For nearly a century, the Cecil Hotel stood at the center of downtown Los Angeles, accumulating a history of death, instability, and unanswered questions. Long before it became synonymous with viral mystery, the building was marked by suicides, violent crime, and transient lives colliding in one place. In 2013, the disappearance and death of Elisa Lam brought renewed attention to the hotel, transforming it into a modern symbol of fear, speculation, and unresolved grief. In this episode, we examine the Cecil's layered history alongside Lam's final days. Through the lens of its chart, with the Sun at 28 degrees Sagittarius conjunct Jupiter at 0 degrees Capricorn, and Venus at 28 degrees Scorpio square Neptune in Leo, we explore themes of excess, illusion, and distorted meaning, and how one location became a canvas for projection, misunderstanding, and tragedy.

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SOURCES

AllTimeInteresting.com. Cecil Hotel: The Sordid History Of Los Angeles' Most …, 23 May 2023, allthatsinteresting.com/cecil-hotel-los-angeles.

"Cecil Hotel (Los Angeles)." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Hotel_(Los_Angeles).

"Death of Elisa Lam." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Elisa_Lam.

Laist.com. "Elisa Lam: Coroner Says Bipolar Disorder Contributed To …," LAist, 19 June 2013, laist.com/news/elisa-lam-death-at-cecil-hotel-rule.

Snopes.com. "Elisa Lam: The LA 'Mystery' That Wasn't," Snopes, 4 June 2021, snopes.com/articles/346221/elisa-lam-mystery-that-wasnt/.

AllTheInteresting.com. The Twisted Story Of Austrian Serial Killer Jack Unterweger, 3 Jan. 2022, allthatsinteresting.com/jack-unterweger.

MovieMaker Magazine. "Night Stalker Richard Ramirez and the Cecil Hotel," 8 Apr. 2024, moviemaker.com/night-stalker-richard-ramirez-cecil-hotel/.

Vancouver Sun. "Death of UBC student in Los Angeles ruled accidental drowning," 21 June 2013, linking coverage of Lam's official coroner ruling.

CBS Los Angeles. "Body Found Inside Water Tank Atop Hotel Identified As Missing Canadian Tourist," 19 Feb. 2013, cited in List of violent incidents at the Cecil Hotel. Wikipedia.

NBC Los Angeles. "Missing Canadian Tourist Found in Cecil Hotel Water Tank," 20 Feb. 2013, cited within List of violent incidents at the Cecil Hotel. Wikipedia.

In November 1978, the remote settlement of Jonestown in Guyana became the site of one of the deadliest mass deaths in modern history. Jim Jones, the charismatic leader of the Peoples Temple, had spent years cultivating loyalty, control and fear among his followers before leading more than 900 people to their deaths in a coordinated act of murder and coercion. What began as a movement built on promises of equality and community gradually transformed into an environment of isolation, paranoia, and absolute obedience. In this episiode, we trace Jones's rise from preacher to authoritarian figure, examine the escalating warning signs that preceded the tragedy, and explore how his Capricorn Rising, Taurus Sun and Aries Moon reflect the rigid authority, possessiveness, and explosive volatility that fueled one man's ability to dominate and ultimately destroy an entire community.

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Cosmic Crimes Substack

SOURCES

"Drinking the Kool-Aid." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_the_Kool-Aid. Accessed 21 Jan 2026.

"Jim Jones." Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.,

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jim-Jones. Accessed 21 Jan 2026.

"Jonestown." Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.,

https://www.britannica.com/event/Jonestown. Accessed 21 Jan 2026.

"Jonestown." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown. Accessed 21 Jan 2026.

"Jonestown: The Peoples Temple Story." PBS American Experience, WGBH Educational Foundation,

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/jonestown/. Accessed 21 Jan 2026.

"November 18, 1978." PBS American Experience, WGBH Educational Foundation,

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/jonestown-nov-18-1978/. Accessed 21 Jan 2026.

"Peoples Temple." Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.,

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Peoples-Temple. Accessed 21 Jan 2026.

"Representative Leo J. Ryan." U.S. House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives,

https://history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Detail/35601. Accessed 21 Jan 2026.

"Today in History: November 18." History.com, A&E Television Networks,

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-18/mass-suicide-at-jonestown. Accessed 21 Jan 2026.

In the early decades of the 20th century, a series of disappearances and deeply disturbing crimes slowly converged around one man hiding behind the appearance of a frail, elderly drifter. Albert Fish targeted society's most vulnerable, moving through boarding houses, neighborhoods, and families with calculated patience while leaving devastation in his wake. His arrest revealed a pattern of extreme sadism, long-standing compulsions, and violence that spanned decades, shocking even seasoned investigators. In this episode, we trace Fish's progression from his early life marked by institutional trauma to the crimes that ultimately exposed him, and examine how his Taurus-heavy chart, paired with a likely Capricorn Moon, reflects obsessive endurance, rigid control, and a fixation on physical suffering carried out with chilling persistence.

SHOW NOTES:

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Astrology Basics

Sources:

"Albert Fish." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Fish. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.

"Albert Fish letter." Wikisource, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Albert_Fish_letter. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.

Coulter, Christina. "He Used a 'Birthday Party' Ruse to Abduct a Girl. Six Years Later, a Letter Revealed What He'd Done — and Consumed." People, Dotdash Meredith, 12 July 2025, https://people.com/he-ate-a-10-year-old-then-wrote-her-parents-11767908. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.

"Courts of New York State." Historical Society of the New York Courts, https://history.nycourts.gov/new-york-legal-history/history-new-york-courts/. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.

HISTORY.com Editors. "'Moon Maniac' killer is executed | January 16, 1936." HISTORY, A&E Television Networks, 13 Nov. 2009, updated 27 May 2025, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-16/the-moon-maniac. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.

"Sing Sing Prison Museum." Sing Sing Prison Museum, https://www.singsingprisonmuseum.org/. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.

"Grace Budd." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Budd. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.

"Billy Gaffney." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Gaffney. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.

"Francis McDonnell." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_McDonnell. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.