Elisa Lam: How 'creepy' elevator video at Cecil Hotel with mystery shoe fueled Internet theories on her death
The case of Elisa Lam, the 21-year-old Canadian student who went missing on January 31, 2013, and eventually was found dead in a rooftop water tank at the infamous Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles, created a mystery-solving spree in the online community, especially after elevator footage of Lam was released by authorities.
The initial version of the video, which was four-minutes-long, was posted by the Los Angeles Police Department on their website on February 13, 2013. The entire uninterrupted and unedited video was played on the very first episode of Netflix's latest docu-series, 'Crime Scene: The Vanishing At The Cecil Hotel'.
While several Internet sleuths have spent hours discussing the mysterious and almost "creepy" footage which was recorded by a surveillance camera inside an elevator in the infamous hotel at the time, the streaming giant's docu-series has once again brought the spotlight back to the clip where Lam appears to behave in a very odd manner.
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So let's break it down, right down to its bizarre elements.
The elevator doesn't move
The footage starts with the elevator door opening and Lam entering. She does not appear to be under any influence as she walks straight in, almost in a casual manner, swinging one of her hands up before proceeding to press down on a column of buttons and go over to the corner to stand. The elevator door remains open and it does not move.
This led to a number of theories by people looking to decode Lam's weird behavior. Many people became suspicious that a hotel employee kept the elevator open or that an unseen person outside pressed a button to hold it.
There was also the popular theory, owing to Cecil Hotell's haunted past, that some evil spirits were behind Lam's behavior and the elevators being kept open. However, later on, some extra-curious sleuths actually visited the Cecil Hotel to retrace Lam's steps during which they realized that Lam likely pressed on the door hold button that kept the elevator open for a few minutes.
Lam's odd behavior
Although she looked relaxed when she went and stood in the corner after pressing the buttons, her behavior changes when the elevator refuses to close or move. She is seen taking a step forward, poking her head out of the elevator, and whipping her head both ways as if to check if someone was outside before coiling right back in.
Then she retreats back and tucks herself away in a corner again. After a few moments, she moves toward the elevator door and stands leaning against its frame, looking to the right.
Next, she looked to the right and dragged her left leg out of the elevator in a slow-motion followed by a little hop. Strangely she started moving her feet in almost a square dance motion. For a bit, she steps right out of the surveillance view, as she stepped further to the left, just outside the elevator. Lam comes back in the elevator after a few seconds and presses all the middle-row buttons one after the other.
She goes back out and stands at the spot she was standing where one could only see her right arm. She starts moving her hands as if she's wading through water or conjuring a spell or even acting something out to someone who remained out of view. Her body twisted and turned till what appeared to be Lam counting with her fingers.
Video ends with empty elevator, mystery shoe
At about the 2:30 mark in the video, Lam makes her final exit and is not seen after that. But the video released by the police extends up to four minutes. For the rest of the video, the viewers are left looking at an empty elevator that closes and opens and closes again three times before the video ends at 3:59. The fact that the empty elevator footage was also released as part of the police footage made it even spookier in a sense, according to Internet sleuths.
In the very last frame, at about 2:28, that Lam appears to make the final exit from the footage, many have pointed out what looked like a black shoe from another person which pulls out of frame just a fraction of a second after Lam leaves.
A number of viewers have speculated whether it was the heel of Lam's own foot, further fueling theories that there might have been someone with whom Lam was interacting who was just not seen on camera. However, others have suggested that it was Lam's own foot just twisted at a very odd angle.
'Accidental Drowning'
Despite there being people out there still believing that Lam was murdered by either a person or some supernatural force, the official finding of the case lists her cause of death as "accidental drowning". Lam's toxicology report revealed that she was likely undertaking medication for her bipolar disorder, which possibly caused a psychotic episode that was partially noticed inside the elevator and ultimately might have led to her death.
Watch 'Crime Scene: The Vanishing At The Cecil Hotel' on Netflix.