You Can Check Out Any Time You Like

Presented by: Christina
Category: Curse

Content warning: Murder, Suicide, Sexual Assault, Mental Illness

The Cecil Hotel, built in 1924, is an infamous in hotel in Los Angeles. Originally built for people visiting the city, it has been associated with a number of murders, suicides and tragedies. Christina details a few of the noteworthy ones.

The most famous of the murderers to stay at the Cecil Hotel is beyond a doubt Richard Ramirez, also known as the Night Stalker (the second serial killer to be given the name). Raised in a family that glorified violence-his cousin, a Vietnam vet, showed him pictures of atrocities committed in the war- by the time he was 25, Ramirez had committed at least 13 attacks, resulting in at least 15 murders. He was caught when a finger print was traced to him. He was convicted in 1989 and died in 2013 of lymphoma.

The second was Jack Unterweger, an Austrian writer. In 1976, he was convicted of the murder of sex work in his own country and was sentenced to life in prison. He was released after a successful campaign on his behalf. He went to L.A. in 1991 to write about crime and committed three more murders. He was convicted in 1996, sentenced to life in prison again and committed suicide that night.

The final tragedy told by Christina is the case of Elisa Lam. Lam was a student vising the city and staying at the hotel in 2013. She had been diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder and had begun a blog to help detail her struggle. In 2012, she suffered a set back when she was forced to drop several college classes. She worried that this would prevent her from continuing her education.

She disappeared at the end of January 2013. Her parents reported her missing and, after failing to find her, the police released a video of her in an elevator that went viral. Her body was found on February 19 in a water tank when maintenance was looking into complaints about water pressure and taste. The video has overshadowed much of the tragedy.

Takeaway: Don't stay at the Cecil. Don't take trips alone. Stop reading Creepypastas.

Trivia

 * Patreon skit: Hunting Bigfoot.