SYSK Gets Weird Playlist: The Creepy Legacy of the Hotel Cecil | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

[music]. The Hotel Cecil is probably best known. as the site for the very sad death of. Alisa Lamb in 2013. Or maybe you know it. as a setting in American Horror [music]. Story. It turns out that Alisa was just. one in an unusually long line of deaths. that [music] took place in the Cecil, which seems to have had way more than. its fair share of tragedy since it was. built in [music] 1924. I'll leave it to. you to get to the bottom of what's up. with the hotel Cecil.

>> Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a. production of iHeart Radio. [music]. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm. Josh Clark and there's Charles W. Chuck. Bryant over there and Jerry's hanging. around somewhere lurking like a unclean. spirit in a haunted hotel. And this is stuff you should know. >> Uh yeah. Can Can we do a couple of quick.

announcements? >> Uh yeah, sure. >> Without singing that announcement song. >> Did we have an announcement song ever? >> Well, not us, but at like summer camp. >> Okay. >> You never did that? >> No. No. >> Well, I'm not going to sing it now then. >> I kind of want to hear it now. >> No, no, no, no, no. >> Was it like announcements, announcements? It's announcements time. it sort of almost. Yeah, that that's. close enough. Uh, trigger warning for.

this one. First announcement. >> because there's some grizzly stuff in. here. Uh, I guess that's all we need to say. >> Okay. >> And then also, we've been remiss in that. we haven't mentioned the fact that. there's a stuff you should know board. game out. >> Yeah, it's it's not grizzly at all. >> No, it's it's very familyfriendly. In. fact, >> it's one of the highest honors that's. ever been bestowed upon us and stuff. if. you should know Chuck because out of the. blue, out of nowhere about a year and a.

half ago maybe. >> Yeah. >> Trivial Pursuit, the makers of Trivial. Pursuit got in touch with us and said, "We want to do a stuff you should know. Trivial Pursuit game." And they did. It. wasn't a practical joke. >> The fine people at Hasbro, who I got to. say, I mean, we've worked with a lot of. outside companies for various projects. And. >> boy, Hasbro is about as tight and. buttoned up and awesome as any company. we've ever worked with, >> right? But also like super friendly, super fun, super nice,

>> and not in like that creepy everybody's. trying to be nice way. Like they're all. just like a genuinely pleasant group to. work with, but yes, they are super. buttoned up as well. Very rare. >> Yeah, they make games. >> They all seem like they make games for a. living, which would mean that you have a. pretty cool job. And developing the game. with them was fun. And the questions are. based on real stuff you should know. episodes. >> and it is not just Trivial Pursuit. It. is uh co-branded. So it is not do not. expect to get the Trivial Pursuit game.

with the little pieces of pie. >> No. No. They just want to be clear. They. said we want to make up a brand new game. for And they did. They they made up a. game and this is the stuff you should. know Trivial Pursuit game. >> That's right. And you can get it. wherever you get games. Uh, I recommend. your local uh, little indie toy gaming. store if they have it and but. [clears throat] otherwise we would love. the support. >> You got a weirdo in your town who. dresses up in wizard clothes and goes to. work, go buy your game there. [laughter]. >> Yeah, great Christmas gift, by the way. >> Yeah, for sure. Also, uh, why why just.

stop there? It's great for dads, grads, moms, proms, everything. [laughter]. >> I think it's like 20 bucks, right? >> Yeah, it's like really really um. reasonably priced if you ask me. $20. 20 bucks. You got two 20s in your. wallet. You could buy our book and the. game at the same time. >> So, we did the we did the TV show. We. did uh a book. >> Mhm. >> We do a podcast. >> Don't forget our YouTube series.

>> Oh, sure. Who can? >> And now, now, [laughter] Chuck. >> And now the game. >> It's amazing. >> And now the Hotel Cecil. >> Yes. On to the show. Um, so I'm glad you did that little trigger. warning because uh there is some grizzly. stuff in here, but there's also, I. think, some like. fact settings, some fact straightening. that, um, you know, we should do from. the outset because uh, one of the things. that, um, people who get into the Lisa.

Lamb uh, story, which we'll talk about. in a little bit, um, quickly find that there are all manner. center of internet urban legends and. myths and conspiracy theories. surrounding it and none of those seem to. be true. Um, and which. >> it's pretty annoying actually. >> Yeah, it is very annoying. It's just so. internety too. You know what I mean? >> Yeah. I mean this this goes on a lot. these days, but it seems like this one. maybe more so than even others.

>> Mhm. >> Because the bizarre nature of one part. of this story and uh I don't know. I I. found myself slightly annoyed. >> I I am too in the exact same way that. I'm annoyed by people who believe that. the couple from the Conjuring were like, you know, legit in real life, >> right? [laughter]. >> You know what I mean? >> Sure. >> But at the same time, it goes even. further than that. I think I ran across. a couple of articles that I really think. struck home what's genuinely annoying. and even disrespectful about that is.

that like Alisa Lamb died because she. had serious mental illness. >> that had been diagnosed and she wasn't. managing properly with the medications. that she was on and that happens a lot. and she died because of it and so to say. that she was in you know possessed by. evil spirits um or that there were you. know ghosts at the Cecil. even though she was murdered by an. unknown suspect. It's really it really. um it really disrespects the reality of.

the situation which is you know sad. enough as it is but at the same time. Chuck there's one more thing I have to. caveat all this with. It's. understandable. the impulse to to bring in you know. restless spirits and you know you know. the just conspiracy theories. It it's. understandable in this particular. situation because of the setting. >> Yeah. Uh and I guess you know this the. first part of this show will be about. the setting which is the. >> Hotel Cecil in downtown Los Angeles.

which is not open right now. Um it may. be open in the future. I think they were. doing a. >> uh this thing was open in the 1920s. during the height of the depression. >> And it's a very large hotel, 19 floors, 700 rooms. And in the 1920s, it was sort. of like a um a big deal for downtown Los. Angeles. It was near a major rail. station and it was kind of just what LA. needed and it was kind of fancymancy for.

the time. Um, and over the years, you. know, we'll talk a little bit about the. downfall, but uh, at the time of Alisa. Lamb's stay, they had carved out three. floors and built a separate lobby. entrance to try and, uh, in an effort to. rebrand this hotel as something called. Stay on Main. >> Uh, and that they had three kind of. floors that were a little bit redone. cosmetically. uh a little bit of a nicer lobby that. was, you know, sort of away from um you.

know, some of the situations that we're. going to detail here in a second. >> Uh but they did all share a common. elevator and um Alisa Lamb was staying. in the stay on Maine, a stay on Main. section, >> stayed on Maine. >> Mhm. Uh, but that's just to point out the. fact that the hotel was going to. eventually supposedly undergo a massive. renovation and that it was all sort of. put on hold because of CO and I think. now it's just being sat on with some of. the uh long-term tenants that are.

protected uh to stay there. >> Yeah, I think there's like 30, but. there's like you said 700 rooms. >> Sure. But you said it um that the the. Cecil Hotel um which is very much down. at the heels now um started life in a. much different way where it was meant to. be like a a pretty nice hotel designed. for middle class travelers to LA. And. that situation next to the rail station. was a big draw for it. It was a it was.

definitely a feather in its cap. Um and. I saw it's in the Bozart style. Um, it's. not incredibly pretty from the outside, but the inside lobby is still pretty. neat looking. >> Sure. >> Lots of Terraszo tile and uh columns and. there's fake um Roman statuary and a big. clock and like the at over the check-in. desk. It's really pretty in a really. like, you know, 1920s original um. original style still, although it's just. kind of got this drab air that's kind of.

fallen over it over the years. >> Yeah. And that is in large part because. um like you said there are a lot of. unhowned people there today a lot back. then. Uh that area called Skid Row of. downtown Los Angeles is kind of right. there. Uh I used to drive through that. area sometimes when I lived in LA when. uh we would go downtown to eat sushi or. if we you know back then when I lived. there downtown was not as much of a. destination unless you were going to. Staple Center or something. but it's.

made a real resurgence since I've left. and kind of trying to build downtown. back up. Um, but Skid Row is still uh an. issue and they're, you know, like you. said, the that there are people there. that work with unhomed folks that are. really trying their best to take care of. them and the fact that that hotel is. right there just sort of looming large. is a bit of a thumb in the eye. >> Yeah. And I get the impression that. Skid, the area that's now Skid Row in. Los Angeles had had, at least since the.

1880s, kind of had a an unusual. reputation. It wasn't always, you know, for people down on their luck or. anything like that, but um, you know, it. was a little more low rent than other. parts of Los Angeles. Like there were. there was just a a mishmash of all sorts. of different people. It seemed like. really alive. Um, and the CISA was kind. of built at the outskirts of that. between what would become Skid Row, and. then one of the nicest parts of LA at. the time, Bunker Hill. Um, and.

everything was hunky dory for the Cecil. when it first opened in either 1924 or. 1927, depending on who you ask. I could. not confirm one way or the other. >> because both dates have kind of taken. off so much. Um, but when the stock. market crashed, that area that was just. kind of colorful and a little bit low. rent, that it quickly became uh Skid Row. as we understand it, uh, beginning. around the Great Depression. Uh, and not. only um did the the proximity to Skidro.

kind of like. lower the um Cecil Star rating, um when. the the tenants started the the hotel. guests started to dry up, they had to. lower their rates and start catering to. um people who people of less means. And. so the hotel just kind of stopped taking. care of itself little by little starting. around the Great Depression and. continuing on through World War II. Yeah. And you know, it kind of became a. a last resort kind of destination for.

people with addiction problems. Um. people in the in the sexworking industry. and you know it got that reputation and. pretty soon got a reputation for all. kinds of bad things happening there. Um. there have been no less than 15 or 16 um. what's classified I guess as an. unnatural death. >> at the Cecil. Uh many people take uh. took their own lives there. Um quite a. few I mean if you read down the laundry. list it's like quite a few people in.

ingested poison. Quite a few people. jumped or maybe were pushed out windows. Uh there have been some murders by gun. There have been murders by. strangulation. There have been sexual. assaults. Uh this one sad case of a. woman who gave birth to uh a baby and. was um suffering from some sort of. mental illness. evidently thought her. baby was uh was born not alive. >> and went to throw the baby out the. window and it turns out the baby was.

alive, then then died. Uh she was found. um not guilty. I think temporary. insanity. >> uh was the plea there and just weird. kind of tragic awful things happening. over the years time and time again at. the Hotel Cecil. >> Yeah. Like another um frequently. referred to incident was where a woman. named Pauline Autton um she jumped from. I think like the 9th or 10th floor to. take her own life and um landed on a a.

guy who was a passer by who happened to. just be walking unluckily beneath the. Cecil at that moment on the sidewalk and. was struck by uh Pauline. Uh, and they. were both killed. And um, like that that. doesn't usually happen very often. Like. that's a pretty remarkable thing. And I. know that that like the most I could. find was I think 18 incidents, but it. seems like those are just ones that have. been documented. There seems to be quite.

a bit more. Um there was a a Netflix um. series, I think it's four-part series on. this recently, and they interviewed um a. woman who had spent 10 years managing. the Cecil. Um and she said that uh her. name is Amy Price. She said that under. her 10-year tenure, at least 80 people. died that she knows of. And you can kind. of imagine like like you know you could. find newspaper writeups from like the. 20s and 30s and 40s when somebody jumps.

out a window and definitely when. somebody jumps out a window and lands on. a hless pedestrian like that's. definitely going to be documented and. make news. But if somebody on Skid Row. overdoses and dies in this hotel, you. know, is that going to be documented? So, it's possible that there are a lot. more people who have died at the Cecil. um under from unnatural causes um over. the years than than just those 17 or 18. >> Did you watch all of that documentary? >> No, I haven't seen it actually yet. Oh,

>> okay. >> Have you seen the whole thing? >> Yeah. Uh, you know, I feel terrible. because um the director was is the great. Joe Burlinger, who I actually had on. Movie Crush. >> um in in one of my favorite episodes. where we kind of just talked about. documentary filmmaking. He's a legend. He did the Paradise Lost series. He did. that documentary on Metallica when they. were all in therapy. >> Oh yeah. >> Uh yeah. I mean, he's just he's just. sort of the a legend in the genre. >> Did the the Ted Bundy tapes recently?

It's like his. >> Yeah, he did that and then he directed. the movie version with uh what's his. face? Zack. >> Efron. >> Yeah. >> With who? >> I said Ryan Gosling. >> Oh, close. Another super handsome hunk. >> Uh and that was a good movie. But this. wasn't so great. I didn't love it. It. felt kind of overong and a little. salacious and like. >> Yeah, that's the impression I had from. reading about it. >> Yeah. So, I was disappointed, but Joe is. a great filmmaker and a good guy, so I I. feel kind of bad. >> I think that's a fair caveat. A A great. filmmaker and a good guy can still make.

a hunk of poop. >> No, it wasn't a hunk of poop. It was all. right. >> Okay. >> Uh but maybe let's take a break and I'll. uh email Joe and tell him I'm sorry. ahead of time. >> All right. >> And we'll be right back. [music]. >> [music].

>> So, uh, okay. We're we're So, we're The. Cecil Hotel starts to get a pretty. pretty. not a great reputation even around town. I I read a article on kct.org, or which. I guess is a PBS station in SoCal. And. they uh said that local residents. started to refer to the um the Cecil as. the suicide. That was the name of the. hotel for people around there. Um, and.

it just it just kind of like it just. kept going like every time, you know, maybe a couple of years would pass. without some high-profile death in the. hotel and then it would happen again and. and it would just reaffirm everybody's. ideas that there was that place just. wasn't quite right. There was something. wrong with it. Almost like it was a. magnet for that kind of tragedy, you. know? >> Yeah. Yeah, I mean I think most major. cities have had at least one of these. hotels. >> that just sort of is inexpensive, maybe.

in the wrong part of town and has a. reputation sometimes for lurid. activities and checking in and not. checking out. Uh and this was LA's and. LA for sure had more than one. >> Sure. Um, it did not help their. reputation in the 1980s, uh, when Richard Ramirez, aka the. Nightstalker and one of the more. sensational serial killers in American. history, uh, he stayed there for a while. and, um, lived there and apparently.

brought body parts back to the Ceil. Hotel. I said Cecilele like I'm British, >> uh, Cecil Hotel from some of his victims. to ingest there. Uh, and that's. certainly like super creepy. >> Wait, did you ingest? I hadn't come. across that. Did he eat uh that victim's. eyeballs? >> I think so. >> Wow. We man. >> and other He wasn't like uh I don't. think he was DMER level, but he was. known to eat some body parts. He has a.

there's a great documentary on his his. case, too. It's super disturbing. >> Yeah, that's on Netflix as well, I. think. Um, if I'm not mistaken. Um, one. thing I hadn't realized before that I. ran across when I was researching some. of his stuff was how he was caught. >> It's just absolutely triumphant. >> It was a a mob of people in a. neighborhood. >> in East LA. He he was spotted. He saw. himself on the front page of the. newspaper and just instinctively started. running, tried to carjack a woman,

>> uh, hit her, uh, was seen hitting her. and an older man um, basically ran over. and helped the helped the woman, pulled. Richard Ramirez out of his car, and, um, the woman whose car it was husband came. over and started beating him. Uh, and he. tried to get away and just an. increasingly large mob chased him and. would beat him and he'd get away some. more and they chased him down and catch. him again and they finally pinned him. down and waited for the cops to come. That's how he was. >> It's so great.

>> Uh, caveat that. I'm not down with mob. justice, >> but a group of people finding a serial. killer on the street and like subduing. him, I'm way okay with that. >> No, I totally am. in this particular. instance, like I'm all fine with that. that kind of justice for sure. >> Yeah. And a bad a badge of honor for. East LA cuz the the entire city of Los. Angeles was I mean it was a scary. situation there. >> I can imagine that's where Chich Marin. was born according to that one song of.

his. [laughter]. >> That's right. >> Yep. So, uh the Nightstalker, he was not. the only serial killer that checked in. there. He actually inspired just a few. years after he was convicted in I think. 1989. Uh I think like in 92, maybe 93, there. was another serial killer named Jack. Unweagger who uh was Austrian. um who had already been convicted, I. think when he was like 19 or early 20s. of killing a woman by strangling her.

with her own bra. >> Um and went to prison. He was very very. smart, very charming. He used this to. basically get early parole. He convinced. the public that he was actually reformed. and apparently was held up as like a. great example of how, you know, the the. the. prison system could rehabilitate someone. and it was just a complete false. fabrication. He was basically posed as a. true crime journalist like he reinvented.

himself as that. Went to LA and other. parts. He went to Europe, traveled. through Europe a little bit too, but. also ended up in LA um to do research on. his true crime novels. Went along on. ride alongs with the LAPD. um and ended up using that to scout um. victims. He killed three sex workers and. the whole time he was staying at the. Cecil Hotel and they think probably as. an homage to um to Richard Ramirez or at.

least a connection to him, you know. >> Yeah. So that I mean at this point like. the reputation for the hotel it it's not. the kind of thing that uh is going to. appear online you know 15 years ago. >> when young people like Alisa Lamb are. searching for an inexpensive place to. stay. >> uh and sadly that's exactly what. happened was a Canadian traveler uh she. was 20 21 years old was on her way kind. of up the west coast traveling by. herself um her parents were a little.

unnerved. by her traveling by herself. So, she. was, you know, asked to check in every. day, which she was doing. Uh, and at the. time it was a, you know, they had kind. of dorm style rooms, kind of youth. hostel style rooms where you had bunk. beds and a shared bathroom. And so, you. could stay there. It was a traveler's. hotel. And if you, uh, you know, I hate. to say it, but if you if you didn't know. much about LA, you may end up at the. Hotel Cecil because you could stay there. for like 75 bucks a night or something.

like that. >> Yeah. From what I could tell, Stay on. Maine did a really good job of making. their, you know, using their website to. their advantage and making it seem like. this is a really hip happening spot. >> And I mean, they in some ways they were. they were kind of like just a little. ahead of their time because apparently. that area around Skid Row in downtown LA. is like the hippest spot to live in now. again. Um but at the time it was still. really really um. skid rowy basically.

>> Um and. >> it could be it could be j you know it. could be dangerous. >> Yeah. And I think it still is but I. think it's just becoming more and more. gentrified and it's becoming I guess. less dangerous in that sense. Um, but at. the time when Alisa Lamb showed up in. 2013, it was, you know, it was it was a. dangerous place to be. But, um, this. particular spot was just full of, you. know, especially European kids on. basically budget holidays. Yeah. Uh, staying in LA, basically in hostile. And.

I know originally she was put into a. room with a couple other girls that I. think were traveling together, but she. was traveling alone, so it was very. hostile. Um, and not hostile with an E, >> right? >> Well, yeah, there's an E, but it's in a. different place than you'd expect. >> Um, youth hostily. It was very youth. hostily, like she was put in a room with. other people at first. >> Yeah. LA didn't have a lot of that. I. remember there was a youth hostel in. Venice. that uh, for some reason I always wanted.

to stay there when I lived in LA. I was. like, I'm going to go down stay in that. hostel one night cuz the beach was so. >> the the beach was really far when you. lived on the east side and you kind of. never went over there much unless. someone came to town and wanted to go to. the beach. >> Oh, that makes sense. Sure. >> So, and you know, I was broke back then, so it it could have been a like a little. station. >> Did you ever do it? >> Nah. >> No. >> This one of those things you think about. late night, then you [clears throat]. wake up the next day and you're like, nah, [snorts]. >> you blew all your money on Taco Bell.

instead. Oh man, I miss Taco Bell. >> Do you? I don't. >> Uh, I mean, I didn't eat it that much, but like I haven't had it in years. >> I I've had too much I think was my. problem. >> Oh, okay. Was that the deal? >> Mhm. By the way, side note, speaking of. weird uh late night foods. >> Um, we had a guy on our front door. camera the other day come in the middle. of the night and leave a package and we. were like, "What is this?" We went out. the next day and it was a bag full of.

crystals. >> Wow. Creepy. >> A delivery like a Door Dash or. something. >> Oh, crystals. I thought you meant like. amethyst or. >> No, no, no. I mean tiny square sliders. >> Yeah, he had the wrong address. [laughter]. >> I think so. >> Either that or your daughter is uh has. mastered the telephone by now. >> It was really weird. And of course, the. first thing I did was feel terrible that. someone's uh late night munchies didn't. get satisfied. >> Did you eat them the next morning just. as. >> Oh god, no. No, no, no,

>> no. >> You don't like crystals or was it. because it was sitting there overnight? >> Both. I never was into crystal for some. reason. >> Man, I like crystals. >> It was the thing. I just was I don't. know why. I think I was just a Waffle. House guy. >> Uh I I don't I'm fine with Waffle House, too. The big problem with Crystals. though, Chuck, I'll tell you, is their. fries are. >> probably the worst fries of any fast. food location. They're. >> the most bland. Somehow, if you just bit.

into a raw potato, it would be less. bland and tasteless than if you ate a. Crystal's fry. >> Yeah. >> I don't know how they do it. >> And if you're from the other places in. the country, you might uh White Castle. is sort of an analog to Crystal. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Anyway, this is not an episode of. the Doughboys. This is stuff you should know. And back. to Alisa Lamb. Um, she was supposed to. be there for about I think 4 days and. check out on February 1st.

>> and did not get in touch with her. parents like she had been doing each. day. >> Yeah. >> Um, she had been seen shopping for books. at a nearby bookstore and then bought. some books. And this is one of the. things in the documentary, like, you. know, they didn't really have any. footage of her with any other people. inside the hotel before her. disappearance. >> Well, she was also reported to be. constantly by herself, too, by people. who saw her. >> Yeah. I mean, she was traveling alone, so that that makes sense. But, um, she.

she did get handed off. There were two. gentlemen that handed off a kind of a. largest uh largeish box to her. >> Oh, yeah. >> On camera in front of the hotel. And of. course the internet sleuths are like who. are these guys? What was in the box? And. apparently in the box were these books. that she got because she had spoken with. the book re um seller about like the. size of them. And boy, I don't even know. if I can carry these and I think had. them delivered to the hotel or whatever. So kind of nothing to see here. And. another example of how annoying this.

case can be with people online. speculating like wrong stuff. >> Yeah. Yeah. Can be a little annoying for. sure. But yes, so she was she was alone. traveling alone. I think she had started. out in San Diego or at least her last. stop had been San Diego. Her next stop. was going to be Santa Cruz. Um and yeah, her parents have been like, "Okay, you. need to call us every single day." Um. and she had been pretty faithfully uh. until that February 1st came and went. with no call. And I believe they pretty.

much immediately contacted the hotel and. the LAPD and said, "Hey, you know, our. daughter hasn't checked in. Can you see. what's going on?" I don't know if they. did it on February 1st or not, but in. pretty short order, the LAPD determined. that she she was just gone. She wasn't. she was nowhere to be found and that. there was some suspiciousness going on. for sure. >> Yeah. I mean, they did a thorough. inspection. They went to her room. Uh. they had found that the hotel had.

gathered all her stuff and bagged it and. was holding it in storage, which was um. regular protocol when someone um doesn't. check out and just leaves stuff. >> Nothing shady going on there. They. checked around the hotel uh in the. alleyways and sidewalks. They checked up. on the roof. They didn't find anything. And uh things got really strange and I. guess we should take another uh ad break. here, but things got really strange when. the hotel sent them footage from inside. the elevator of the Cecil Hotel. And.

we'll get to that right after this. [music]. >> [music]. >> All right, Chuck. So, Alisa Lamb is now. known to be missing. She left her stuff. behind at the Cecil Hotel and she didn't. check out. She didn't call her parents. as she usually did. Um, and she's.

officially a missing person. Um within a. couple of days, I think maybe February. 6th, the police held a press conference. and explained what was going on to the. public. Um and uh basically asked for. everybody's help and and if anyone had. any info, you know, where did she go? Uh. where is she? How's she doing? Is she. okay? Um and I guess I don't I didn't. see anything about any get any crazy. leads or anything like that. um it.

doesn't seem to have really kind of. captured the public's interest at first. and I saw there was this guy named Josh. Dean who's wrote written uh several uh. articles on on the Lisa Lamb. disappearance and um I believe one of. the one of the ones that he wrote kind. of pinpoints why there wasn't a huge. public interest in the first like week. or even two of her case. Um, it was. because Christopher Dorner had gone on.

his rampage against the LAPD. Basically. declared war on the LAPD and was killed. in I think the mountains of San. Bernardino in a standoff like right when. Alisa Lamb went missing. So, not only. were was the public's attention on this, especially in LA, the LAPD's attention. was definitely on that as well. Um, so. Alisa Lamb was kind of like this faint. little chirp in this huge mastrom at the. time. Faint chirping in Maelstrom.

>> It's the best I could come up with on. shortness. >> It's amazing. Are you kidding me? >> Oh, thanks. >> You just made that up? >> Yeah. Yeah, I did. You like it? >> Yeah. But I just have a feeling that. next time I'm in your house, it's going. to be like that's going to be carved. into your desk or something, >> right? [laughter]. It's on a t-shirt and. >> Right. >> that you put you make Momo wear that. t-shirt every day. >> That's right. >> Uh yeah. And you know, the other big. reason was until this footage actually. came out of the elevator uh car. Then, you know, that's when um that's when the.

public's attention really caught hold. >> because everything. >> Yeah. I mean, there's no way around it. It's it's a very sort of unsettling. And. I remember when this happened uh before. any of the facts of the case were kind. of out. >> I remember looking at this video. >> and it it is very unsettling and it does. appear to be very creepy and that uh a. young woman gets on an elevator um very. kind of casually presses all the center. buttons on all the floors. I think they. determined she was on the 14th floor.

>> and sort of pressed all the floors uh on. the way down. Uh elevator doesn't do. anything. The doors don't shut. She. moves to the back corner and sort of. standing there. She goes and she's she. looks outside of the elevator both ways. a couple of times in the hallway and. then kind of retreats back quickly. Um. at one point she steps out into the. hallway and appears to be gesturing. towards somebody or she's at least. making hand gestures uh to the right.

down the hallway. >> Yeah. And they're unusual hand gestures. They're not like the normal hand. gestures you might make. They're not at. all subtle or casual or almost even like. um like you know the you might not even. realize you're using your hands when. you're talking sometimes like these are. more justiculations than just mere. gestures. You know what I mean? >> Yeah. And you know there's there's no. doubt and eventually she kind of leaves. around to the left and exits to the left. and the door stays open for a while.

before it shuts. Um, but there there's. no getting around the fact that it. having known nothing and knowing that. this person disappeared, uh, this young. woman and then you see this, it seems. very suspicious, >> um, and creepy, admittedly creepy. >> I think it looks I don't even think it. looks that creepy. It looks to me like. that she is trying to get away from. someone and is afraid someone has. followed her or is gesturing at a person. who she feels threatened by. It's what. it looks like to me. I know other people. online are talk about other worldly.

spirits and she's con like you said. earlier, she's conjuring uh spirits with. her hands. Like I I just I that never. occurred to me. It just looked like she. might be in some kind of peril and was. trying to get away from someone, >> right? Um but that's creepy in and of. itself, you know. >> Yeah. I just mean creepy in like a. supernatural like what's going on here. way. No, I think the thing that really. when it really turns creepy to me is. when she turns around and hides in the. corner. >> of the elevator like she's she's hiding.

And then the second part that's that's. genuinely creepy is when she like leans. out and like looks both ways and then. kind of jumps back into the elevator. It's it's just. >> I mean it's really hard not to kind of. put yourself in her shoes and she's. clearly frightened. >> at that. And to see somebody frightened. like that, uh, it's that's creepy. >> And you're and you're waiting on someone. to enter the elevator, but that never. happens. Um, >> and with the internet sleuththing, you.

you couldn't really make out the time. code very well. And so all the people. online are like, well, why can't you. make out the time code and the. timestamps? Like, what would degrade. that and not the rest of it? And and. then they they think they right. And. then they think they decoded it. And. there's almost a full minute missing and. the hotel Cecil edited out a portion. clearly and before they sent it to the. cops and and they interviewed the woman. and that you were talking about the. manager and she was like, "No, of course. we didn't edit anything out." Like we.

were horrified by this disappearance and. just sent him everything we had. >> Right. Plus, I'm sure also that most of. the employees that stay on Maine know. exactly how to edit video out before. handing things over to the cops anyway. >> Well, it is LA. >> That's true. [laughter] That is a good. point actually. >> But I don't buy it. I think it was it is. what it was, which was. uh a person in an elevator who had some. uh was having some mental issues. And. you know, we'll get to that in a second.

Um and I I think you know, it's sort of. like uh the easiest explanation. of the video at least to me seems to be. the the most accurate. >> All right. U that that's what I buy. That's how I buy it, too. Um that was so. that video was released on February 13th. and now all of a sudden the public is. taking notice. Um she becomes an. internet meme like almost overnight um. with people like watching and analyzing. that video like you were saying and yet. they still can't find her. No one has.

any idea where she is. It's been two. weeks now since she went missing. This. video is out there. The whole the entire. internet is on the case now. And um it. wasn't until a couple days, I think two. days after uh the video came out, Chuck, that um one of the guys, one of the uh. custodians of the Cecil Hotel of Stay on. Maine, I should say, um was asked to go. check on the water supply on the roof uh. because the Cecil Hotel used uh.

gravity-fed water. They had four. 1,00galon tanks on the top of the roof. Uh, and when you open the tap, the water. would come pouring down from those tanks. into your room and out the faucet. And. some of the tenants, uh, I don't I I. don't know if it was just the hotel or. some long-term tenants, but they were. complaining that the water pressure had. suddenly gotten really low and that, um, the the water that was coming out had a. strange odor and taste and weird kind of.

color to it. And so they dispatched the. uh custodian to the roof. Um and he went. and checked and I think as he was. approaching the the main water tank, I. think tank number one, he noticed that. the hatch was open and uh in very short. order made the the grizzly discovery of. Alisa Lamb's body. >> Yeah. He was a he was kind of like the. super he was a maintenance guy. His name. is Santiago Lopez. >> and he's in the documentary, too. Um, I.

don't think he saw the hatch cuz the. hatch is on top of the tank, but he went. to go and he said it was a routine thing. if there was any kind of water issue. >> was to climb the ladder to the tanks and. go look and see what was going on. because there's probably a clog or. something. >> And uh he saw her body um naked about a. foot below the water just sort of. suspended there. >> And you know when they interview this. guy in the documentary it's really sad. you know, he was sort of at the center.

of a lot of this uh with interviews and. he uh he was speaking through a um I. guess not through a translator but. through subtitles, but he was clearly, you know, still very upset about this. and it it it scarred him to see this. woman floating in the tank and he knew. immediately who it was and called down. to the the hotel manager who we've been. talking about and said, you know, she's. she's up here in the tank. And uh you. know the cops came, they they found her. clothes which were determined to be the. same clothes she was wearing in the.

elevator video um kind of at the bottom. of the tank. They had sunk. >> Mhm. >> And you know immediately the new mystery. is not what's going on in this video. Although you know that played a part cuz. they were still trying to figure that. out as far as foul play goes. But was. how she made it in here and and why she. made it in there. >> Yeah. because she she she it was like. the hatch is not easy to get in or out. of. They had to like cut her out of the. they had to cut a hole in the bottom of.

the tank so they could access it, right? They couldn't just pull her back out of. that hatch. So, that's kind of weird in. and of itself. She's also nude. Um that. also kind of added to the mystery of the. whole thing. Um and then also the um you. know the coroner uh when when he made. his uh his toxicology report available. he basically said it was it he wasn't. able to make any conclusive. um find any conclusive results because. there wasn't enough blood to take a.

sample from. you know, she had just kind. of permeated the water and that her. blood had uh and there it wasn't you. just couldn't like take a water sample. and be like, "Oh, yeah, there's no, you. know, there's no drugs in here or. anything like that." So, all of that. combined really kind of um just just. took that mystery um you know, that. people had been primed to start thinking. about with that video and then just blew. it through the the roof, you I mean, the. the the water being, you know, going to.

other people's taps in the hotel and, you know, Lisa Lamb basically being a. part of that water really kind of. solidified her legendary status or the. legendary status of her mystery, I. think, in people's imagination. Anybody. who comes across that case can't help. but like let the mind wander in that. respect. >> Oh, for sure. I mean the idea of. drinking water and bathing in water with. [clears throat] a decomposing body. I. mean the body had was in a pretty pretty. rough state of decomposition at that. point. Uh they did do obviously in the.

autopsy they didn't find any signs of. foul play. There were no uh obviously no. uh like obvious wounds. There were no. internal uh wounds. There was no. strangulation. Um they they pretty much said this. doesn't look like foul play at all. Um. the one one of the mysteries was how she. got up there. >> Yeah. >> Because you um if you want to go just. through the regular staircase to the. rooftop and this is not a rooftop that. you you know it doesn't have like a. rooftop hangout area or whatever.

Although. >> people you know there was plenty of. graffiti and beer bottles and drug. needles and. >> so people would make their way up there. But. >> uh if you go through the regular door, it's one of the um alarm doors which. would trigger downstairs and all. throughout the lobby. um that never came. on and you have to have a key to disable. it, but there is a fire escape uh entry. with a ladder basically for the last. like for the last story. It's a little. precarious. >> Yeah. >> But she she could have just simply gone.

out the window to the fire escape and. climbed up the ladder and then up the. ladder to the tanks. It's not, >> you know, it it's a little um it would. be a little bit of a scary trip up that. ladder, I think. Yeah, >> but uh considering what happened, she. she clearly was uh was not in a good. place mentally. So I think that's. completely believable. >> That journalist Josh Dean um went in I. think 2015 to see the CISO himself. He. had uh gotten obsessed with the the um.

case. So he went and and kind of. investigated it in person and um he. quickly found that open window was still. open uh and the the fire escape was. easily accessible and um in the uh I. think one of his articles is called. American Horror Story which is a. reference to um what I think the hotel. season of American Horror Story was. based on or inspired by Elisa Lamb's. disappearance. Um, but there's a picture. that he took of that ladder leading from.

the fire escape on the fifth or 14th. floor up to the roof. >> and all you see is up. Like you just see. the ladder and then above it is sky, but. after reading about it, your imagination. just thinks of like the 15 stories. behind you like as you're, you know, as. you're looking up this ladder. It's one. of the most unsettling pictures I've. ever seen if you read the text, you. know, that surround it. Um, but he said. by his judgment, an average person could.

easily make it up that ladder, especially if you don't look down. >> Yeah. >> He said if you're carrying a body or. another person, you could not do it. He. said it just would be too difficult. And, you know, >> Yeah. It's one of those straight up. vertical ladders on the side of the. building. >> Yeah. But if you were in a manic state, as a lot of people believe uh Alisa Lamb. was, um you could probably make it up. that ladder pretty quickly and you. wouldn't even necessarily consider. looking down and all of a sudden you'd. be on the roof. And after you were on. the roof, it would be a fairly easy.

proposition to get into one of those. tanks, especially I think she weighed. about 115 pounds and was about 5' 4 in. So it was possible for her to get into. one of those tanks through that hatch. But um either she was too scared to come. out conceivably or she couldn't get out. when she wanted to get out and tired of. treading water because the water would. have been about 8 ft deep and drowned. after a while.

>> Yeah. I mean they did uh I think the. police dogs did pick up her scent near. that window. >> So that seems to be what happened. And. uh you know, this is one of those cases. where the more I read, like all I could. feel was despair about this poor woman. >> having uh what looked to be some sort of. medication related manic episode, maybe scared, maybe thinking someone was. following her and trying to get away and. and going at great lengths, going to.

great lengths to maybe hide somewhere. like inside of a water tank. Um, I I. don't know like why her clothes were off. or why her clothes ended up in the tank. I'm not saying any of this makes sense, but it is something that could happen. And all I can think about is what an. awful place that she must have been for. something like this to have happened. >> Yeah. And I mean, to kind of back up the. um the the mental break um theory, which. is what I buy, that's that's I that's.

where I put my stock. Um, she remember I. said she was originally put in a room. with a couple other girls she didn't. know at the Stay on Maine. They. complained about her behaving strangely, so she was moved to her own private. room. Um, apparently she went to a. taping of the Conan O'Brien show and uh. was escorted out because she was. behaving strangely. And then um. detectives also found she was on four. different medications for uh bipolar one.

disorder and depression. And um the LAPD. uh based on the the um the prescription. dates on the bottles and then the number. of pills that were left and the. instructions on the bottles um the LAPD. were able to determine that she hadn't. been following um the the dosage. recommendations or taking her pills or. medications. So, if you put all of that. together and then also that um people. taking their clothes off as part of a.

psychotic episode happens, it's been. documented. Um you like there's no. there's no pieces missing on the table. Like she could have gone out on that. fire escape, gone up the ladder, like. there's nothing that is well, yeah, but. then there's this really big thing that. remains unexplained. like it explains. absolutely everything and then suddenly. it kind of makes all the other stuff. like government mind control or ghosts. or whatever seem just kind of gross, you. know. >> Totally agree. Uh I believe her parents.

brought a lawsuit against the hotel that. was eventually dismissed. if I'm not mistaken. And um it just. remains a very very sad situation and a. sad case and and it is very annoying. when you get online and everyone thinks. that their spirits being conjured and. and and all this wacky stuff. It's just. not the case. >> Not the case indeed. You got anything. else? >> I got nothing else. >> Well, that's it for the Cecil Hotel and. the Lisa Lamb RIP. Uh and since I said.

RIP, that means it's time for listener. mail. Uh, I'm going to call this follow-up to. Y2K. >> Oh, yes. >> Uh, and this is something that we. actually had in our notes that we I. guess just kind of failed to bring up. [laughter]. >> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you had it in your. notes as well. >> Yeah. Yeah. The the 2038 problem. Um, and we got a lot of emails about this. and and we're not going to fully. probably explain to everyone's.

satisfaction how it works, but um, hey. guys, just got done listening to the Y2K. podcast, which brought back an. interesting range of memories of living. through that time. In case you weren't. aware, there's something called the Unix. [music] Y2K problem that still exists, but is slowly being fixed by smart. people behind the scenes. Thank. goodness. The majority of computers in. the world run Unix based operating. systems. uh not Windows or Mac OS and. unless these systems are patched at 3:14. on January 19th, 2038,

uh their clocks were roll over to think. it's midnight January 1st, 1970. >> Yes. >> Uh the cause is basically the same in. the early versions of the OS only had so. much memory allocated to time. representations, [music] but more modern. versions now have this fixed and hence. computers aren't susceptible once. they're updated or upgraded. Although. not all systems [music] can be easily. updated. Uh and that is from a bunch of. people, but specifically from uh PhD.

Allen Chalker. That's great. Thanks Alan. to everybody who wrote in. I was like, "Oh man, I meant to include that." But. apparently Unix um represents time as. the number of seconds from the epoch. date, which is some date in 1970. And. then eventually it's going to have more. [music] seconds than it can represent in. the number of digits. So it'll just roll. back over like he was saying which is. pretty neat. >> Unix. >> Pretty cool. But and also I'm glad to. hear that there are smart people working. on that cuz we got 17 years man. You.

guys take it easy. Take a weekend, you. know. >> Sure. Go uh go sit in your house and. [music] social distance from everybody. >> That's right. We we also got a lot of. emails just from people that uh some. people [music] whose parents helped. rewrite code or were heading up projects. rewriting code and it was it was pretty. cool. Oh, [music] we got a lot of lot of. emails about that one. You struck. >> a chord. >> Yeah, it was a good idea, Chuck. Um, well, if you want to get in touch with. us like Allan and everybody else did, you can send us an email. It's.

stuffpodcast@ [music]. iheartradio.com. >> Stuff You Should Know is a production of. iHeart Radio. For more podcasts, iMheart. Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple. Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your. favorite shows.