The Cecil Hotel elevator ritual is connected to Elisa Lam's death?

checkthis · automated fact-check · How we check · Reel by @patti.negri

The claims connecting Elisa Lam's tragic death to the 'Korean elevator ritual' rely on internet urban legends rather than evidence. Official investigators ruled her 2013 death an accidental drowning, with her bipolar disorder listed as a significant contributing factor. It is true that serial killer Richard Ramirez stayed at the Cecil Hotel in 1985, but there is no link between his past stay and Lam's death.

3 claims checked
6 sources
Checked 24 Oct 2026
Main source: LA hotel where body was found in water tank has chilling history

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The Reel we checked

@patti.negri

Would YOU press the buttons? Patti Negri, Elton Castee, and the OVERNIGHT crew went into the infamous Cecil Hotel elevators—the same ones from Elisa Lam’s last…

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What's concerning

Unanswered

Authorities and the coroner have not stated how they believe Elisa Lam got into the hotel water tank.

“Authorities including police and the coroner have not stated how they believe Lam got into the tank.” Snopes, 2016-08-14

What we checked

Richard Ramirez stayed at the Cecil Hotel.“Ramirez, who is on California's death row after being convicted of 13 counts of murder, lived at the 700-room hotel for several weeks”LA hotel where body was found in water tank has chilling history

Elisa Lam disappeared in 2013.“On 31 January 2013, Canadian student Elisa Lam was last seen alive by an employee of the Hotel Cecil in Los Angeles. Lam disappeared on that day”Snopes

The Cecil Hotel's fifth floor was where Elisa Lam's room was located.No reliable source found for this yet.

How it plays you

It wants you to think: “Elisa Lam disappeared because she performed a supernatural elevator ritual to another dimension.”

The elevator game is an online urban legend. Coronial and police investigations attributed Lam's death to accidental drowning, with bipolar disorder listed as a contributing factor, rather than any supernatural cause.

Supernatural framing: “Rules of the Terrifying Cecil Hotel Elevator Ritual”. It presents a viral internet game as a genuine paranormal ritual to build dramatic suspense and link a real-world tragedy to urban folklore.

Short version

⚠️ MISLEADING 👉 The claims connecting Elisa Lam's tragic death to the 'Korean elevator ritual' rely on internet urban legends rather than evidence. 👉 Official investigators ruled her 2013 death an accidental drowning, with her bipolar disorder listed as a significant contributing factor. 🔎 Full check: send this Reel to @checkthis.chat