10 Real Life Horror Stories That Will Freak You Out

8. Elisa Lam (2013)

This is an extremely recent event. In February of 2013, Elisa Lam, a 21 year old student from Vancouver, Canada was found dead inside the rooftop water tank of the Cecil Hotel, L.A. Although ruled an accidental death due to drowning by the county coroner, and no traces of drugs or alcohol were in her system at the time of her death, this story gets a little stranger.

There is a surveillance tape from an elevator that shows Lam clearly extremely distressed, hiding from someone or something and moving her arms in a way that does not seem physically possible without causing great pain, and aren't significant actions like raising your hands in defence. The problem with the story lies in the details. Apparently, the water tank in which Lam was found is of the type unable to be closed from the inside, to stop people from becoming trapped and drowning. Also, the entrance to the roof was locked, and alarmed, as was the rooftop surface itself and no alarms were activated.

The elevator in which the tape was filmed doesn't move, even after Lam gives it plenty of time, which is especially strange as the elevator was not broken in anyway and had recently passed an inspection. Unfortunately, Lam's body was only found after guests at the hotel complained about the taste, colour and smell of drinking water. Water in which Lam's body had floated for two weeks after her death. Her death remains a mystery, in a hotel that is famous for serial killers living there, and a large number of suicides from its tall floors.