The Exorcist - in which a mother seeks an exorcism for her daughter, Regan, after psychiatrists fail to address her alarming behavior - also links mental illness and demonic possession. The trope of mental illness as supernatural is nothing new, especially in the horror genre. We don't need these sensational elements to make us care about her. The fact that a young woman may have died as a result of not taking enough medication to manage her bipolar disorder is tragic as it is. The hints at demonic influences depicted in the trailer and first episode of the Netflix series may have been intended to lure viewers, but they continue a pattern of pop culture associating mental illness with the spooky and supernatural - further stigmatizing an already stigmatized medical condition. The Los Angeles County Coroner deemed the cause of Lam’s death accidental drowning, citing bipolar disorder as a significant factor. In the fourth and final episode of the series, neuropsychologist Judy Ho (who did not personally treat Lam) noted that Lam's behavior was consistent with a psychotic episode, which can occur in severe bipolar disorder. Her autopsy report, combined with a review of her medication found at the hotel, indicated she was under-medicated during her hotel stay. One interviewee raised the question, “Is there something supernatural happening here?,” while another described the elevator footage as “a mini ghost story.” As the footage plays, so, too does an eerie soundtrack.īut - spoiler - we later learn from the docuseries that Lam lived with severe bipolar disorder. The first episode of the series includes a few other paranormal references as well. “It makes people wonder, ‘Is there something evil going on here?’” In the footage, Lam moves her hands “like she’s conjuring a spirit,” one man said in a trailer for the docuseries, as a shot of fingertips snuffing a candle appears onscreen. The last known footage of Lam, showing her behaving erratically in an elevator in the notorious Los Angeles hotel, captivated the web sleuth community. Last week, Netflix released Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, a docuseries about the 2013 death of 21-year-old Vancouver student Elisa Lam, whose body was found in a water tank on the Cecil Hotel roof.
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