“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” This saying is quite literal when you are moving houses. You will be surprised to see what people leave behind for the new owners. But some people are unfortunate in this case because their previous owners were weird. Here are some surprising but weird things found in the attic of their new house that threw the buyers off-balance.
1 Human Hand and a Treasure Map
In Florida, a family made an interesting discovery in their attic. It was a box with old Spanish coins, a human hand, and a treasure map. These most bizarre finds are believed to be the early 1920s or 30s artifacts.
Man discovers human hand, coins in the attic. Image credit: WFLA via cnn
Mike Lopez, the homeowner, came across this somewhat disturbing treasure while cleaning out his grandparents’ attic. Historians inspected the coins and concluded they might not be originals but they can easily be traced back to the 1920s. They are yet to find out if the hand is indeed human.
The contents of the box are not limited to these. Apart from the hand and coins, they also found a map of Tampa’s Hillsborough River. The grandkids suspect that their grandfather was a pirate in his early life as he used to narrate pirate stories to them in their childhood. The river map they found in the box also has connections to pirates.
The river is a prominent part of pirate-related local lore. But the historians say these contents were too new to have belonged to pirates. On the eerily mysterious hand, they have also found a ring. It is still a mystery how these things ended up in their grandparents’ attic. The family found a treasure map, coins, and a human hand in the attic. (Source)
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2 Henry IV’s Skull
A retired tax collector was horrified when he found a mummified skull in his attic which later scientists confirmed to be 400 years old and belonged to a monarch. The artifact was stolen by British revolutionaries and handed down and sold many times.
A centuries-old mummified head (Image to the left), Painting of King Henry IV of France from the 17th Century. Image credit: Elucubratismes via dailymail
The skull of the prince who headed the Bourbon Dynasty that ruled France for two centuries was found in an attic. The skull was pillaged during the French Revolution in the 18th century.
The clothes used for embalming also were still with the skull. The scientists confirmed that the skull showed all the injuries as in the king’s portrait.
A healed bone fracture from when he was hit in the upper jaw during an assassination attempt in the year 1594 matched exactly with the bones in the skull.
The find was moved to the Basilica of Saint-Denis where many other French rulers are buried. The revolutionaries ransacked the palace 200 years ago taking his head off and selling or handing it down. (Source)
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3 Secret Room from WWII
A house owner and his tenants came across a secret room at their residence after intensely searching their attic. The room had a table, signs, and an alarm. A historian who visited the place said that the room might have been where the Norwegians hid to listen to BBC broadcasts and copy the news for their secretly published newspapers.
Norwegian tenants come across a World War II bolt hole after accidentally removing a panel in their attic. A map of Britain and Northern France was on the wall along with a peculiar-looking alarm meant for intruders.
The room had a note on the wall that said, “If you have a bad stomach, you do not have access.” The bolt hole is similar to the place where Anne Frank and her family stayed for two years when the Nazis occupied Holland.
The room might have been used for listening to radio broadcasts, writing underground newspapers, or just a hiding spot. (Source)
4 Wall with Disturbing Drawings
An estate agent stumbled across an attic with crayons and disturbing drawings on the attic walls. It looked like many children stayed in this attic, and she listed out ten names of kids who were believed to have used the house in 2001.
This room and its many scribbles made Mary S. shiver. Image credit: TikTok/Screenshots/mary_soroka_rva_realtor via tag24
The real estate agent came across the room and shared it on social media saying this room gives such a “bad vibe” for the viewers. The attic was long and hexagon-shaped.
The walls were filled with very disturbing drawings according to the agent. She told the media that the place might have housed several kids at the same time.
One of the writings said, “Did I scare you?” She counted almost ten names on the wall. A child therapist confirmed these drawings are too aggressive to have been drawn by healthy and happy kids. (Source)
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5 Fully Functional Grenades
In Virginia, members of Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal helped remove grenades from a dead man’s attic. They couldn’t determine if the grenades had any explosive material at first.
World War II souvenirs like a Japanese Type 89 grenade turn up in homes. Image Credit: Dan Sebby/The Bay Citizen via nytimes
World War II veterans are mostly in their 80s now. They are leaving behind battlefield souvenirs which even include explosives.
These are not isolated incidents as many such finds were reported recently by new homeowners or grandkids of late WWII veterans. Several such weapons have been showing up in different people’s homes.
This was becoming a safety threat to many and a challenge for the bomb squad. In a recent incident, grenades were found and the bomb squad confirmed they were fully functional. The explosives were safely disposed of.
The squad said they have been lucky so far. But there are chances they have Japanese-made unstable grenades that were made towards the end of the war and made of ceramics and wood instead of metal. Sometimes having the wrong temperature can set them off.
With veterans now passing away, we are looking at more such incidents in the future, especially in the areas where new settlements started after veterans returned from the war. (Source)
