American Horror Story takes much of its inspiration for characters, settings, and the like straight out of the pages of history; the true stories behind its fifth season, Hotel, involves an infamous hotel in Los Angeles, one of the most prolific serial killers of all time, and a woman who has inspired countless vampire legends.
Hotel broke new ground for Ryan Murphy's anthology series in multiple ways, and not just because it had such a blatantly historical bend. The season was instantly notable for being the series' first without mainstay cast member and standout performer, Jessica Lange. Her role was replaced instead with pop superstar Lady Gaga, who lent her talents to the ensemble cast as the mysterious Countess. Returning alumni for the season included Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Denis O'Hare, Kathy Bates, Finn Wittrock, and Angela Bassett.
Fans initially had mixed reviews about Hotel, since its opulence and glamour was a shift from the previous seasons' gritty, dark aesthetic or campy horror-comedy attitude. Now, it has seen a resurgence in popularity, though many new fans checked into the hotel for Gaga alone. Hotel may have not had the strongest overall plot, but the historical aspects were incredibly well-developed and the supremely talented cast gave many a standout performance, immersing themselves in roles that were inspired by very prominent figures.
The Cecil Hotel: Los Angeles, CA
The Hotel Cortez in American Horror Story is haunted by many spirits of past guests who have stayed in the hotel and either overdosed, committed suicide, been turned into vampires, or have met some other fate that keeps their souls trapped there forever. Some of the staff are human and serve more as caretakers for both the restless spirits and other permanent guests as well as play the role of the hotel's face, interacting with new guests and keeping them unaware of the dangerous that lurk within the halls. The real life inspiration for the Cortez is one of Los Angeles' most notorious haunted hotels where many real people have met a gruesome end, The Cecil Hotel.
The first documented suicide at the Cecil was W.K. Norton, a hotel guest in 1931 who died after taking poison in his room. There were many of these deaths that continued on the premises between the 1940s and 1960s, so much so that local residents started calling the hotel "The Suicide". Elizabeth Short, "The Black Dahlia", was reported to have been seen having a drink at the Cecil mere days before she was discovered gruesomely murdered; her murder remains one of LA's most well-known cold cases. Another unsolved murder is that of "Pidgeon Goldie" Osgood, a telephone operator who was a long-term hotel resident: she was raped, beaten, and stabbed. Police initially charged Jacques Ehlinger for the crime, but he was later cleared. Richard Ramirez, the "Night Stalker", was reported to have been a guest at the Cecil when he was actively killing in the Los Angeles area in 1984-1985. Jack Unterweger, another serial killer, stayed at the hotel in 1991 and was charged for the murder of L.A. prostitutes in his home country of Austria. He hung himself in his jail cell shortly after his conviction.
Most recently Elisa Lam, who was a Canadian college student, stayed at the hotel in 2013 and went missing. There is a viral video of her in the elevator, seemingly interacting with an off-camera presence. Her body was found in the water tower of the Cecil after many guests complained of odd-tasting water and poor water pressure. Her death was ruled an accidental drowning, though it is unknown how she got up to the water tower in the first place. The Cecil has been recently re-branded as The Stay on Main, and is open for business.
H.H. Holmes And Countess Elizabeth Bathory
James March (Evan Peters) was the Hotel Cortez's owner and initial proprietor in Hotel. Throughout the season, many living guests and patrons interact with his ghost, though when he was alive, he was known to murder many guests and visitors in various ways, seeming to delight in the spontaneity and variety of killing. March, when he built the hotel, installed trap rooms, doors, and secret shafts along with dead-end hallways and other mysterious spaces to hide his crimes and trap people inside, should they try to escape his clutches. His story is based off real-life serial killer H.H. Holmes, who may well be the most prolific serial killer in the United States, and is reportedly responsible for the murders of as many as 200 people, though he confessed to the murders of 27. Holmes was based in Chicago and was active during the World's Fair in 1893, so he doesn't have the immediate connection to Hotel's LA-based setting, but his World's Fair hotel, which is known as his "Murder Castle", can also be cited as an inspiration for the Cortez.
The Countess Elizabeth Bathory was a Hungarian noblewoman who lived from 1560-1614. She has inspired many vampire legends of both modern and classic horror because she had a reputation for murdering young, virgin women and bathing in their blood to retain her youth and beauty. The stories about the Countess are verified by more than 300 witnesses and survivors as well as physical evidence that exists. At the time of her arrest, many mutilated, dying, and imprisoned girls were found on her property. Lady Gaga's Hotel character, The Countess, was based on Bathory, and was not a mortal woman, but a vampire. She was also a co-owner of the hotel with James March, and was his wife. The Countess and March had a polyamorous relationship, but her infatuation with late actor Rudolph Valentino, who was her first love, led her to discover that Valentino was not dead, but had instead contracted a blood disease that granted him immortal life in exchange for his need to feed on the blood of mortals. He turned her into a vampire. Of course, the real Elizabeth Bathory was not a vampire, but much of The Countess' actions throughout the season are inspired by her.