A couple were shocked to discover what was inside a hidden compartment in the bathroom of their 80-year-old home.
Bo Grant lives in Louisiana with her husband in a house they bought nine years ago. The property was originally built in 1948 and, to the surprise of the couple, there was a hidden part in which old items had been stored.
“We thought the wall was open to our attic,” Grant told Newsweek. In a video posted to @marriedtoalunatic on TikTok, which has received over 902,000 views since it was shared on October 30, Grant’s husband can be seen opening the compartment above the shower that had been covered up by previous owners.
@marriedtoalunatic/TikTok
Once the compartment had been unveiled, the couple discovered 21 items inside. The video shows what the couple found, including scrolls of what appears to be decorative wallpaper and old bank checks.
“The oldest dated items we found were from 1941 and 1940,” Grant says in the video. “It was super cool to find some old antique stuff.”
Then, the finds take an eerie turn as the couple find a box labeled as poison tablets and a bottle labeled as poison.
“We do know the original owner’s wife outlived him, for people thinking he used it to kill his wife and hide the evidence,” Grant said. “The original owners have passed away so there is no one for us to contact for more information on the odd things found in there.
“We plan to preserve the historical pieces and frame the wallpaper to keep as heirlooms to share the fascinating story.”
@marriedtoalunatic/TikTok
Grant and her husband are among the many people in the U.S. who bought an existing home rather than a new build; in this case in Louisiana, where the average house price is $198,951, according to Zillow.
In 2023, 4 million people bought existing homes across the country, compared to the under 1 million who bought new builds.
Many were impressed by the couple’s finds and took to the comments of Grant’s video to share their thoughts.
“You should look back in records if there was any past unexplained deaths in your home,” a TikTok user with the name Winter Wonderland said.
“Don’t dispose of it! pass it off to historians to study and preserve,” posted @PandoraPanther. Meanwhile, joseecousineau371 commented: “I’m 65 and I remember when I was young, and I had a knee scrape or cut, my mom would put an antiseptic that was red and it was call mercury chrome.”
Renee Hughes-Bourass wrote: “Everyone loving the wallpaper, it’s cool, but I’m loving the poison bottles!! as a vintage bottle collector to find them with intact labels is amazing. highly collectible! Great finds.”
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