A couple lived in an old house for several years and later decided to renovate their wine cellar. Before the remodeling, they stumbled upon a hidden door in their wine cellar, leading to a chilling discovery.
Wooden shelves with dusty glass bottles of wine | Source: Pexels
In October 2016, a Reddit user shared a harrowing account of what began as a renovation project in the cellar of their Victorian terrace house in which they lived with their wife.
The Original Poster (OP) and their spouse, who had resided in their home for approximately five years, initially intended to transform their seldom-used cellar into a mini gym.
A historic Victorian house in Cape May, New Jersey | Source: Pexels
When the pair first moved into the house, they kept wine and some of their belongings in the cellar. “[…] My wife liked the idea of telling people we had a ‘wine cellar’ but it got annoying going down there every time so we stopped using it,” OP explained.
They were the only ones living there and did not need to use the cellar for storage. One weekend, the couple decided to clean it up. As they stripped away old, yellowed floral wallpaper, they uncovered a secret door, seamlessly integrated into the wall.
A door frame showing a dark hallway | Source: Pexels
Curiosity piqued, the couple initially assumed the door led to their neighbor’s cellar, a common architectural feature among the terraced houses on their street.
They even planned on telling their neighbor the next morning about the doorway. OP admitted they were not comfortable having that kind of access point in their home.
A man and a woman talking while having a meal | Source: Pexels
However, before talking to their neighbor, OP’s wife looked through the small circle hole in the door, where the door handle had been removed. But she could not see through it clearly because it was too dark. OP recalled:
“So because we’re nosy, we used the torch on her phone to peek through the hole. My wife looked first. She suddenly went still.”
A silhouette of a person | Source: Pexels
A closer inspection revealed a set of stone steps descending to yet another door, challenging their expectations. “This doesn’t go into next door’s cellar,” OP’s wife remarked as she slowly moved back from the door and her spouse frowned.
Driven by curiosity, OP decided to go alone despite speaking to the wife about talking to their neighbor first. Once she left, OP descended the stone stairs to see what lay beyond the ancient wooden door.
A man walking down the stone steps | Source: Pexels
It was in this concrete room, devoid of any other exits, that OP encountered a mysterious figure that defied explanation. OP remembered:
“I waved the torch around and nearly jumped out of my skin.”
Standing motionless with its back turned, dressed in a black suit and a black-rimmed hat, the figure’s presence was unnerving. OP described the moment saying: “There was a man stood at the back wall, facing the wall, his back to me.”
A silhouette of a man during night time | Source: Pexels
The encounter escalated quickly as the figure began moving towards OP in a backward, unnatural manner. The man’s foot slammed on the floor as he began to move. OP expressed:
“The sound shook me out of my frozen state and I jumped back.”
OP shared they had never seen a person move in that manner before, leaving them frightened. In a state of panic, OP fled, sealing the door behind them, including the door at the cellar.
Entrance to a hidden cellar | Source: Pexels
“I hesitated by the door, barricading it with my arm, trying to control my breathing and understand what I’d just witnessed,” OP divulged. While in the house, OP heard the sound of the door in the cellar open and heard “what sounded like a huge lump of flesh dragging along the floor.”
In addition, OP heard a low hissing noise and ran out of the house, calling out the wife’s name. At that point, she was at the neighbor’s front step talking to him and OP pulled her aside.
A woman standing by the doorway | Source: Pexels
But before telling them what occurred, OP called the police. While waiting for the authorities to arrive, the three of them stood looking at their home, as OP saw the lights flicker until they went out completely.
OP recalled holding the spouse’s hand very tightly, while the trio stared at the dark windows of their home, waiting for the law enforcement officers to arrive. Despite a thorough investigation, no evidence of the figure was found, leaving more questions than answers.
A man and a woman holding hands | Source: Pexels
The authorities’ examination of the hidden room unearthed symbols carved into the concrete and traces of what appeared to be ancient dried blood.
The police could not explain the room’s origin or its sinister contents only adding to the couple’s distress. “They sealed off the room and we’ve never gone down into the cellar again,” the OP revealed.
Read more about a mother who rented an old house for the night and discovered a carbon copy of her young son in a painting inside.
