An Ohio couple began what sounds like a serene project — renovating their vintage home. But as work progressed, they started to get hints that the house may have a sinister past.
They began finding clues to this darker history working in the basement and found something truly remarkable after chopping away the home’s plywood. So significant were their discoveries that they led to a federal investigation.
A Big DIY Undertaking
The couple bought a fairly large suburban home that had two main floors plus a basement. The house was large enough that they were settled in for a fairly lengthy renovation project.
Prepared for a DIY project that could potentially take years and incur spiraling costs of thousands of dollars if they weren’t careful, they decided to approach the renovations strategically. They decided to begin with the top two floors and leave the basement as the last part of the house they touched.
On to the Basement
To start with, the renovation went pretty smoothly. They faced a few of the typical setbacks people face when fixing up a house but nothing out of the ordinary. With the top two floors taken care of, they prepared for what they expected to be the most costly and time-consuming part of the process — the basement.
Before jumping straight into project, they started by scoping out the space to see exactly what they were dealing with. They started slowly at first, but almost immediately began noticing clues that something odd had happened in the house.
If These Walls…
The couple first noticed something out of the ordinary when peeling back the wallpaper in the basement. They noticed drawings and writing all over the place, which struck them as unusual.
Things only got more bizarre from there. Removing a portion of the ceiling, the husband found something peculiar lodged in it. The object had been tucked safely between the rafters and took him by surprise. Whatever was tucked away in the rafters was lodged in tight and he really had to tug to get it out. But this isn’t the most interesting discovery in the old walls.
The Mystery Suitcase
After pulling down the rest of the ceiling and parts of the walls, he discovered another hidden, much larger object. In the walls of his new home, someone had stashed a suitcase.
The man assumed that someone had hidden this green-and-grey suitcase in this way to ensure no one else would find it. Taking it down, he was struck by how heavy it was. Obviously, the discovery prompted a lot of questions — how long had it been there, what could possibly be inside, and why hide it in this way?
Opening the Case
Opening the suitcases, the couple found a bunch of strange old bundles wrapped in wax paper. The couple began to unwrap the wax paper to see what was inside.
Peeling away the waxy material, they discovered the bundles were cash. And a lot of it. Unwrapping the first wax package, the husband held in his hands a large stack of $20 bills.
Old Bills
To add to the mystery, these seemed to be old bills too. And the sheer amount of cash in the suitcase was staggering.
Unwrapping the other wax paper stacks, they found stacks of $50 and $100 bills. Someone had hidden a suitcase full of a huge amount of cash in the basement of their new home years ago. The suitcase also contained a newspaper from 1951, giving them a clue of when the suitcase had been hidden.
Continuing the Renovation
The mystery doesn’t stop here. As the couple continued the basement renovation, they discovered a second hidden suitcase containing even more money than the first.
Around the same time they made these basement discoveries, the couple also discovered a strange door on the second floor of their home. The realtor had told them this door housed the hot water heater.
Not the Water Heater
With the basement mysteries they had discovered, they were now less inclined to believe the realtor’s assessment. Their suspicions were correct.
The door opened into a larger room that seemed like it had been used at some point in the past. Inside the room was a mysterious brown leather briefcase containing jewelry, watches and rings. There were also envelopes containing foreign currency from all around the world and an antique wooden box.
The Room Housed More Secrets
Venturing further into the secret, soundproof, second-story room, the couple discovered a black safe with a lock. Having discovered so much already, they forced the safe open.
Inside the safe was something truly chilling — a white piece of paper with the words “SAVE YOURSELF” written in thick black ink. This isn’t where the bone-chilling discoveries end.
Mysterious Tapes
Inside the lid of the safe were the words “DO NOT” written in white ink — yet another ominous warning. If the couple weren’t alarmed already, the contents of the safe would definitely send shivers up their spines.
Under the “SAVE YOURSELF” warning letter were multiple videotapes. These tapes had again been hidden away for some potentially nefarious reason, just like the suitcases in the basement. However, these tapes seemed to be from after 1951, so the house clearly had a long, mysterious, dark history.
Want to Know How the Mystery Ends?
If you want to know how this story ends … so do we. The couple watched some of the tapes, but the contents were never made publicly known. Whatever was on them prompted them to call the authorities, and their house quickly became a federal crime scene.
The FBI seized all the mystery discoveries as part of their investigation. The husband had been posting updates and photos of their discoveries on a Reddit thread until it was requested he take everything down as the details were part of an ongoing investigation. Each subsequent discovery and each twist and turn in the tale of this Ohio home renovation only created more mystery, and now all we can do is speculate on the house’s dark history.
