Forgotten Places
The thought of finding a long-forgotten door leading to a hidden place has an eerie way of making anyone shudder at the thought of what could be inside. Nevertheless, old spaces have an allure that is both tantalizing and forboding.
People who own older homes always wonder if there is something to find within the nooks and crannies, but the reality is that it rarely happens. But for one woman, it did. And it was all because of her daughter’s unsettling drawing.
Dreams
Alexandra Poulos only had fond memories of the home she had lived in as a child. Her parents had purchased their colonial property in 1974. Although the house was attached to so many pleasant memories, she had always had an inexplicably eerie feeling about it.
As a child growing up in that house, recurring dreams about passageways and secret rooms were commonplace for her. But she never imagined that her dreams were anything more than just that -- until she made a discovery.
A Wild Imagination
Alexandra was always blessed with a wild imagination. When she was a child, everyone just assumed that she was imagining a mystery to add some excitement to her life.
But, as an adult, she began to delve a little deeper into the house's history -- and was taken aback by the insight in her childhood imaginings. And it appeared that her daughter had inherited that “wild imagination” too. And it all began the day that they got some bad news.
Devastating News
Alexandra's mother had fallen ill. Although this had been somewhat expected because she had been getting on in years, Alexandra had fully expected her to recover quickly. Her mother was a strong lady. She never realized the poor judgment on her part until it was much too late.
The closely-knit family was devastated by the double-blow that followed. The keepsakes and memories that were so precious to Alexandria still lived in that old house, so she found some comfort from within its four walls. But she still had no idea what the house was hiding.
Leaning On Each Other
Alexandra was extremely grateful to still have her father and thankful that her children still had one of their grandparents. If they leaned on one another, she knew they'd make it through. But, soon, another concern presented itself.
Alexandra’s dad was getting on in years and the large colonial home was extremely difficult to maintain all by himself. After much thought, he broke the news to Alexandria.
Her Cherished Memories At Stake
Alexandra’s father invited her over to share some news. He carefully explained that the property had become completely unmanageable -- he simply couldn't maintain it. He was making plans to sell the much-loved home.
Alexandra was shattered. The hidden magic that the home possessed, as well as her most cherished memories, were in peril of disappearing along with her mother. She decided not to tell Shayne, believing that it was best not to trouble her grieving daughter further by speaking about her own problems.
Trouble Begins
Alexandra wasn’t at all prepared for her father's announcement, but she just had to do something. She managed to persuade her father to sign the home over to her. She was delighted that she'd secured the home and that it would always stay in the family.
She listed the house as a rental and quickly found tenants to move in. But it wasn't long before her daughter suddenly had trouble sleeping. Then, the other strange occurrences began.
Family Portrait
While tidying up her six-year-old's room one day, Alexandra found a drawing. And she didn’t think much of it... at first. She recognized it as a simple, albeit crudely drawn, family portrait.
Her daughter had drawn the family, which comprised four stick figures with captions underneath, “Mom,” “Dad,” “Tim,” and “Me.” But then, Alexandra noticed something that made her skin crawl.
Extra Figures
On the left side of the members of the family, her daughter had drawn two small figures whose faces had been completely crayoned in. But what was even more inexplicable was the writing underneath.
Alexandra tried to decipher the names, but they looked like no language she knew. And, at the bottom of the page, was a diagram of what looked like a blueprint for a house. Only, it wasn’t for the apartment they were currently living in. She recognized the floor plan instantly.
An Extra Room
The floor plan was for her childhood home — Shayne’s grandparents’ home. But her daughter had drawn an extra room in the floor plan that she didn’t recognize. She had lived in that house for almost her whole life… surely there wasn’t a hidden room that she knew nothing about?
And, if Shayne had found it when she had visited her grandparents, why hadn’t she said anything about it?
Secrets
Alexandra heard an old warning echoing in the back of her mind and started to question everything after she saw her daughter’s drawing. Remembering a discussion between her father and a neighbor, she started to wonder if some otherworldly power held sway over her childhood home.
The neighbor had said to her father that the house was hiding something depraved beneath its floors. Alexandra was determined to find it.
A Second Basement
Alexandra’s father had waved off his neighbor’s warning, chalking them up to an old man’s ramblings. But with all the new occurrences in the basement, she began to wonder if what the old man had said was true.
The neighbor had told her father that the home’s basement had a second basement, hidden underneath. Alexandra, wondering if there was any truth to the statement, decided to do some investigating of her own. She hired professional builders to excavate the basement, and they did. What they found beneath left them aghast.
Discovery
The builders, excavating deep beneath the basement, quickly realized that there was something strange afoot. Then, they confirmed what Alexandra, and perhaps Shayne, had intuitively known all along. The basement had a basement of its own!
Alexandra entered it and was dumbfounded. The room revealed little and raised more questions than it answered. It was an extremely simple room, but what was its purpose? Alexandra called in professional help once more. She just had to know why it was there.
Dark History
Alexandra enlisted help from a local historian and quickly learned of the dark history of her hometown. The town had been home to abolitionists, who dedicated their lives to abolishing slavery in Northern America.
They had created a secret network of tunnels, called the Underground Railroad. These tunnels were designed to help people escape undetected through Lansdowne. The historian needed to see the basement for himself, but what he found baffled him beyond belief.
Inconclusive
The historian could reach no definitive conclusion as to what the secret room had been intended for. it could have been a simple storage room, but then why the need to seal it shut? The historian then suggested that the history of the home needed to be investigated further.
Alexandra knew in her heart what the room had been for, and when a neighbor shared information of a similar scenario he had found in his own home, her suspicions only grew stronger.
Underground Railway
Alexandra’s neighbor revealed an interesting piece of information. He too had found a similar hidden room in his home. He told her that the room was indeed part of the Underground Railroad, and Alexandra was then sure that this was the purpose of her hidden room, too.
She had no conclusive evidence, but her feeling was too strong to shake. Then, she shared her story on social media in search of answers. Then, as comments flooded in, she began to piece together the facts about the hidden Underground Railroad from people around her hometown.
Further Investigation
Decades have passed, but evidence of the abolitionists keeps surfacing. The Underground Railroad had been an ingenious system that helped Americans avoid a grisly situation.
Alexandra’s historical and precious find only spurs her to explore the enigmatic movement further, and she wants to shed a light on the subject. “I need to figure out next steps,” Alexandra said. She is keen to pursue the room’s history and continues to investigate.