Building 8 “The Room in the Basement”

While moving into my new house, I discovered a room hidden behind a wall in the basement. I went to the home on several occasions before deciding to buy it, but as I was moving the boxes containing my things from my car to the basement, I noticed a discoloration in one of the walls. After tapping the space with my finger, I discovered that it was not made of concrete, but plaster. It sounded hollow. I grabbed a hammer and punched a hole, only to discover that there was a room behind the wall.

Ignoring the fact that I still had a good amount of stuff to bring in, I went to work breaking through the thin plaster. After a couple of minutes of work, I managed to make a hole big enough hole to step through. Grabbing a flashlight, I headed in only to discover a pull cord leading to a light bulb. To my surprise the light worked, and after my eyes adjusted to the new illumination I was able to get a proper view of the room within. It looked very old, certainly older than the building it was built on. Whether or not this room was part of some other preexisting home or whether it was some other sort of building I have not been able to determine. Any records that contained such information are likely stored in the courthouse, and would probably not be accessible by me.

The first thing I noticed besides the age of the room was a medical bed set against the left wall. At first I figured it was just a standard one you would find in a hospital or in a home. However, it was the straps that gave it away. They were attached to the bed, with no apparent way to remove them. It was a bed from a sanitarium, used to secure more dangerous patients.

I was sure that although it had not seen much use recently, it had been used within the last year or so. There were relatively new linens placed on the front of the bed, and the pillow was manufactured by a modern company. Against the adjacent wall is a large bookcase, which contained a large variety of texts. Many of the titles were in languages I did not understand, but much of it had to do with the occult. There were also a large number of medical and surgical manuals and journals. On the ground was a large drain, with heavy stains settled along the edge.

In a corner of the room was a large trashcan full of burnt refuse, mostly in the form of paper, though I was unable to make out anything from them. There was also a long table set against the wall of the room, full of bottles, paper, and ink. There were stains in the wood, and in places there were what looked like burns.

I called the police soon after my initial investigating, as the presence of the bed, the chemicals, the books, and the scratches in the vinyl of the mattress all pointed to foul play. The police arrived soon after, and I was surprised at the lack of questioning I received. The majority of their time was spent clearing out the room, specifically the books and the bottles. They also took the burnt material in the bin as well, but I doubt they will be able to find anything that I couldn't. I tried to ask them what was going on, but they seemed unwilling to speak to me about it. This seemed strange to me, since as the owner of the home I imagined it was within my rights to know if something happened here that they were aware of.

After nearly another hour of work, the room was clear of the majority of its contents. The only thing they left behind was the bookcase, which was too large to move. After that, the police simply up and left, leaving with even more questions than I had to begin with. Their reaction seemed to suggest they knew something of what happened. Even if they did not know the location of the room, they were certainly not surprised at the materials they found. Their sole purpose was to remove what they could, and though they promised they would keep me updated, I believe this is the final word I will receive from the police on the subject

I managed to finally get the rest of my stuff moved in, and it has been days since my discovery. I seem to be adjusting well to my new home. Though not all of my symptoms have subsided I have managed to sleep through the night with little issue, and though I still have nightmarish dreams, I managed to awake rested which has helped me considerably.

I have gone back to the basement several times since then to see if I could find anything else that would help me discover just what happened in the strange hidden room under my home, but have thus far found little. There seems to be scratches on the wall, but that may just be malformations in the admittedly very aged concrete. I have tried look up library records on the property, but it seems that until recently the space had remained unused. It seems that any chance I had at finding the records I needed were lost long ago.

The only thing I could find that might help me identify what happened here was the strangely enough the light bulb. The bulb contained the manufacturer and its model number. The light bulb is over 60 years old, which suggest that the room is at least that old. Until I find out more, this room will remain a mystery, leaving me to ponder what really happened, and why someone felt the need to seal it up.