The Death of Elisa Lam and the Elevator Game

Elisa Lam

Elisa Lam's Tumblr page was titled 'Nouvelle - Nouvea' and the tagline uses a quote from Chuck Palahnuik; "You're always haunted by the idea you're wasting you're life." This is especially haunting because while making sure she does not waste her life, Elisa had her life taken from her.

Was Elisa a victim of tragic circumstance? An attack? Drugs? Or a Manic episode? Or was it of more of a supernatural circumstance? This is where the infamous elevator video and elevator game become characters in this story.

In 2013, the body of Elisa Lam also known by her Cantonese name, Lam Ho Yi, was recovered from a water tank atop the Cecil Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles on February 19. She was 21 years old.

She was the daughter of immigrant parents from Hong Kong who moved to Vancouver. She had Bipolar Disorder and took the necessary medication for it. She wanted to go on a road trip, which she called her 'West Coast Tour' on her Tumblr.

Her Tumblr had quotes from Parks and Rec, quotes from books, everything a 21 year old Tumblr would have.

She called her parents every day on her trip, but on the day she was supposed to check out she didn't call, we know she had plans to go home because a passerby she saw that day said she was talking about the souvenirs she wanted to take home to her family. The passerby noted that she was outgoing and lively.

Her parents, anxious at the fact that she didn't call, flew from Vancouver that very day.

She had been reported missing at the beginning of the month, and was found due to the hotel guests complaining about the water supply. These complaints were of low water pressure, had an unusual taste and was coloured black...

On the morning of February 19th, Lam was found in one of four 1,000-gallon tanks providing water to guest rooms, a kitchen, and a coffee shop. The tank was drained and cut open since its maintenance hatch was too small to accommodate equipment needed to remove Lam's body.

Rescuers try to recover Elisa's body from the Water Tank

On February 21st, the LAPD ruled the death as accidental drowning, the full report released in June stated that Lam was found naked, her clothing found floating around her in the water covered in sand-like particulate. Her watch and room key were also found with her.

Her body was decomposed and bloated, mostly greenish with some skin separation present. There was so evidence of physical or sexual trauma or suicide.The toxicology report showed that the only drugs in her system were nonprescription such as ibuprofen, and maybe a tiny percentage of alcohol. there was no evidence of recreational drugs.

The full autopsy was not released until four months after, with alterations made to it; cause of death was checked as accidental, and then crossed out to undetermined, only for it to be changed back to accidental.

Whilst the LAPD had a ruling of the cause of death, they did not explain how she got into the water tank when all doors accessing thee roof could only be accessed by staff who had the keys. And even if she got onto the roof, the water tank could not have been accessed by just her alone, she would have needed a ladder, and would have been covered by a very heavy roof. Police dogs who had searched the roof before Lam's body was found could not find a trace of her.

Theories about her death developed further as the infamous Elevator Video was released.

The Elevator Video was released by the LAPD, before Elisa was found, as hoping for someone with evidence of her whereabouts to come forward.

It was the last time she had been seen by any sort of camera, Elisa walks in in a red hoodie, presses several buttons, walks to the back, the doors don't close, so she leans out looks left and right erratically, then quickly steps back in, backing up to the wall and then into the corner near the control panel.

The door remains open.

She then steps sideways again, and for a few seconds she is mostly invisible behind the wall she has her back to just outside. The door remains open. Her right arm can be seen going up to her head, and then she turns to re-enter the cab, putting both hands on the side of the door. She then goes to the control panel, presses many more buttons, some more than once, and then returns to the wall she had come into the elevator from, putting both hands over her ears again briefly as she walks back to the section of wall she had been standing against before.

The door remains open.

She turns to her right and begins rubbing her forearms together, then waves her hands out to her sides with palms flat and fingers outstretched, while bowing forward slightly and rocking gently. This can all be seen through the door, which remains open. After she backs to the wall again and walks away to the left, it finally closes.

Due to the Cecil Hotel's macabre history, being known as the last place The infamous Black Dahlia was seen, known as a place where serial killers have resided, some of the more eccentric theories of Elisa's disappearance verge on supernatural and possession.

The Cecil Hotel

Furthermore, due to the video being sensationalized and Elisa evidently immersed in Popular Culture, some theorists have hypothesized that she was playing The Elevator Game.

What is the Elevator game?

The Elevator Game originated in Korea and supposedly helps the player travel to another dimension/world.

You are required to be in a building 10 stories high, and containing, obviously, an elevator.

Here are the rules, courtesy of Thought Catalogue.

1. Enter the elevator from the first floor by yourself. If anyone else gets on then understand that you cannot continue from the first floor and wait until the elevator can be taken alone.

2. Press the button for the fourth floor.

3. Do not get out when the elevator reaches the fourth floor. Stay in the elevator and press the button for the second floor.

4. Do not get out when you reach the second floor. Stay on the elevator and then press the button for the sixth floor.

5. Do not get out when you reach the sixth floor, remain in the elevator and press the button for the second floor.

6. Do not get out when you reach the second floor. Stay on the elevator and press the button for the tenth floor. Some have reported hearing a voice calling to them on the second floor during this middle section of the ritual. Do not reply. Do not answer in any way.

7. Do not get out once you have reached the tenth floor. Stay on and and press the button for the fifth floor.

8. It has been reported by some that a woman may enter the elevator on floor five. She may appear as a stranger who wishes to engage with you. More importantly, she  may appear as someone you know. It is important that you do not acknowledge her in word or glance. If the elevator you are in is reflective then stare at the floor or the buttons only.

9. Now press the button to head to the first floor. If instead of going towards the first floor you instead begin to ascend to the tenth then you have performed the ritual correctly. However, and this is very important, if you instead do descend to the first floor then you have done something wrong. Get off on the first floor immediately. If the woman is on the elevator then remember not to acknowledge her.

10. If you reach the tenth floor, you can either stay on the elevator or exit the elevator. Some have reported that upon attempting to leave the elevator, the woman will try one last time to engage with you. She may raise her voice and ask where you are going or “what’s wrong”. She may shriek as you cross the door’s threshold. Keep your wits about you and do not engage or look at her even out of fear.

11. There is only one way to know whether you have traveled to the Other world for sure. You will know because the only person there will be you.

Should you not wish to stay in the other world, there are also rules for returning:

1. Press the button for the first floor and keep pressing it until the elevator begins to move.

2. Once you have reached the first floor, exit immediately. Do not exit on any other floors but the first. Do not acknowledge the woman if she is on the elevator. If anyone else gets on then do not speak to them either. Remain silent.

If you do exit the elevator at the tenth floor:

1. The elevator you used to get there is the only one you can use to return. Remember it.

2. When you get back on the elevator, press the buttons in the same order you did in steps 2 through 8 which you used to travel. This should take you to the fifth floor.

3. Once you have reached the fifth floor, press the button for the first floor. Do not be surprised when you instead begin to ascend again to the tenth floor. Do not panic. You can press the button of any floor lower than ten to stop ascending but you have to do it before you again reach the tenth floor. Some have described feeling called not to cancel the elevator’s ascension. You must.

4. Once you have canceled the ascension and reached the first floor make sure that everything seems normal to you. If anything seems remotely strange. If you hear anything you should not be hearing. If you smell something you don’t recognize then do not exit the elevator. You have to repeat step two until everything on the first floor seems normal. This is very important.

5. Once you are satisfied that everything on the first floor is as it should be in your world then you can exit the elevator.

Additional Information on Traveling:

• The Otherworld has been described by travelers as dark but otherwise exactly like your ‘home’ world. Again, you will know that it is not your world because no one else will be there. You may see a distant red cross through a window. This may be a cross or it may be something else.

• Electronics often do not work but some have posted videos claimed to have been taken while traveling to the Otherworld

• You may become disoriented if you exit on the tenth floor. You may feel dizzy. Be vigilant, pay attention to how you are feeling, and keep your wits about you.

• If you pass out you may wake up at home but, understand, it may not be your “home” world. It also may not be the Otherworld you intended to travel to by invoking this ritual. Examine everything around you to make sure it’s as it should be.

• If you get on the wrong elevator on your return trip then do not enter the return sequence. It will not work.

Regarding the woman:

Do NOT speak to her.

Do NOT look at her.

Do NOT check to see if she is still there.

She is.

Due to the behavior exhibited in the video, this has been a prominent theory, many people have claimed to play this game and believe they are in the other dimension, however this is more akin to a Bloody Mary myth.

A more logical theory is that Elisa was going through a manic episode due to her bipolar Disorder. The erratic hand gestures do fit the description of someone going through and episode, furthermore, superhuman strength is also a symptom. Which could explain how Elisa got into the Water Tank in the first place. Additionally, the toxicology report did reveal that she had stopped taking her medication a while before hand.

Another question to ask is why was she naked? There was no evidence of sexual assault? Well Elisa could have taken her clothes of before hand to help herself float?

In September, Elisa's parents filed a wrongful death suit, claiming the hotel failed to "inspect and seek out hazards in the hotel that presented an unreasonable risk of danger to (Lam) and other hotel guests." The hotel argued it could not have reasonably foreseen that Lam might have entered the water tanks, and that since it remained unknown how Lam got to the water tank no liability could be assigned for failing to prevent that. The case was dismissed in 2015.

To this day, no one knows how she died or how her body got there. Her tragic demise is shrouded in mystery, but still within public consciousness. However, no matter how sensationalized her death has been, no matter how popular that Elevator Video/Game is, we must always remember to think about the family and friend who are suffering from Elisa's death and always keep them in our thoughts.