Like any homeowners, one Ohio couple had big dreams for renovating their 1940s Cleveland home. After renovating the main living spaces on the first and second floors, the DIY couple turned their attention home’s basement. As they began their demolition of the existing basement structure, they began to uncover strange signs. Those signs were followed by an exciting windfall. That windfall was followed by an even more astounding discovery, which would eventually lead to an FBI investigation. But what could the couple have unearthed that would be so shocking that federal investigators would feel compelled to get involved?
Disturbing Demolition
The basement renovations began simply enough. While there was some graffiti drawn on the walls of the basement, the homeowners were undeterred and unsuspecting that something shocking could be hiding within their basement. The homeowner continued on, taking pictures as he worked to document the progress with his home improvement project. As the homeowner began the daunting task of tearing down the aged dropped ceiling, he would soon be faced with a discovery that would have him calling his wife. The couple was about to discover something that would change their lives.
Hidden In The Ceiling
As the pieces of ceiling crashed one by one to the floor, our do-it-yourself homeowner noticed something. Hidden between the old white drop ceiling and the subfloor above was a suitcase. The vintage looking gray and green suitcase was propped against a pipe and squeezed perfectly between the rafters. Someone obviously had taken great care to hide the suitcase. Home repairs brought to a sudden halt, the homeowner removed the suitcase from the rafters and called his wife to come home from work. What he didn’t know was that his discover was certainly worth the disruption. What mysteries would lie within the case?
Awaiting The Reveal
As he waited for his wife to return home from work, our homeowner carried the suitcase outside. He continued to document the process, to be shared later on social media. The man noticed that the small case seemed incredibly heavy for its size, and he turned over ideas of what could be contained inside the case. Could he possibly conceive the size of the surprise waiting in that old green suitcase?
Little Suitcase, Big Dreams
With his wife home to share in the excitement of a mystery, the man carried the suitcase to the back garden. Before opening the old case, the couple decided to prolong the fun by guesses what could be contained inside the unearthed suitcase. The case was clearly old. He wondered if it could be full of antique sports cards. She wondered if it could be old recipes. Perhaps the case would contain priceless antiques. Maybe it would contain cash. The anticipation grew as the couple speculated what they would find. It was time to discover what was hidden within the case.
Mysterious Bundles
Excitedly, the couple opened the small case. Their first glimpse inside didn’t reveal much about the contents, or about the good fortune they would discover within. Inside the case were bundles of yellowed wax paper. The wax paper was clearly wrapped around rectangular objects of some sort. The couple would have to dig further to reveal the mystery of the little green suitcase.
Bundles Full of Money…
The man tentatively unwrapped the first bundle of paper. As he pealed away layers of wax paper, it became clear that the suitcase was full of money. Old money. The first bundle of wax paper revealed a giant stack of $20 bills. The couple couldn’t believe their luck. “These are all twenties! There may be a couple thousand here! We are freaking out at this point,” the man later told newspapers. “This doesn’t happen to us! What do we do? Where are the cameras?” And that was only one of the bundles. How much would their windfall total, and what would they find within the two other bundles of wax paper? Would it be more money, or would it be something even more valuable?
… And Even More Money
The couple’s excitement would end with the opening of the first bundle. They hoped their good fortune would mean that there would be more $20 bills contained in the remaining wax paper bundles. Again, they began to delicately peal back the layers of old wax paper. To their shock, those bundles weren’t full of $20 bills. Those bundles were full of $50 bills and $100 bills. As they unwrapped the money, the couple’s astonishment grew. “The second package didn’t have any twenties. It was all fifties! What is going on here? There could be 5 grand here! Wait! The third package is 100s! This is out of control!” The man described later. Where had the money come from? The bills were clearly old, with dates ranging from 1928 to 1934. But how old were the suitcases? How long had the money been hidden in between the layers of their home? And just how much would the old bills — some of which would turn out to be extremely rare — be worth.
Blast From The Past
It was clear from the style of the case and the shape and style of the money that the suitcase was old. But how old was it? Where was it from? And how long had the money been hidden? Something in the suitcase would give our homeowners some insight into the surprise that they had found. At the bottom of the case was an old newspaper. It was a copy of the couple’s hometown paper, The Cleveland Plain-Dealer. The paper was dated March 25, 1951. Based on the paper and the age of the bills, it seemed the Cleveland home had been hiding the fortune for more than 65 years. So how much value did the old bills have? And what mystery remained?
A Pleasant Windfall
Many of the bills contained within the suitcase were worth more than their face value. Some were star bills that had never been circulated, and they were all more than 70 years old. The couple consulted a lawyer and obtained help in ascertaining the value of their newly found treasure. In all, the money they found in the case was worth $23,000. The couple was thrilled with the windfall. “This was a wild ride for us, and I hope you all enjoyed it, too,” the man would write as he posted his pictures on Reddit. “We are boring people and have been dumping our extra money to pay off our mortgage, and that is where this money will go too.” But as the man posted that final message on Reddit, little did he know that this was the beginning, not the end, of their home’s mystery. As they pressed on with their home renovations, the couple would find more surprises, more treasures and something horrifying enough to get the FBI involved.
More Surprises Await
Once the excitement of their windfall died down, it was time for the couple to press on with their basement renovations. Little did they know, the first case containing $23,000 worth of bills wasn’t the entire mystery they would find within their home. As the unidentified Cleveland man returned to his task of demolishing the basement’s old drop ceiling, he would quickly discover a case hiding within his ceiling’s rafters. What mystery would this suitcase contain? Would it be another unexpected windfall? Would it be the end of the mysteries they would find within their 1940s home?
Another Mystery Case, Another Windfall?
This time around, the man knew he had to wait for his wife to arrive home from work before unveiling the mystery inside the suitcase. As he awaited her arrival, he got out the first case and snapped pictures of the two cases together. The two cases were seemingly identical. Could it be possible that this case would contain a small fortune, as the other suitcase had? Could it be filled with more priceless treasures? Or would the anticipation prove fruitless?
The Mysterious Contents
Knowing the treasure that was within the first case, the couple didn’t waste any time discovering the contents of the second suitcase. While the outside of the cases were identical, the contents of this case were slightly different. Instead of bundles of money wrapped in wax paper, this case was filled with money. The money was lined up in an orderly fashion, organized into denominations. How much money was in this case? Where had it come from? And what surprises still awaited the couple as they continued their home renovations?
An Even Bigger Fortune
Much to the couple’s surprise, the windfall contained in the second suitcase surpassed the treasure held within the first case. The second suitcase had clearly been so well concealed for a reason — it contained $45,000. Once again, the couple was amazed with their luck, but humbly determined to put the money toward the cost of their home and continue on with their home renovations. Little did they know that the small fortune they had discovered hiding in their basement’s ceiling was just the beginning of the mysteries they would discover in their home. And one of those mysteries would lead to FBI involvement.
The Secret Door
Now that the couple knew their house hid some secrets, they were motivated to discover spaces in their home that they had noticed but thought nothing of. The first space they felt was worth exploring hid behind a secret door. The door seemed innocent enough. It looked like any other utility access panel, and the homeowners believed that the door only opened to the space that housed the home’s hot water heater. After all, that is what their realtor had told them when they bought the house. With inspiration to explore, they decided it was time to look behind the small, mysterious door. Their curiosity would lead them to uncover their home’s biggest secret yet.
The Space Behind The Door
As soon as the couple opened the small, white door, they realized that they had been deceived, or that their realtor had been mistaken. They had been led to believe that they were purchasing an ordinary house, but that clearly wasn’t the case. There was no utility room hidden behind the small door. It wasn’t just a space large enough for a hot water heater. They discovered an entire room lurking behind their wall. Swaths of carpet along the floor indicated that the room clearly had seen use over the years. So why would someone take lengths to hide the room?
More Than Meets The Eye
The man was concerned about what they would find lurking within the dilapidated and unexpected spare room in their home. After living in the home for several years, how could they not realize there was an entire room hidden behind the wall? The man told his wife to stay back, and he ventured on his own through the rough, dark room. As he crossed to the other side, he discovered that there were still more mysteries to be uncovered. On the opposite side of the room, the man found more to discover. There was another door. This door wasn’t like the door to the supposed utility room. This door was locked with heavy locks. Clearly no one wanted this room to be discovered. With such high levels of security, what could be hidden inside?
Breaking Down The Door
At this point, the man knew he had to press further to discover what mystery his house was protecting. He wasn’t going to be stopped by a lock, no matter how heavy duty and intimidating. He got a hammer and went to work, determined to force his way into the room. His determination would soon lead to a shocking discovery. Would there be more treasure? Or would it be something more sinister? With all these mysteries on one house, surely something must be amiss.
A Sinister Environment
After breaking the lock, the man opened the door and quickly realized that something was wrong in his home. While the treasures were fun and exciting, and a welcome windfall, what lurked behind this door was something that must be sinister. The door opened up to another room, which must have been hidden for decades behind the walls of the Cleveland home. This wasn’t an ordinary room, however. The walls were all covered with a heavy soundproofing material and white plastic tarp. Why would someone choose to soundproof a room, hidden in the eaves of a home? Surely, it couldn’t be for any good reason. As the couple explored the space, they would uncover more artifacts that would give light to the room’s mysterious past… and warrant engaging the authorities in what started as a fun home renovation mystery.
More Treasures To Unfold
Upon entering the room, the first artifact the man discovered was an old brown leather briefcase. Given the contents of the two cases found in the basement, the couple had a feeling that this briefcase would hold more treasures. But with the strange setup, and hidden nature, of this room, would treasure be found within the suitcase, or would it be something far more disturbing? The couple would quickly find out.
Someone’s Prized Possessions
The couple took a break to snap some pictures of the briefcase, as they were committed to documenting their home renovations and the mysteries those renovations uncovered. After snapping those quick pictures, however, the homeowners quickly opened the case. They were not disappointed in their discovery. The case contained what seemed to have been someone’s most prized possessions. The case was full of antique jewelry — watches, rings, 4 silver ingots — all of which seemed valuable. The briefcase also held envelopes stuffed with cash from a variety of foreign countries, as well as an antique wooden box. The case clearly contained someone’s worldly treasures. But what were they doing stuffed in a hidden room? Why had someone left them behind? The couple didn’t have much time to ponder or celebrate their exciting discovery; they had a feeling the room would hold more mysteries. It wouldn’t disappoint.
A Mysterious Safe
The couple soon discovered that the briefcase wasn’t the only case of valuable hidden in the secret room. Squirreled away in the corner was a black Sentry safe. With the intimidating setup of the room — what purpose could there be for covering a hidden room in soundproofing material and white tarp — the man was nervous to open the save, certain that it would contain something far more sinister than a few old watches and foreign currency. The man’s hunch would soon prove true.
A Dire Warning
The man forced his way into the safe. On top of the contents, there was a note that seemed to confirm the man’s suspicions. In dripping black ink, in rough bold writing, the note read, “Save yourself.” Was the note a warning to the new homeowners? Or was it merely a joke, a pun on being found inside a safe? The man would have to look further, and it seemed to indicate that something truly was wrong with the room. And the couple soon realized that the mysteries in their house might be beyond their bounds. What they would discover would have them thinking it might be time to call in the authorities.
Another Warning
As the man dug deeper into the safe, what he would find wouldn’t alleviate his worries. On the top of the safe, in white paint, were written two words: “Do not.” Do not what? The bottom part of the safe seemed to contain a series of old video tapes. Breathing deeply, the man removed the tapes from the safe. What would further inspection of the tapes reveal? What was hidden beneath?
An Unsettling Revelation
The man removed the tapes and began to inspect them. The tapes seemed newer than the contents of the suitcases found in the basement or the briefcase found in the mysterious secret room. But they revealed little else. Five of the six video tapes were labeled, but the labels indicated little about the contents of the tapes. They were labeled with a mysterious and indecipherable series of letters and numbers: 194, 1195, 11195, IV, 95, V. Perhaps years and Roman numerals? That would, indeed, make the tapes much newer. This discovery proved too much for the man. He tried to put them out of his mind. Surely, these tapes were left by the previous owner, a practical joke meant to fool the next person who found the mysterious room. The man’s curiosity could only be put off for so long, and what he would find would have him realizing he and his wife were way out of his league. The contents of the tape would have the couple realizing they needed help from the authorities.
Recordings Of Disturbing Past Events
The man’s curiosity could only be kept at bay for so long. After several sleepless nights, he determined that he must discover what was on the tapes. He popped them into an old VCR and pressed play. The scenes he watched on the tapes were truly horrifying. The Cleveland couple’s charming old house was no ordinary house. It was something far darker. What would the couple see on those old tapes?
A Federal Investigation
The man’s curiosity led him to discover something he certainly wished he hadn’t. What was on the mysterious tapes? We might never know. Whatever the man saw on those tapes, he quickly contacted the FBI, who confiscated the tapes and launched an investigation. The media has speculated that the tapes contained footage of horrific crimes carried out in the mysterious and creepy soundproof secret room. So what is the real story behind the tapes and the home’s hidden secrets? If the tapes contained crimes, were those crimes related to the cases of money found in the basement ceiling and to the briefcase of treasure found in the hidden room? Were the presence of the money, treasures and tapes tied to the home’s past, or had they merely been hidden in the house by previous owners? The mysteries uncovered by the home’s renovations surely open a world of questions: What would you do if you found money hidden in your house? How well do you know your home’s past? And what secrets could you find lurking behind the walls, under the floors or in the ceilings of your home?