The Hotel Cortez Detail That Has AHS Fans Scratching Their Heads
"AHS: Hotel" introduced viewers to the deadliest place in Los Angeles, The Hotel Cortez, located in the downtown area. The fictional dwelling pulled from some very real people and events in history. The hotel's visionary and most evil spirit, James March (Evan Peters) was inspired by H.H. Holmes, who also built a death trap disguised as a hotel in the 1800s. A building that has since been referred to as the "Murder Castle," and was demolished after the murders were discovered.
Adding to the inspiration was the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles, where Elisa Lam vanished before her mysterious death. (Her body was later discovered in a hotel water tank at the hotel.) "We were really inspired by the idea of this hotel surveillance video that showed a girl getting into an elevator in a haunted hotel and who was never seen again," creator Ryan Murphy told fans at a TCA Panel (via Bustle).
As is expected with a Murphy-Falchuk production, no stone was left unturned in the creation of their own deadly hotel. A behind-the-scenes video even shows ornate details many fans may have overlooked, like an actual, head-to-toe depiction of Cortez. But there's one detail that fans on Reddit noticed about Hotel Cortez that has them scratching their heads.
Why isn't anyone asking any questions?
It seems like every time we watched someone check into the hotel, their fate was sealed. It wasn't just those who fit into the tragic mold of the hotel, like junkie Sally McKenna (Sarah Paulson). Anyone who was unfortunate enough to stumble into the place seemed doomed. This is evidenced early on in the first episode of the season when two unassuming Scandanavian tourists, Vendela and Agnetha, check in. Not 30 minutes later, they're dead and join the dozens of ghosts in the hotel.
Deaths like Vendela's and Agnetha's had one Reddit user asking, "If hundreds of guests from all over the world disappears and get murdered in the hotel, why isn't there cops and open investigations all over the damn place?"
Other fans posited their theories. One pointed out that it was similar to the real Murder Castle, full of "a million hidden spaces for bodies to be hid well out of sight. Add Ms. Evers' impressive housekeeping to mix, and you've got 0% evidence of foul play." Some also noted that many of the guests who check in are individuals who may not be missed.
Regardless, you'd think that if the hotel consumes the lives of hundreds of guests, someone was bound to notice. After all, its real-life counterpart came under such scrutiny that an entire docu-series was created. Instead, Wes Bentley, the only law figure with any suspicion, turns out to be a killer himself, also consumed by the evil of the Hotel Cortez.
We can only assume that much like the Murder House in Season One (which is mentioned in "Hotel"), The Hotel Cortez holds a power that grows with every soul it takes.