66) Elisa Lam

[00:00:01] The Rambler Network

[00:00:03] Talking about Elisa Lam

[00:00:48] You've probably heard her name Maybe you've seen the elevator footage Maybe you've watched the Netflix documentary Maybe you saw the Ghost Adventures episode But Elisa Lam wasn't a ghost story She wasn't a viral video She wasn't the girl from The Ring She was a person She was a daughter, a sister, a friend, a student, a writer She had dreams She had struggles

[00:01:20] And she had a voice that was uniquely her own So, today we are going to talk about Elisa Lam Not the myth, not the spectacle But the person Elisa was born in British Columbia On 30 April 1991 The daughter of immigrants from Hong Kong She was a student at the University of British Columbia

[00:01:47] And, like many of us She shared her thoughts online She had a Tumblr blog called Etherfields Where she wrote about her life Her mental health, books, fashion, and heartbreak Her posts were raw, poetic, and vulnerable She didn't pretend to be perfect She was honest about living with bipolar disorder And depression But she also had hope She wanted to travel Wanted to connect She wanted to live

[00:02:18] In early 2013 Elisa set out on a solo trip through California She traveled by train and bus Stopping in places like San Diego, Santa Cruz, and eventually Los Angeles On 26th of January She checked into the infamous Cecil Hotel in downtown LA A few days later, she vanished The timeline gets murky here And this is where the myth-making begins

[00:02:45] Hotel staff reported seeing her alone Her family, who spoke with her daily Grew worried when they didn't hear from her A missing persons report was filed And then There was the video You know the one The granny elevator footage Elisa stepping in Pressing buttons Peeking out Moving in ways that some called erratic Others called frightened And many Far too many Called creepy

[00:03:15] The video was released by LAPD Hoping for leads But the internet had other plans People picked apart her dressers Her clothing The time stamp Some were just curious Others went full conspiracy theorists Theories bloomed like weeds Government cover-ups Ghost possessions Dark rituals Even murder At the center of it all Was Elisa But almost none of these people Ever asked about her

[00:03:43] Who she was What she loved What she feared What her life was like Before the Cecil Hotel As far as they are concerned Her life began The moment she entered The Cecil Hotel The Netflix documentary Crime Scene The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel Had a chance to tell that story But instead It focused largely on YouTubers People who didn't know Elisa at all It gave more screen time To internet solace Than her friends Her family

[00:04:14] Which They Her friends Her family Didn't have any screen time At all They didn't interview Any of them They analyzed The elevator video Like it was a puzzle Not a moment From The human's Life The show Told us more about The hotel Than about Elisa They interviewed The The The manager Of the hotel And then there's Ghost Adventures A show that went even further Off the rails Their Cecil Hotel Episode

[00:04:43] Painted Elisa As a ghostly figure Making her look like The ghost girl From The Ring Haunted and possessed They layered in Sound effects Spooky music And stylized reenactments That looked like Horror movies It was disrespectful Sensationalized And worst of all It was dehumanizing Because again Elisa Lam Was a person She was 21 years old She liked reading Chuck Palahniuk And watching Sherlock

[00:05:13] She loved fashion And photography She was struggling Yes But she was also Searching Trying Like so many of us Her death Was officially ruled An accidental drowning The coroner's report Confirmed there were No drugs No alcohol No signs of trauma Or foul play Elisa's bipolar disorder Was cited as A contributing factor It's painful And it's tragic And it's something

[00:05:43] Her family never asked To have turned Into a public spectacle They lost their daughter And in the midst Of that grief They had to watch The world turn her Into a meme What would it look like If we remembered Elisa With empathy Instead of fear What if we looked At that elevator footage And thought Here is someone Who's scared Instead of This is creepy What if we questioned The hotel's handling Of her disappearance Or the state of Mental health Support in our society Instead of jumping To ghosts and Conspiracies

[00:06:12] What if we took The time to read Her blog Because if you do You'll find a thoughtful Funny Brilliant young person Trying to make Sense of her Place in the world You'll find someone Who wanted to connect To love To be seen Not as a ghost Not as a mystery But as a person Elisa Lam deserved better From the hotel From the media From all of us She still does And if this episode Has moved you at all I encourage you To seek out Elisa's writing

[00:06:42] Remember her Not as a headline But as a human being

[00:06:49] The Rambler Network

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