What comes to mind when you hear the words “hotel stay”? Room service? Fluffy pillows? Maybe a minibar with overpriced snacks? Or how about a bloodstained history soaked in death, serial killers, and mysteries that defy explanation? Welcome to the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. If you’re looking for an overnight stay where the sheets aren’t the only thing stained, then this is the place for you.
So check in if you dare, because the ‘Bizarre But True!’ Story of The Cecil Hotel will give you nightmares…
The Cecil Hotel opened its doors at 640 South Main Street in Los Angeles in 1924, originally intended as a luxurious retreat for travellers and businessmen. But fate had other plans.
The Great Depression hit soon after, turning the once-elegant hotel into a haven for drifters, criminals, and the down-and-out. By the 1940s and ‘50s, the Cecil wasn’t just another cheap hotel—it had become infamous for death.
In 1931, W.K. Norton, a guest at the Cecil, died in his room after taking poison capsules. His was one of the earliest recorded deaths in the hotel—but it wouldn’t be the last. Over the next several decades, guests taking their own lives became so common that in 2008, two longtime residents told reporters that the hotel had a nickname: “The Suicide.” Years later, the internet caught on, and social media spread the chilling title far and wide.
The Cecil Hotel didn’t just attract suicides—it became a magnet for crime. It was a notorious meeting spot for drug deals, prostitutes, and adulterous affairs. But one of the most chilling crimes ever committed within its walls happened way back in 1964—the unsolved murder of “Pigeon Goldie” Osgood.
Goldie was a beloved long-term resident, known for feeding the pigeons in Pershing Square. But one day, she was found raped, stabbed, beaten, and strangled in her ransacked room. A man named Jacques B. Ehlinger was found wandering near the hotel, covered in blood, but was ultimately cleared as a suspect. Goldie’s murder remains unsolved to this day.
And that was far from the end of the Cecil’s nightmare guests.
By the 1980s, the Cecil Hotel actually became home to not just one—but two—serial killers.
First up, Richard Ramirez, also known as “The Night Stalker.” From 1984 to 1985, Ramirez terrorized Los Angeles, breaking into homes, murdering and assaulting his victims. And where was he staying? At the Cecil, of course.
According to reports, Ramirez lived in a top-floor room for $14 a night during part of his brutal killing spree. A hotel clerk later claimed that Ramirez would ditch his bloody clothes in the hotel dumpster before casually strolling through the lobby—sometimes wearing nothing but his underwear.
But why did no-one say anything? Because by that time, the Cecil was so filled with crime and chaos that a half-naked man covered in blood barely stood out.
After murdering at least 14 people, Ramirez was finally caught in 1985—not by police, but by a mob of angry Los Angeles residents who chased him down and beat him until the cops arrived. He was sentenced to death in 1989, but ultimately died of cancer in 2013.
But the Cecil wasn’t done attracting killers.
In 1991, another serial killer, Jack Unterweger, checked into the hotel. Unterweger was an Austrian criminal who had already been convicted of murder but somehow convinced the world he was reformed. Spoiler alert: he wasn’t.
While staying at the Cecil, he strangled at least three sex workers with their own bra straps before being arrested and sent back to Austria—where he took his own life in prison.
At this point, the Cecil wasn’t just a hotel—it was a breeding ground for horror.
But if there’s one story that cemented the Cecil’s reputation as one of the creepiest places on Earth, it’s the bizarre case of Elisa Lam. In 2013, 21-year-old Elisa, a Canadian student, checked into the Cecil. She was traveling solo and had been documenting her journey online—but soon after arriving, things got bizarre.
Security footage from the hotel captured her behaving erratically in the elevator—pressing all the buttons, stepping in and out and gesturing as if talking to someone… but no one else was there.
Then, she vanished. For 19 days, no one knew where she was—until hotel guests started complaining that the water pressure was low and the water itself tasted strange. Maintenance workers checked the rooftop water tanks—and found Elisa’s naked body floating inside.
The biggest mystery? How did she even get there? The rooftop was both locked and alarmed. The tanks were heavy, with no easy way to climb inside. And yet, somehow, Elisa ended up in there.
For weeks, the theories ran wild. Some believed she was murdered. Others thought something paranormal was at play. But eventually, authorities came to a more tragic conclusion. Elisa had bipolar disorder and a history of not taking her medication. Police now believe that she experienced a psychotic episode, climbed into the tank on her own, and became trapped when the water level dropped.
The coroner ruled her death as an accidental drowning—but that hasn’t stopped the conspiracies, ghost stories, and lingering unease surrounding her final days.
In 2007, the Cecil tried to rebrand as “Stay on Main,” hoping to escape its gruesome reputation. But a fresh coat of paint wasn’t enough to erase nearly a century of horror.
Even today, the building remains a hotspot for eerie experiences, mysterious deaths, and police activity. Staff members claim the building has seen at least 80 deaths, and who knows how many more secrets remain buried within its walls unknown? As of 2024 the site’s been used as a homeless shelter with the building being put up for sale to a brave buyer with hopes that it might once more be used as a hotel…
So here’s the question, would you be brave enough to check into The Cecil…?
