
Infamous Cecil Hotel
Posted: 06.07.2024 | Updated: 02.13.2025
What started as a simple, budget-friendly hotel in downtown Los Angeles, Cecil Hotel, soon began to turn its face more towards the darker side, welcoming the likes of serial killers, suicides, infanticides, murders, and more. Located right off of Skid Row at 640 S. Main Street, the hotel opened its doors on December 20th, 1924.
The 19-story hotel has over 700 guest rooms, many filled with permanent residents. The hotel has a checkered past, with many tragedies within its walls. Negativity emanates from the bricks that construct the hotel, which has borne witness to over 80 deaths, murders, overdoses, and suicides, and even housed The Night Stalker serial killer after he, Richard Ramirez, decided that the Cecil was a proper nest to retire to after his murders.
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Is The Cecil Hotel Still Open?
The Cecil Hotel remains one of the most infamous landmarks in Los Angeles, known for its chilling history of mysterious deaths, eerie occurrences, and its connection to some of the most unsettling true crime stories. It has even become a popular topic among LA ghost tours, drawing those eager to explore its dark past. But is it still open to guests? Not exactly.
After decades of notoriety, the hotel was rebranded as Stay on Main in an attempt to shed its dark past. However, in 2017, the building closed for extensive renovations, with plans to transform it into a mix of hotel rooms and affordable housing. Despite these ambitious goals, progress has been slow, and as of now, the Cecil remains closed to the public.
The Cecil Hotel’s dark past continues to fascinate true crime and paranormal fans. Linked to serial killers like Richard Ramirez and the mysterious 2013 death of Elisa Lam, it remains one of America’s most haunted hotels. Its chilling crime scenes fuel speculation, drawing investigators, ghost hunters, and true crime enthusiasts eager to uncover its secrets.
So, after years of delays and speculation, one question remains—will the Cecil Hotel ever reopen its doors, or will it remain a shadowy relic of its own dark past?

The Rise and Fall of the Cecil Hotel
Built in 1924 by hoteliers William Banks Hanner, Charles Dix, and Robert Schops, the Cecil Hotel was intended as a stylish destination for business travelers and tourists. However, within five years of its opening, the Great Depression took hold, and the once-thriving hotel began to decline.
As Skid Row grew, the Cecil became a hub for crime, drugs, and violence. By the mid-20th century, it was notorious for illicit activity, including adultery, sex work, and drug use. Despite multiple ownership changes, its dark reputation endured. Plans for a 2021 reopening were announced, but the hotel’s future remains uncertain.
Tragedy and Unsolved Crimes at the Cecil
The Cecil Hotel’s history is filled with disturbing events, beginning with its first documented suicide on January 22, 1927. That night, Percy Ormond Cook shot himself in the head in his hotel room after failing to reconcile his marriage. He was rushed to The Receiving Hospital but died from his injuries.
Beyond suicides, the Cecil became the backdrop for other violent and mysterious happenings. In 1947, researcher Hadley Meares claimed that Elizabeth Short—better known as “The Black Dahlia”—was seen drinking at the hotel’s bar shortly before her gruesome and unsolved murder. While no official records confirm this, guest accounts have fueled speculation about her connection to the Cecil.
One of the most infamous crimes at the hotel occurred in 1964, when beloved resident Pigeon Goldie Osgood was found raped, stabbed, and beaten in her ransacked room. The crime scene was so brutal that it sent shockwaves through the community. A man named Jacques B. Ehlinger was arrested after being found near the hotel covered in blood, but he was later cleared, and Osgood’s murder remains unsolved to this day.
The Cecil Achieves Infamy
To list all of the deaths that occurred at the Cecil would take an immense amount of time, as the list seemingly does not end. However, if you’re curious, numerous sources have documented the tragic events that took place within its walls, detailing the names, stories, and circumstances surrounding each case. The timeline of recorded deaths stretches from 1932 to the most recent known incident in 2015, adding to the hotel’s dark and haunting legacy.
You can trust that we have glossed over many awful happenings at the Cecil as we skip to 1984 and the time of the infamous Night Stalker. Unsurprisingly, the Cecil was the proven residence of serial killer Richard Ramirez, better known as ‘The Night Stalker.‘ He murdered no fewer than 38 people during his time as an active serial killer and even disposed of bloody clothes and evidence in the hotel’s dumpster.
The Night Stalker’s Deadly Legacy
Ramirez was a regular presence on Skid Row, and according to the hotel clerk who claims to have spoken with him on numerous occasions, Ramirez is known to have stayed at the Hotel Cecil for a few weeks during his killing spree. Ramirez was seen by other guests on a few occasions entering the hotel, completely drenched with blood.
Why did no one alert the authorities about him? The Cecil was known for its violence and bloodshed, and guests and residents alike were so used to the sight of blood there that they knew to mind their own business and kept their mouths shut. Ramirez found a comfortable home at the Cecil, which shows just how horrible of a place it was.
Yet another serial killer, Austrian Jack Unterweger, also stayed at the Cecil in 1991. It was thought that he was attempting to copy The Night Stalker’s crimes. While at the Cecil, he strangled and killed at least three sex workers in the hotel and was convicted in Austria for his crimes.
Elisa Lam and the Hotel Cecil

Out of the 80 deaths occurring at the Cecil Hotel, 16 of them remain unexplained to this day, including that of Elisa Lam. Her story was popularized by the Netflix series Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, which went in-depth into her life and stay at the Cecil. The story came to light when surveillance footage of a young Canadian student, Elisa Lam, behaving erratically in the hotel’s elevator went viral online.
Social media sleuths speculated wildly about her case, suggesting she was drugged, murdered, or that the hotel covered up her death. Some even believed she entered another dimension in the elevator and drowned in the water tank. The eerie details and unsettling security footage fueled conspiracy theories, making it one of the most infamous crime scene mysteries in recent history.
The Mysterious Death of Elisa Lam
The video shows Lam repeatedly pressing elevator buttons, walking in and out of the elevator a few times, looking up and down the halls as if someone is following her, and strange hand and arm movements. It was recorded shortly before her disappearance, and her naked body was soon discovered in the hotel’s water tank after a few guests had reported their running water tasting strange.
The floor that Lam was staying on was one of few that did not have security footage, and her death was thought to be a homicide until her sister came forward and revealed that Lam had a history of not taking her medications for her extreme case of Bipolar Disorder. Later, her death was ruled an accident due to drowning, as they claim that Lam had been hallucinating and stepped into the water tank to hide, believing she was in danger.

Cecil’s Curse Lives On
With so much death, violence, and tragedy in its history, it’s no surprise the Cecil is considered one of California’s most haunted places. Some even believe Elisa Lam was tormented by spirits that led to her death. Is the hotel cursed? Is it truly haunted? Does its dark past attract more darkness? These questions make the Cecil a popular stop on LA ghost tours, drawing those eager to explore its eerie history.
Whatever it may be, the Cecil has attracted the attention of thousands of internet sleuths, true-crime enthusiasts, and ghost hunters, including Zak Bagans from the popular TV show Ghost Adventures.
When Bagans was interviewed about his time at the Cecil Hotel, he called the hotel ‘spectacularly frightening.’ Let’s dive in. Zak Bagans, being interested in the paranormal from a young age, now runs the Haunted Museum in Las Vegas, which you can read about here. He has a special connection with the Cecil because he has collected some of the Night Stalker’s drawings, clothes, and even his TV from his death row cell.
Zak Bagans on the Cecil Hotel’s Dark Energy
Bagans believes that dark energies dominate the hotel, and in an interview with Den of Geek, he said, “I’ve been to a lot of places throughout the world, but when you walk through the doors of the Cecil Hotel, you know there are other doorways to other worlds. If we were to see deeper dimensionally, we would see all these other doors and rooms, and I believe it goes way down into the earth and draws a lot of energy through the earth. It is then magnified by the dark energy and criminal activity of Skid Row and amplified by the rituals Jack Unterweger and Richard Ramirez did.”
He also stated that Cecil was messing with him and his crew’s minds and electronic equipment. Investigator Aaron Goodwin was also overcome with feelings of rage while inside the hotel. Even a crime scene photographer was so disturbed that he needed to leave. Regardless of what’s going on at the Cecil Hotel, one thing is for sure: if we ever need a place to stay in Los Angeles, we’ll be making other arrangements.
Haunted Los Angeles
Beneath the bright lights and endless glamour of Los Angeles lies a chilling undercurrent of mystery and darkness. At the center of its eerie past stands the infamous Cecil Hotel, a place where tragedy, crime, and the supernatural collide.
For nearly a century, the Hotel Cecil has been surrounded by mystery, its halls filled with tales of tragedy and the paranormal. Once a stylish retreat, it soon gained a dark reputation, linked to crime, unexplained deaths, and ghostly legends. Today, its eerie past makes it a popular stop on LA ghost tours, drawing those eager to explore its chilling history.
With a legacy steeped in eerie encounters and unsolved mysteries, the Cecil Hotel remains one of the city’s most infamous haunts. Are you ready to step inside and uncover its secrets for yourself?
Book a Los Angeles ghost tour with LA Ghosts today. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and keep reading our blog for more real California hauntings.
Sources:
- https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/elisa-lam
- https://horrorwoodpodcast.podbean.com/e/the-history-of-the-cecil-hotel/
- https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/richard-ramirez-night-stalker-murders/
- https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/nov/10/features.weekend
- https://vegasghosts.com/the-haunted-museum-by-zak-bagans/
- https://www.denofgeek.com/culture/ghost-adventures-cecil-house-zak-bagans-interview/
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