Not In The Inventory
When moving into a home that had a previous tenant, it’s common to find the occasional personal item left behind in the chaos of the move.
But some people have come across things that are so bizarre, it’s made them question whether they should have bought the property in the first place.
Live Missiles
Spring cleaning can take a while when you constantly come across things you don’t know whether to keep or throw out. But it’s an entirely different experience altogether when you find live missiles cluttering up your home.
William Wittman, 70, of Wisconsin, found a 20-inch missile hidden behind a wall in his house, which was previously owned by a WWII veteran who collected war memorabilia. It was picked up by the bomb squad and detonated safely. And some homeowners have found even older remnants of the past.
Link To The Past
While doing some refurbishment work on a 1930s house he’d bought, one Reddit user found something that looked like it belonged to a medieval castle.
The giant chain had stopped the homeowner in his tracks and prompted an investigation into what it was attached to. It turned out it was probably part of an old coal furnace or dumbwaiter - which is infinitely less horrifying than what some people have found.
Hidden Cameras
It’s can be an uncomfortable experience staying in a strange new home. But can you imagine renting a property only to find there are hidden cameras watching your every move?
Dougie Hamilton was staying at an Airbnb in Toronto, Canada, with his partner when they discovered a secret camera tucked into the alarm clock. The company launched a full investigation. But some discoveries can be far more pleasant.
DaVinci Painting
Renovation work on very old buildings are almost definitely going to turn up some ancient relic or other - but imagine the surprise of these workers when they uncovered a genuine Leonardo Da Vinci mural!
The priceless artwork was discovered in a room which already had a Da Vinci piece in it, making it easy to identify despite the 17 layers of whitewash that was covering it. But at least it wasn’t as nasty as what this man found.
Secret Roommate
A group of students from Ohio State University started to hear strange noises when they were hanging out at their shared house. Soon they found doors had been mysteriously opened and food had gone missing.
Upon investigation, they discovered a guy called Jeremy had been living in a secret room. They told him to leave immediately. If only all unwanted house guests were so easy to get rid of.
Spiders!
Brian and Susan Trost bought a $450,000 home in St Louis and couldn’t wait to move in - until they found something the previous owner didn’t think to mention.
Thousands of brown recluse spiders one day started “bleeding out of the walls.” The couple was forced to move out before fumigators took over. But depending on your own particular phobias, what this next homeowner found could be a lot worse.
Snakes!
Venomous spiders would be enough to make any new homeowner run for the hills, but can you imagine finding hundreds of poisonous snakes living in your house?
After two owners fled in terror, the five-bedroom “Snake House” in Idaho is on the market for a mere $100,000. Meanwhile, two brothers found something worth a lot more.
Priceless Art
Art lovers assumed the original Norman Rockwell painting ‘Breaking Home Ties’ had been lost forever - believing the one hanging in a museum was a fake. And it turns out, they were half right.
The owner of the original, Donald Trachte, who lived next door to Rockwell, had hidden the original and painted a replica so his wife wouldn’t get it in the divorce. His sons discovered it in a secret compartment behind a bookcase after he passed away. But some antiques are best left hidden in the walls.
Ghostly Voices
Builders often tell horror stories of shoddy construction work they’ve had to deal with when renovating homes, but what this laborer found sent chills down his spine.
The worker found a 100-year-old ouija board - used to make contact with the dead - behind a heating vent in a house he was working in. Spooky, but not worse than finding a full-on infestation.
Bees!
A colorado hometown was confused when she started to notice a brown ooze dripping down the walls of her new house. After calling in the experts, she was mortified to discover 60,000 bees had set up shop in her walls.
And she’s not the only one to find creepy animals had taken over her home.
Bats!
Over in Canada, one man headed up into his attic one day to find hundreds of bats had made the space their home.
He worked diligently to seal up every possible hole in the attic, but because bats love returning to the same spot, they eventually found a way inside and filled it back up again. But at least he knew what he was dealing with.
First Edition
Comic books are highly collectible - especially very old ones. And the most valuable comic book of all time is ‘Action Comics #1,’ which sees the first appearance of Superman.
House flipper David Gonzalez found that someone had used a copy of the book for insulation. It was in terrible condition but still fetched $175,000 at auction, far more than the $10,000 he paid for the run-down house (a good-quality copy could have sold for $3.2 million).
Witches Brew
A witch bottle was found perfectly preserved in Newark when a construction team went to work on an old building. The bottle was filled with hair, fingernails, and urine and was believed to ward off evil spirits, as it created a spiritual link between the owner and the building.
Some things are best left hidden.