Awesome - Woman Finds A Hidden Room In Her House - Then She Uncovers A Major Secret
Life is full of ups and downs, and whenever we think that we have seen or experienced everything, a new surprise comes around the corner. However, when it comes to the people you love or the places you always go to, you don’t really expect a surprise. Now imagine if the most surprising and secretive thing in your life is actually hidden right under your nose and somewhere in your house? This happened to a woman who had discovered an unusual space in her own home! Once you see what she discovered, you will probably be inspired to start digging around your house too. Stick around because you wouldn’t believe what she was able to find!
A Little Hint
If horror movies have taught us anything, it is that we should never go to the basement alone, especially if it is dark. Maybe that’s why we reckon that they are the scariest places and that nothing good can happen there. But, for the protagonist of this story, the basement is a place of a fresh start and connection with an important moment of history.
The Owner
The Sherlock Holmes of this story is Alexandra Poulos, who just like the famous detective didn’t want to give up until she solved the mystery that her childhood home held. She claims that she has always known that the house is special, but it took a long time until she found some evidence to back up her beliefs. In the end, the proof finally surfaced, and it appeared underground.
The Mysterious House
Even though this house looks just like every other house on the block, there is something special about it. It is located in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, and Alexandra’s family bought this house in 1974. She had spent her entire childhood in this house, and for her, the place keeps a lot of memories, mostly of her beloved family.
For all of us, our childhood homes have a special place in our hearts, because this is where we took our first steps and made our first friendships. For Alexandra, this white colonial-style house was her safe place while she was growing up. Even though nobody knew what was actually hidden beneath it, Alexandra always had a feeling, but she was not fully aware of it.
Omen
Even if you don’t believe in prophecies, you will have to agree that the following story is unbelievable, and it will give you goosebumps. Apparently, while she was living in the house with her family, Alexandra had some strange dreams about it. Her dreams were very vivid, and they were giving her hints that something weird was happening inside her home.
Alexandra said that she had random dreams when she was a child, and her dreams were telling her that there were other rooms in the house that no one knew about. Being just a kid, people thought that all of this was a product of her imagination, so they weren’t paying much attention to it. But Alexandra couldn’t forget about it, and the images of all those doors and passageways she dreamed about were always on her mind.
But, is it possible that the house itself had anything to do with her dreams? Could it send her some secret signals, which only she could see and hear in her dreams? This world is full of paranormal phenomena, so we can take that as a possibility, because later on, her dreams did come true in a certain way. If we didn’t know differently, so far, we would think that this is just another episode of ‘The X Files’, but believe it or not, this is a true story.
Odd Feelings
Alexandra wasn’t the only one who got strange vibrations from the house. Many people who visited the home would say that they had the eerie feeling whenever they were there. They didn’t see anything specific, and nothing strange ever happened, but they just felt uncomfortable being there. The strange sensation was always hovering through the air, and it was haunting many people.
Sad Losses
Losing a family member is one of the biggest and saddest tragedies that a person can experience, and in 2008, Alexandra’s mother passed away. They were extremely close, so Alexandra was devastated, and she had a hard time moving on. But that wasn’t the end of the tragedies in Alexandra’s family – another resident of the strange house passed away.
Only seven months after her mother had died, she lost her brother as well. You would think that maybe the house had something to do with it, but Alexandra didn’t think so. For her, the house now was even more special, because it held the memory of her mother and her brother, and it was essential for her to keep the house and she didn’t want to give it up.
New Estate
She might have lost two family members, but Alexandra didn’t want to lose the house as well. After the tragedies, her father moved out, but Alexandra made him sign over the rights of the home to her. That’s how the house still remained in their family, and so the path was made clear for the thing lurking under the house to show its face and make a big entrance.
Memory Keeper
For many people, it would be difficult to go back into the house that was a reminder of someone who wasn’t there anymore. Yet, for Alexandra that house was a holy place because, as she said, ‘My mother and brother, they were still there for me’. Therefore, Alexandra was now in possession of a new house, and it would turn out to be the best decision in her life.
New Tenants
Alexandra was officially the new owner of the white house, but she could not live there, because she had another home. She decided to put the white house up for rent, and she was on a hunt for tenants, who would live there, and hopefully not feel any strange vibe from the place. Eventually, she rented her childhood home, and it was time for a new family to start making memories there.
First Problems
Not long after, some problems arose, and the house was in need of repairs. There were some serious issues with the foundations of the house, so the basement was about to get occupied by workers. The secret was about to be revealed, and something unexpected was on the way. Multiple things in the basement started breaking, and Alexandra had to solve the problems ASAP.
The first thing that broke down was the oil tank, and then after that old pipes started cracking, so the entire system had to be replaced. The final and the biggest problem was cracks on the walls, which could cause big damage to the house, so Alexandra didn’t hesitate, and decided straight away to repair the house that she loved so much.
Forgotten Stories
The basement’s problems had awakened some old memories, and Alexandra began to remember some old stories about her house, which her neighbor used to tell. An old doctor and his wife who were her neighbors back in the time told her dad that there was a basement under her basement. Her dad had never believed that story and thought that the old guy was just crazy.
But after all those years, Alexandra couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe that story was true, and that it was somehow related to the dreams she used to have, and which she had never completely forgotten. She decided to take matters into her own hands, and to finally discover the truth that was haunting her all that time. Her dreams were slowly becoming her reality.
Investigation
Bothered by all of her doubts, Alexandra decided to start her own investigation about her neighborhood and see if there was anything strange about it. She said that she spent hours investigating the history of that area, but for the longest, she couldn’t find anything. Then, one night around 2 A.M. she came across an article that was helpful. The first clue was about to be discovered.
The article was about the nearby house whose owners discovered something quite peculiar about it. They found out that their home was linked to the Underground Railroad, and they had a similar problem as Alexandra, but the solution was amazing. Below the cemented basement, they discovered an extra room, and at that moment, Alexandra started to wonder if a part of the Underground Railroad was under her house too.
What Is the Underground Railroad?
The Underground Railroad is an important part of American history, and it holds many secrets of old America. Overall, the Underground Railroad was formed in the late 1700s, and it was a network of secret routes and safe houses, which were used by enslaved African-Americans, who wanted to escape into free states or Canada. Of course, not everyone supported slavery, and those who were against it formed this network in order to help people be free again.
The Underground Railroad wasn’t literally a railroad, it was more of a secretly organized movement, and it is estimated that by 1850, approximately 100,000 slaves had escaped using the Underground Railroad. Therefore, its significance is undeniable, and anyone would be thrilled to have a part of it lurking under their home.
Let’s Dig In!
There’s always a silver lining to every bad situation, and Alexander was able to find it fast. Even though her basement had some severe issues, she decided to use it to her advantage and to finally search for the buried monster. When workers came to fix the broken pipes and crack on the walls, they received a strange request.
She asked them if they could dig a little deeper. Actually, magnitudes deeper than they had initially planned! Alexandra said that they probably thought that she was crazy, but eventually she told them about the possible historical connection and that she was very curious to find out if there was anything down there. Workers were surprised, but they accepted her requests, even though they had never done anything like that.
The Call
Alexandra didn’t have to wait long. Just a day after digging, the workers called Alexandra and let her know that they had found something strange. The construction manager told her, “You’re not going to believe this. They found it.” She couldn’t believe that her dreams were finally beginning to come true and that after all, she wasn’t crazy.
The workers also said, “A large hole in the basement floor leads to a previously unknown room 14 feet below.” Alexandra was in a state of shock, but they swore they didn’t lie and told her that the place was a whole other area of the house. Apparently, no one could believe her story until the evidence came to light.
Workers were mostly shocked by the size of the room, it was 6 to 8 feet wide and about 15 feet long, so it was definitely a pretty decently sized room. They suspected that that place was built before the rest of the house. Alexandra decided not to dig any further, because she was afraid of the house breaking down and she didn’t want to damage its foundation. But there was one more thing she could do, to dig through history even more.
The First Step
Alexandra was delighted to find out that her home had some strange foundations, both literally and historically, and something like that doesn’t happen every day. She wanted to know more about her area and the role it played in history because for her that wasn’t only her childhood home, it was something more, and she had to figure out what it was.
History Class
Before we continue with Alexandra’s story, we should do the same thing that she did. Learn more about history, and then decide if it is even possible that her house is as special as she claims. To do that, we will have to travel through time, around 400 hundred years to be more precise in order to revise our knowledge about that sad period.
A Difficult Start
During the 17th century, the saddest period of American history had begun, and the consequences will be present forever. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, people from the continent of Africa were forced into slavery in the American colonies and exploited for labor in very difficult conditions. They were mostly used for work in the production of cotton or tobacco.
It is very difficult to estimate how many people were victims of slavery, but it is believed that 6 to 7 million black slaves were brought to the New World only in the 18th century. By the middle of the 19th century, the world was fed up with this brutal movement, and everything led to the bloody Civil War, which tore the nation apart.
The Abolishing of Slavery
Shockingly, during the 19th century, slavery was still legal in many states across America. But many people were ready to fight the injustice because no one deserved to live such a cruel life. People started to create organizations that would help slaves and abolish slavery. The Underground Railroad was one of them, and while the progress was slow, the work eventually paid off!
Heroes
Many people had to sacrifice their own lives in order to help others, and some of them were the true heroes of the time. One of them was Levi Coffin from North Carolina, who managed to smuggle thousands of slaves while risking his own life. Later on, he was nicknamed ‘The President of the Underground Railroad’, and due to his religious beliefs, he was a strong opponent of slavery.
Some former slaves risked everything to help others because nobody knew better than them about how difficult their lives were. The most famous was definitely Harriet Tubman, who was born into slavery, but managed to escape it, and then dedicated her life to helping others do the same. She escorted over 300 slaves into freedom, and she was very proud because she had never lost a single passenger on their way to freedom.
The Role of Pennsylvania
Slavery was documented in the area of Pennsylvania in early 1639 when they first started importing slaves from Africa. In the first years, masters used slaves to clear land and build houses, and also many were household servants, so they were some strange symbols of wealth. They lived in terrible conditions, and because they imported more male than female slaves, the family formation was limited.
In the place where the mysterious house is today, during the American Revolutionary War, Pennsylvania passed the Gradual Abolition Act in 1780, which allowed the children of slave mothers to be born free, and they had to be registered at birth. After the revolution, many masters freed their slaves, and by 1810 ‘only’ 795 slaves were listed in the state.
Pennsylvania Route
Technically, Pennsylvania was a free state at the time of the Underground Railroad, but regardless the Fugitive Slave Act was very strict and it required people to help slave owners recapture slaves who managed to run away. Therefore, a lot of slaves still couldn’t be completely free because they were being chased across the state.
For that reason, many escaped slaves had to stay hidden, and in order to do that they needed help because they had nowhere to go. They needed safe places where they could stay until they could be free at last. This is where the Underground Railroad came in and offered help for many who found refuge under the houses of good people.
Putting Together a Puzzle
After traveling through history, we have to find an answer to the most important question. Is it really possible that Alexandra’s basement, and the secret room under it, was a part of the Underground Railroad, and was it a pit stop to freedom?
As mentioned before, many people felt discomfort when they were visiting the house, and they had a theory about the secret room as well. They think that the secret passage was used for some evil things and that would explain why they didn’t like the house. Of course, this was only speculation, but Alexandra didn’t buy it at all. She knew that there wasn’t anything malicious about the house.
Word of an Expert
Alexandra decided to look for help because she knew that she couldn’t solve the mystery by herself, and we all know that every Sherlock has their Watson. Watson, in this case, was Rachel Moloshok, the managing editor of publications for the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Based on Rachel’s title, she was for sure the best choice to be Alexandra’s helper, and she had some interesting news for us.
Moloshok said that the region around Alexandra’s house is generally known as an abolitionist sympathizer area where many people were involved in anti-slavery activism, including potential participation in the Underground Railroad. But, because of all that, is it easy for people to get carried away, and to connect every unusual thing with it. It wouldn’t be the first or the last time that people had made a mistake drawing conclusions.
Work of an Expert
She also added that the only way to find out what the truth is if she, “researched who the owners were in the past and follow up on property records and see if there were people who were known to be vocal abolitionists, based on the actual documentation.” Rachel said that it would be wrong to make any conclusions about the house before Alexandra fully investigated the property records.
Non-believers
Of course, where there is hope there is also a group of people who try to destroy it. Many people doubt the existence of the Underground Railroad in general because they think that it wasn’t possible to create an entire system without being noticed. They believe that it would take a lot of time to build something like that and that all the digging would be extremely suspicious.
Also, if her room is really a part of the Underground Railroad, where are all the others? Non-believers think that Alexandra’s story makes no sense, and they are not willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. They don’t believe in the historical facts, and therefore they think that Alexandra’s claims are unfounded.
Other Opinions
One of the theories is that the room under the house was a place for hiding- not slaves, but other valuable things. Or maybe it could have just been used as storage space. The possibilities are endless, and we have to choose the one that makes the most sense for us.
Don’t Give Up
After all that she experienced with her basement, Alexandra isn’t ready to give up, and she is determined to find the answer. Her goal is to confirm her theory that her basement was a part of the Underground Railroad and that it helped many people on their journey to freedom. It would mean a lot to her if she one day convinces others that she is right.
Although she still hasn’t been able to find concrete evidence that connects her room with the historical events, she is actively working on it, and she is finding more information about her neighborhood. She has been trying to convince neighbors to look under their homes as well because chances are that there are many more houses out there with a similar hidden room!
The Greatest Support
As Alexandra continues to drill and search for answers, her tenant has been surprisingly chill and open to her research. He is more than fine with it and even willing to help Alexandra. She says that he is enthralled with everything and obsessed with the entire situation just like she is. So, it looks like it was destiny for him to move into this house and enjoy its strangeness.
Alexandra and her tenant Jerry are a match made in heaven because he said, “I’ve always known this house is special, from the second I walked in it. It’s like a spirit saying, ‘Don’t leave me.’” So, who knows maybe there is really something special about the place, and we are definitely curious to find out what it is.
The Plan
If and when she manages to find the evidence that would confirm her suspicions, Alexandra has a long term plan. One day she would like to lead tours of the secret room of her basement and hopefully other houses in the neighborhood if they have similar rooms. Alexandra is sure that many rooms are still undiscovered.
She would like to show to people a piece of American history, and she doesn’t want the efforts of the members of the Underground Railroad to be forgotten. We have to salute her for all her attempts to spread awareness of it, and if she can make some money on the way as well, good for her. We just have to wait and see what will happen to the mysterious basement and the room under it, because so far, there’s still a long way to go to be sure about anything.
The Tour
If you are interested in this part of American history, and you don’t want to wait for Alexandra to finish the project, we got you covered. If you ever decide to visit New York City, then you should go and check out the NYC Slavery and Underground Railroad Tour. There you can discover the story of NYC during the days of slavery and hear real stories from New Yorkers, and their opinions on these difficult times.
During the tour, you can listen to the stories of citizens who risked their lives to help slaves as they tried to escape and also be able to visit some of the historic spots on the Underground Railroad. The tour is led by expert guides, so you would definitely hear some astonishing pieces of information about the age of slavery. If you want to find out more about this topic, this tour is a perfect choice for you, and fingers crossed that one day, Alexandra will be able to give others a similar experience.
400 Years of Dark
August 2019 marked 400 years since the first slave was brought to America, so Alexandra’s story has gone viral right on time. Slavery was and always will be the saddest part of American history. It must never be forgotten so that such a thing would never happen again. We are glad that people like Alexandra are trying to keep the memory alive because its importance is timeless.
Educate Yourself
Even though Alexandra hasn’t found her happy ending yet, we are convinced that she will find the answers she is looking for. Maybe her story is a good reminder that we need to learn more about history, and potentially dig some holes under our houses because if this story has taught us anything, it is that we should expect the unexpected and that we can never know what stories may lie beneath our lovely houses.
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