Gone at Midnight: The Tragic True Story Behind the Unsolved Internet Sensation

by Jake Anderson

Overview

A Los Angeles hotel with a haunting history. A disturbing video followed by a shocking discovery. A cold-case mystery that has become an internet phenomenon—and for one determined journalist, a life-changing quest toward uncomfortable truths...

Investigative journalist Jake Anderson explores the mysterious death of Elisa Lam, a 21-year-old student who was found dead in the water tank of a hotel with a sordid history of suicides, unexplained deaths, and even ghosts. The Lam case became an internet sensation through a hotel security video that went viral. This book give new insights into the case that has perplexed millions.

Twenty-one-year-old Vancouver student Elisa Lam was last heard from on January 31, 2013, after she checked into downtown L.A.'s Cecil Hotel—a 600-room building with a nine-decade history of scandal and tragedy. The next day, Elisa vanished. A search of the hotel yielded nothing. More than a week later, complaints by guests of foul-smelling tap water led to a grim discovery: Elisa's nude body floating in a rooftop water tank, in an area extremely difficult to access without setting off alarms. The only apparent clue was a disturbing surveillance video of Elisa, uploaded to YouTube in hopes of public assistance.

As the eerie elevator video went viral, so did the questions of its tens of millions of viewers. Was Elisa's death caused by murder, suicide, or paranormal activity? Was it connected to the Cecil's sinister reputation? And in that video, what accounted for Elisa's strange behavior? With the help of web sleuths and investigators from around the world, journalist Jake Anderson set out to uncover the facts behind a death that had become a macabre internet meme, as well as a magnet for conspiracy theorists.

In poring through Elisa's revealing online journals and social media posts, Anderson realized he shared more in common with the young woman than he imagined. His search for justice and truth became a personal journey, a dangerous descent into one of America's quiet epidemics. Along the way, he exposed a botched investigation and previously unreported disclosures from inside sources who suggest there may have been a corporate conspiracy and a police cover-up. In GONE AT MIDNIGHT Anderson chronicles eye-opening discoveries about who Elisa Lam really was and what—or whom—she was running from, and presents shocking new evidence that may re-open one of the most chilling and obsessively followed true crime cases of the century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780806540061
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	07/26/2022
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	1,080,930
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Jake Anderson is a writer, filmmaker, investigative journalist, activist, and digital publisher. He runs the popular website The Ghost Diaries and is a contributing journalist for The Anti Media and multiple alternative media outlets. He has been a featured guest on Ground Zero with Clyde Lewis, Spaced Out, Nocturnal Frequency, West of the Rockies, and Common Ground. Originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, he's a graduate of the University of California at Santa Cruz and currently lives near Albuquerque, New Mexico. Find more of his work at TheGhostDiaries.com, where he analyzes cold cases and unexplained mysteries. Follow him on twitter @OverTheMoonSF.

Table of Contents

Author's Note ix

Part 1 Discovery 1

Chapter 1 Missing 3

Chapter 2 Found 18

Chapter 3 The Investigation Begins 25

Chapter 4 Rise of the Websleuths 39

Chapter 5 The West Coast Tour 54

Chapter 6 City of Demons 69

Chapter 7 Further Down the Rabbit Hole 80

Chapter 8 The "Suicide Hotel" 89

Chapter 9 The 14th Floor 103

Chapter 10 The Autopsy 114

Part 2 Serotonin and Synchronicity 121

Chapter 11 The Art of the Meltdown 123

Chapter 12 David and Yinna Lam vs. the Cecil Hotel 140

Chapter 13 Friends and Enemies of Occam's Razor 149

Chapter 14 Inbound Train 162

Chapter 15 A World with Evil 172

Chapter 16 Dark Synchronicity 185

Chapter 17 The Last Bookstore 195

Chapter 18 Return to the Cecil 206

Part 3 Coverup 231

Chapter 19 Revisiting the Cause of Death 233

Chapter 20 Whoever Chases Monsters 247

Chapter 21 Inside Job 254

Chapter 22 A Missing Element and A Bombshell 264

Chapter 23 What Happened to Elisa Lam? 287

Acknowledgments 325

Source Notes 327

Index 339

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/27/2020

Investigative journalist Anderson looks into the case of 21-year-old Elisa Lam, a student diagnosed as bipolar who vanished from L.A.’s seedy Cecil Hotel one day in 2013, in this outstanding debut. As days went by, residents of the hotel began to complain about the water quality and pressure. Finally, a maintenance worker went to the roof to check the hotel’s cisterns, only to find Lam’s naked, dead body floating in one of them. The coroner ruled her death an accident by drowning with bipolar disorder a contributing factor. But Anderson found too many inconsistencies in the case, and the internet went wild with conspiracy theories. Lam was no stranger to the blogging world, having a Tumblr account where she documented her mental health problems and where her scheduled updates appeared for months after her death. That Anderson’s obsession with the case led him to examine his own mental health issues adds depth. He ponders whether it was suicide or a psychotic breakdown—or something more sinister that killed Lam. Anderson also vividly details the dark delusions he suffered while making a documentary at the Cecil Hotel. What really happened to Lam may never be known, but true crime buffs won’t want to miss this gripping search for the truth. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for GONE AT MIDNIGHT

Oxygen’s List of Best True Crime Books of 2020
 
“Investigative journalist Anderson looks into the case of 21-year-old Elisa Lam, a student diagnosed as bipolar who vanished from L.A.’s seedy Cecil Hotel one day in 2013, in this outstanding debut. Anderson ponders whether it was suicide or a psychotic breakdown—or something more sinister that killed Lam. Anderson also vividly details the dark delusions he suffered while making a documentary at the Cecil Hotel. What really happened to Lam may never be known, but true crime buffs won’t want to miss this gripping search for the truth.” —Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW

“Rather than exploiting Lam's death as a morbid meme, Anderson takes an empathic and humanizing approach. His thorough research and passionate writing make a fascinating read. Extremely detailed and featuring new evidence, this book is recommended to anyone who loves to dive down a rabbit hole.” —Booklist

“From mediations on quantum mechanics and the meaning of consciousness, Gone at Midnight is not the typical true crime potboiler. It represents an evolution of the genre, with one infamous crime giving way to Gonzo-like reflections, cultural criticism, and a writing style that befits both the book form and the Internet blog. Gone at Midnight is the type of true crime book that you stay up all night reading. It is also the type of work that raises more questions than answers, and that’s perfectly okay.” —New York Journal of Books

“This chilling tale of obsession and gruesomeness is great for murder-mystery fans who also like a bit of paranormal sprinkled in. Turn on the lights, don't read at night, and Gone at Midnight could be just right.” —The Bookworm, Nationally Syndicated Column
 
“The definitive book on Elisa Lam is finally here. Gone at Midnight is both an investigation into one of the Internet's most frustrating mysteries and a personal exploration of depression and suicidal ideation. Jake Anderson continues the tradition of New Journalism and gonzo reporting by weaving a personal story of mental health and anguish with a confounding L.A. mystery.” —James Renner, author of True Crime Addict
 
“Sharply written with a journalistic nose for facts and detail, Jake Anderson’s Gone at Midnight captures the essence of a breaking true crime story and what goes on behind the scenes as the search for a missing person turns deadly. The twists and turns are remarkably sketched by an up-and-coming author who has complete control over his narrative. Add a bit of paranormal into the mix and what we have is riveting ... scary, compelling ... and expertly told.” —M. William Phelps, New York Times bestselling author

From the Publisher