A woman got the shock of her life when she discovered a secret room in her 127-year-old house – but some say she should stay away from it.
She explained how she came across the room after noticing an inconsistency in the paneling of a closet on the upper floor of the house.
Curious, she looked closer and realized it was “covering up” something. On Reddit, she wrote: “I found this room hidden in my house last year. The only way to get to it is to remove the paneling in the closet above. I think this is so cool! My house was built in 1897.”
“My son kept telling me that the attic didn’t fit with the ground floor. He thought there had to be a hidden room. And lo and behold, there was.”
Seeking answers, she added: “Any idea what this room might have been used for?” One user speculated on its previous use, saying: “Murder room.”
Another added: “Many people would say to leave everything as it is (let it sleep). Have you noticed any changes in the house since it opened?” A third user said: “Unless you know its exact location, it’s difficult to pinpoint usage.
“But I think such a room would be similar to the secret rooms created during the Revolutionary War (100 years before your house was built) and the Civil War; which coincides in time. Because these secret rooms were mainly used to hide valuables and store food so that it could not be confiscated/looted by enemies.
“Could also have been used to hide runaway slaves. But again. Not knowing your area, I’d say either is the best guess I can make.” However, another user pointed out a potential problem with this theory, responding, “1897 is over three decades after the end of slavery and the Civil War in the US.”
The user then added, “I’m aware of that. But Reconstruction after the Civil War took place primarily between the mid-1860s and late 1870s. And much like the grandmothers of people born in the early 1900s, after the Great Depression they continued to stock cold basements and the like throughout their lives in preparation for and fear of hard times returning.
“The same goes for secret rooms. They continued to be set up in houses for security reasons. But as far as hiding runaway slaves goes, just because slavery ended in the Civil War, it took decades for certain regions to finally abolish it.”
