Find Out The Real Life Inspiration Behind American Horror Story's Hotel Cortez
Bloody, savage, and more than a little gory, American Horror Story: Hotel is one of the most compelling and twisted shows on TV. However, did you know that there are a lot of real life influences which go in to the making of the show, some even more shocking than the fictional murders themselves. Take a look at some of the influences below:
- Lady Gaga’s character, The Countess, is likely an ode to the most prolific female serial killer
of all time, the Countess Elizabeth Bathory, aka the Blood Countess. Between 1585 and
1610, she was charged with abducting, torturing, and murdering 650 young women in
Slovakia. Bathory also allegedly bathed in and drank the blood of her victims, the purer and
more virginal the better, believing it would keep her young.
- Ryan Murphy allegedly claimed that Mr. March (Evan Peters) is also loosely based on H.H.
Holmes, America’s first-documented serial killer. Holmes built his own three-story hotel,
dubbed the “Murder Castle,” outside of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Holmes lured young
women to the hotel to kill in his secret torture rooms.
- The Cecil Hotel opened in 1927 with 14 floors and 700 eerie rooms. It has been the site of a
string of suicides, at least one murder, and several alleged ghost sightings and has had a list
of sinister guests. The hotel hasn’t always had a reputation for its unexplainable series of
events. During its early years, it enjoyed great success as a tourist destination and as a
residence for middle class Angelinos up until the 1930s.
- In the 1930s, the Cecil Hotel was the end of the road for many of Skid Row’s residents and
consequently has been the scene for a number of suicides, therefore leading some residents
to call the hotel “The Suicide”.
- Rumour has it that Elizabeth Short (also known as the Black Dahlia), was last seen alive at
the Cecil Hotel, before her infamous killing on January 15th 1947.
- "Pigeon Goldie" Osgood was a bird lady who would feed pigeons at a public park in
Downtown L.A., she was found in her room at the Cecil robbed, raped, strangled, and
stabbed on June 4, 1964… authorities never convicted anyone for her murder.
- From 1984 to 1985, there was a serial killer in L.A. known as The Night Stalker. During his
killing spree, The Night Stalker took residence at the Cecil. At night he would exit the hotel in
search of victims, returning to the hotel covered in blood, he would go around back to the
alley where he would shed his clothing, toss them in the dumpster, then return to his room.
- Jack Unterweger was an Australian murderer who was later released from prison and
became a journalist, but Unterweger had far from changed his ways. He reportedly moved
into the Cecil in 1991 and murdered three prostitutes throughout Los Angeles during his
stay. It is said that he is one of the inspirations for the season’s ‘Ten Commandments’ killer.
- In 1992, a 28-year- old man was found dead in front of the Cecil Hotel. Authorities believe he
may have jumped to his death from the property, though an employee of the hotel said the
man was not a hotel guest. This man would not have been the first to end his life at the Cecil
Hotel.
- Hordes of American Horror Story fans are constantly trying to book a room in the hotel. They
all try to book the room that 21-year- old Canadian student Elisa Lam was in when she stayed
at the Cecil in February 2013. Lam’s body was found floating in one of the hotel’s rooftop
water tanks, after a number of guests had complained about having numerous problems
with the water supply.
- Coinciding with the death of Elisa Lam, an outbreak of tuberculosis was spreading through
downtown Los Angeles. Health authorities were urging citizens to get tested. The name of
the tuberculosis test was the Lam Elisa Test.
- The Cecil Hotel was eventually rebranded as the Stay on Main Hotel and Hostel. The bright
and fun rebranding seems to have erased some of the location's reputation for now.
- The Halloween-themed episode, ‘Devil’s Night’, is packed with real-life serial killers such as
Aileen Wuornos (Lily Rabe), Jeffrey Dahmer (Seth Gabel), John Wayne Gacy (John Carroll
Lynch), and Richard Ramirez, a.k.a. The Night Stalker.
- The hotel security is allegedly always on alert for people daring to conduct paranormal
investigations.
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What number in the series is American Horror Story: Hotel ?
A - Eighth
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C - Third
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American Horror Story: Hotel is available on Digital HD now and on Blu-ray™ and DVD from 3rd October, from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.