When Irishman Daniel Carley saw an available studio apartment with suspiciously cheap rent, he leapt at the chance to move in. It was only after he'd already unpacked his stuff that he began to notice something very strange about the apartment. As if Carley didn't find the decor weird enough, he also found a secret underground tunnel in the place. Exploring below the building, Carley discovered a lot more than he'd bargained for. It turns out there's often a good reason why apartments go cheap. Sometimes you're better off leaving the things that hide below your living space alone...
Too Good To Be True
When Daniel Carley first saw a new apartment listed online, he snapped it up as soon as he could. Daniel didn't even bother to view the property, as he was sure that, for the price, the place would go quickly! It turns out that he might have been a bit too hasty.
An Ancient Building
Immediately after moving his stuff in, Carley began discovering strange things about the property. The building was at least a century old, and had very high ceilings and some very unusual architecture. But even more recent renovations seemed offputting...
Bizarre Decor
There were mirrors everywhere throughout the apartment. This wouldn't seem that strange by itself if there were only a few, but there were too many mirrors, floor to ceiling, making the place constantly look like it's full of other people even when Carley was alone.
An Imperfect Conversion
There's not a lot of horizontal space in the property, so the "bedroom" is nestled on a mezzanine floor. With no guard rail, Carley needed to be careful not to roll out of bed, as he'd fall down into the living room below!
A Creepy Bedroom
More mirrors, hinting that whoever lived here before was into some weird stuff. Both the walls and the ceiling in the "bedroom" were covered in mirrors, which doesn't seem like the behavior of a normal person. What was going on here?
A Hidden Clue
Part way up the wall in the kitchen, there was a hole. This doesn't seem to exist for any logical reason, but it does give us a clue as to the building's secrets. It turns out that there are plenty more hidden surprises in this place.
The Secret Hatch
What initially looks just like part of the floor reveals something far more disturbing. Just outside the bathroom was a hatch that wasn't included in the listing for the apartment online. What could be hiding down here?
What Lies Beneath
Taking a closer look, it's clear that this hatch must be in regular use. There's a latch on it so that someone can open and close it, and it stands out from the floor so that it's easy to lift up— or push up from underneath.
A Dead End?
At first, Carley simply thought that this was some storage space. There was assorted junk down here that must have belonged to a previous tenant, as is common in many older rental properties. But then Carley noticed something chilling.
Hidden In The Shadows
There are steps in this space! Hidden in the darkness was some kind of underground tunnel that leads below the apartment. So is this simply a basement, or something more sinister?
Entering The Dungeon
Fully prepared with a flashlight, Carley began making his way down the steps. Everything was pitch black, and he assumed this space couldn't be that big. He was wrong.
The Labyrinth Below
The tunnel led all the way under the building, snaking and twisting through several rooms. It seemed that this dungeon led all the way under the other apartments in the building. Even as Carley went further into the basement, he couldn't see an end in sight.
The Bricked-Up Window
Clearly this had been part of the building before it had been converted into apartments. There were bricked-up windows that must once have led to other, now inaccessible rooms. But soon Carley found signs that people had been here more recently.
Not Quite Deserted?
Graffiti on a wall made it clear that people had been down here recently - or, at least, as recent as the invention of spray paint. But what possible reason would anyone have for coming down here, and was there another way in or out of the tunnel?
The Fresh Grave
Carley found some disturbed ground, along with some form of grate. There was no brick here; just loose soil. While Carley joked that this might be some kind of grave, it does make sense that there might be bodies buried in the area— especially if the building was an old monastery, as Carley suspected.
A Bed, Or A Tomb?
A large raised brick structure could well be a place where someone slept once upon a time. Or, alternatively, this basement may be the final resting place for a previous owner of the building. With a house this old, it's hard to tell what may have once existed here— and what might still be hiding in the shadows.
Underground Electrics
The presence of fuse boxes suggests that this place is in regular use. Presumably engineers must need to get down here periodically, but how they get in and out isn't entirely clear. There's also plenty of loose live wires hanging around, suggesting that the dungeon isn't exactly safe.
Welcome To The Neighborhood
Exploring further, Carley found himself directly underneath many of his neighbor's apartments. Do they have access to the dungeon as well? And if so, how safe is it for Carley to sleep in his apartment without something heavy blocking the entrance to this entire underground maze?
Eavesdropping
It turns out the floors throughout the building aren't exactly soundproof. Down here, Carley could hear his neighbors in conversation with each other, while spying underneath their floorboards. So has anyone been doing the same thing to him since he moved in?
A Date At Last
Finally, Carley managed to find a date relating to when someone was previously in the tunnel. An old newspaper, dated April 10, 1984 made it clear that someone was down there thirty years ago. Although, of course, this doesn't prove that someone else hadn't been there more recently.
One Man's Trash
The tunnel system was full of debris and junk from previous residents of the building. There's even a large wooden door that looks like it must be very old, tucked away in one corner of an underground room. For now, Carley simply has to hope that nobody else has a hidden door within the dungeon that can let them in and out!