Woman discovers hidden room in 1987 home – and everyone has same warning

A woman shared her shock after discovering a secret room in her 1897 house - and has taken to social media to ask users what it was likely used for.

She lives in a127-year-old house

She lives in a 127-year-old house (Image: Getty)

A woman got the shock of her life after discovering a secret room in her 127-year-old house - but some believe she should stay well away from it.

She explained how she came across the room after noticing an obscurity with the panelling in a closet upstairs in the house.

Curious, she inspected it closer and realised it was 'covering' something. She said on Reddit: "I found this room hidden in my house last year. The only way to access it is to take the paneling down in the closet upstairs. I think it's so cool! My house was built in 1897.

"My son kept telling me that the attic did not add up with the downstairs. He said there had to be hidden space. Low and behold, there was."

Seeking answers, she added: "Any ideas what this room may have been used for?" Speculating its former use, one user said: "Murder room."

While another added: "There are many people who would say to leave things as they are (let sleeping lie). Have you felt any changes in the house since opening it?" A third user said: "Not knowing your exact location makes it hard to pinpoint its use exactly.

"But I think a room like that would be similar to the secret rooms created during the Revolutionary War (100 years prior to your house being built) as well as the Civil War; which lines up date-wise. As those secret rooms were mainly used to hide valuables and store food so enemies wouldn't.confiscate/loot them.

"Could also have been used to hide runaway slaves. But again. Not knowing your regional location I'd say that either of those are the best guestimations I can provide." However, pointing out a possible problem with this theory, another user replied: "1897 is over three decades after the end of slavery and the Civil War in the US."

Following this, the user added: "I'm aware. But the Civil War reconstruction was primarily mid-1860s to late 1870s. And a lot like people's grandma's born in the early 1900s, they continued to stock cold cellars and such their whole life after going through the Great Depression as a preparation and fear of hard times returning.

"The same goes for secret rooms, they were continued to be implemented in homes for safety precautions. But for the hiding of runaway slaves - just because slavery ended in the Civil War, it took decades for certain regional areas to finally abolish it."

Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express?