elevator Game must be played alone in a hotel with at least ten floors (1). In this game, players must press the different floor buttons in a specific sequence (1). Once a player gets to the fifth floor, a mysterious woman should enter the elevator, who they are not allowed to look at or acknowledge (1). Then, the player pushes the button for the first floor (1). If the elevator actually goes to the first floor, the player exits the elevator (1). If the elevator goes up to the tenth floor, the player has effectively opened an alternate dimension (1). If Elisa was playing this game, it could potentially explain her odd behavior.  

But is there ghost activity in the Cecil Hotel? The “Ghost Adventures” crew wanted to find out. Zak Bagans of the “Ghost Adventures” crew decided to investigate The Elevator Game in the Cecil Hotel himself, in the very elevator Elisa was last seen alive in (Clute, 1). When Bagans played the game, it resulted in “Unexplained technical malfunctions and cold breezes, which Bagans believes might have been a spirit joining him on the elevator” (1). The crew investigated the Cecil Hotel for two nights (1). During their investigation, they went to the room Elisa stayed in, where they captured “An electronic voice phenomenon (EVP) of Elisa’s full name...photo evidence of apparitions, and responses on a paranormal device called the Paranormal Puck that says she was killed by a ‘being’...” (1).  

The next theory is that her death was an accidental drowning. This is what the coroner’s office, Elisa’s death was an accidental drowning, with bipolar disorder listed as a significant condition (Welch, 1). Part of this theory is fueled by the belief that Elisa was suffering from a psychotic episode (1). The toxicology report did show traces of her medication for bipolar disorder, however not enough that would suggest she was taking her medications properly (Ishak, 1). The toxicology report indicated three things: she had taken at least one antidepressant the day of her death, she had taken a second antidepressant and mood stabilizer recently, but not the day of her death, and finally, she had not taken her anti-psychotic medication recently (1). If done without caution, “the use of antidepressants to treat bipolar disorder can risk inducing manic side effects” (1). Elisa was staying in a hostel-style room when she was moved for her “odd behavior”, so there is evidence of a possible psychotic episode (1). 

When it comes to the actual logistics of Elisa getting in the water tank and drowning completely unnoticed, the situation seems unlikely. In court, the hotel’s lawyer even argued that the hotel “had no reason to think that someone would be able to get into one of their water tanks” (Ishak, 1). Santiago Lopez, the maintenance worker who was sent to check the water tanks after guests had complained of weird-tasting water and low water pressure, described in detail just how difficult it was to reach the water tank. First, Lopez had to take the elevator all the way up to the fifteenth floor (1). Next, he had to walk up a staircase to actually reach the roof (1). Then, before he could even open the door to the rooftop, he had to disable the alarm that would go off if that door was opened, something only hotel staff could do (1). Next, he had to climb onto another platform in order to get to where the water tanks were located (1). Finally, he had to climb up the ladder on the water tank in order to get to the top (1). It was only then did he notice something was off (1). Lopez said, “I noticed the hatch to the main water tank was open and looked inside and saw an Asian woman lying face-up in the water approximately twelve inches from the top of the tank.” (1). Lopez also suggested in his testimony that it would have been very difficult for Elisa to make it to the top of the water tank on her own and without anyone noticing (1). 

The final conspiracy is that Elisa was murdered, or someone at least aided in her death. This seems to be the most accepted conspiracy theory, as it explains some of the inconsistencies in the circumstances surrounding her death. Some people see her odd behavior in the elevator that was captured on video as evidence of her hiding from someone (Miller, 1). In the video, she is seen pushing herself into a corner of the elevator, making herself small and possibly hiding from someone (“Surveillance video of Elisa Lam shows bizarre behavior”, 1). She is also seen sticking her head out of the elevator, looking in both directions, then jumping back in the elevator (1). Then there is the fact it would have been incredibly difficult for Elisa to get up onto the roof completely unnoticed (Ishak, 1). As mentioned earlier, an alarm should sound if the rooftop door is opened, which can be heard on the top two floors of the hotel and at the front desk (1). The only people that can disable this alarm would be hotel staff (1). We know Elisa interacted with hotel staff because she was moved to a private room from her hostel-style room after there were complaints of her odd behavior (1). Is it possible the hotel staff that moved her into her private room contributed to her death?  

Additionally, Elisa was found naked in the water tank with her clothes floating next to her (Miller, 1). If she got in the water tank herself, or accidentally fell in the water tank and drowned, it seems strange she would have taken her clothes off and they would have ended up in the tank with her (1). The coroner’s office concluded there was no evidence of foul play, but they were “Unable to do a full examination because they could not examine the blood from her decomposing body” (Ishak, 1). Other people like to point out the strange similarities between Elisa’s murder and the film “Dark Water” which debuted in 2005 (Miller, 1). In the movie, “People at the apartment complex where the main characters live complain that the drinking water is dark and tastes off (1). That leads to the discovery of a girl’s body in a water tank on the roof.” (1). The plot is eerily similar to Elisa’s death, fueling the possibility that Elisa’s death was a copycat murder (1).