The Lassiter Hotel Footage, Part 1

A still from the attempt to record footage in the Lobby of the Lassiter, 1958.

 

Original Essay by Tristan Marshall, Forbidden Media Investigator

Some people who have been following this blog have been curious about a particular item that’s been mentioned twice before, that being the Lassiter Hotel Footage. Some of you may be familiar with it from clips played on shows such as America's Most Haunted or Strange Pictures. The Lassiter Hotel Footage most people are familiar with comes from June 1996; however, it is only one of four collections of footage documenting anomalous activity within the area. Over the course of this month, I'll be taking you through each of the four instances of the Lassiter Hotel Footage.


Part 1: The Advertisement (1958)


The Lassiter was a luxury hotel located in Cape May, New Jersey, less than half a mile from the shoreline. It advertised itself as being classier than the motels in nearby Wildwood; it was said that if you wanted to have a trip, you booked a motel, but if you wanted a vacation, you stayed at the Lassiter. It had a Michelin-starred restaurant, two bars, a salinated swimming pool in a two-story glass enclosure, a rooftop garden, polished sandstone as far as the eye could see, and--perhaps its most attractive feature-- a "no child" policy. With very few exceptions, nobody under the age of 21 was allowed to stay in the Lassiter, a policy that would remain in place from its opening in 1946 all the way until 1993. It was a favorite of amateur ornithologists, due to the fact that Cape May is home to a wildlife refuge that attracts rare birds, some of which would roost in the rooftop garden.


In 1958, the Lassiter attempted to film a series of commercials to appeal to suburban, middle-class homeowners who didn't have children, or just wanted to get away from their kids; the nuclear family wasn't for everyone, and with the baby boomers turning increasingly rebellious as they became teenagers, there was an appeal in leaving the kids with grandma and having a week to yourself on the beach.


The filming didn't go as planned, and the project was scrapped in favor of radio advertisements, which re-used audio tracks intended for the commercials. Even then, the commercials didn't air until the 1960 tourist season due to the damage caused during filming.


Three major incidents occurred during the attempted filming. One in the lobby, one on the rooftop garden, and one in the infamous Room 47, which is where the 2011 footage shot by America's Most Haunted concluded.


The Lobby Incident


The shot of the lobby was meant to capture an average day at the hotel, guests checking in and out, people arriving and leaving for the day. Cameras were set up to record in the morning, and guests were asked to sign waivers for use of their likenesses, something that wasn't standard in hotel contracts at the time. Everyone was informed that cameras would begin rolling at check-in time, which was 12:00, earlier than any hotel in the area.


When the cameras rolled… nothing happened. It's not that they didn't record footage, but nobody came into the lobby from either the rooms or the outside. This was in the middle of peak season, and they had at least a dozen arrivals that day, but nobody showed up.


The instant the cameras turned off, someone came in the front door to check in, and two other groups checked out. By the time the cameras were rolling again, the lobby was empty, and it stayed empty as long as they tried to record. The director, a local named Samuel Renard, said it best: "It's uncanny."


There's no obvious distortion or anomaly, but one of the cameras was filming the reception desk. For some reason, the entire time the cameras rolled, no clerks were at the desk, despite them being told that no breaks were allowed while filming was ongoing.


There are certain areas of reality averse to being filmed or photographed, such as the Great Dismal Swamp Anomaly or Oxford's so-called "third tower". This is one of the only times the Institute has seen a space that makes people averse to being recorded.


The Garden Incident


The rooftop garden was tall enough to have a view of the entire Cape May shoreline, with foliage strategically placed in such a way that it blocked out the more urban and New Jersey-like parts of the city from view. To a black-and-white camera, most of the plants even look real.


There is no obvious anomaly on the rooftop itself; the footage shows people sunbathing, a few even waving to the camera. Things go wrong as the camera tries to get a panoramic view of Cape May.


As the camera turns to face the Atlantic, the film shows signs of heavy degradation. The audio track records a male scream, along with a “Holy sh--” before the camera inexplicably shows a view of the Lassiter’s roof. The film crew looks up at the camera directly, stunned. It hovers in place, before falling to the ground six storeys below, spinning four times as it drops. When it faces the sky, a shadowy shape is visible, towering over the Lassiter and blotting out the sun.


Just before the camera lands, its momentum is arrested, and it’s placed upright. People run out of the hotel to recover the camera, clearly confused. Pedestrians walk by, seemingly ignorant of what just happened. Through the glass doors of the lobby, a figure wearing a boater hat is visible.


The Room 47 Incident


Room 47 of the Lassiter was one of eight luxury suites in the Lassiter, each named after one of the other eight planets at the time; To be specific, this room was known as the Neptune Suite. It’s twice the size of a standard room, has two bedrooms, a kitchenette, a much larger bathroom, and a private balcony, and is decorated with a prevalent nautical theme. The crew had intended to film an average day in the suite, hiring a pair of actors to pretend they were on a relaxing vacation… but something went wrong.


The actors-- a blonde woman and a brunette man, both white-- enter the room and mime going through the process of unpacking; as they do, the camera lingers on a corner of the room right by the door. While the corner is in focus, something appears there. It's an oval shape with a mirror-like texture and indistinct edges, showing only darkness. It's present in the corner in subsequent shots, but not focused on in any way.


The actors were eventually directed to change into bedclothes and pretend to sleep, with the shades drawn over the windows to simulate low light. But in that darkness, the oval anomaly seems to glow.


And then, slowly, a limb emerges from the aperture, as glossy and dark as the mirrored surface it emerged from. As it does, someone is heard asking, "Does anyone else smell that?"


Then, someone else: "The camera's on fire!"


The being fully emerges from the aperture just as the camera is destroyed by fire. One of the actors screams as she sets eyes on it.


Supplemental


The fire that resulted from passively recording the anomaly in Room 47 resulted in over $50,000 in damage to the Lassiter, though there were no reported deaths. After the blaze was extinguished, the hotel had to be closed for repairs and inspection; during this time, a large amount of mold was discovered throughout the hotel, necessitating a complete remodel.


The Neptune Suite was inspected and re-opened after nothing was found amiss within. Until 1985, the Lassiter put a notice everywhere they could-- on the front door, in the pool, the lobby, the rooms, everywhere.


"For the purposes of protecting the architectural integrity and uniqueness of the Lassiter Hotel, we ask that guests refrain from photography within the building, including the rooftop garden. Thank you for understanding."

 

Next Entry: The Lassiter Hotel Footage, Part 2