6 In 2014, while renovating a home near Norwich, England, a plumber found a woman’s shoe inside the chimney wall. In the past, this shoe was likely used as protection for the house against evil. Such finds are said to be common inside the walls of buildings in the British Isles.

Since at least the early modern period, it has been common practice across the British Isles to hide shoes inside walls. As a result, people are now discovering strange, old footwear inside homes and other buildings.

In 2014, a woman named Laura Potts was renovating her Georgian home near Norwich, England. One afternoon, she decided to check up on the builders’ progress and discovered a woman’s shoe lying on a window sill.

The shoe itself wasn’t too unusual, except maybe that it was small, patched, and worn out. But what’s strange was that a plumber had found it inside a pocket of the chimney wall.

According to historians, shoes were often used as protective charms to lure away “witches” and evil spirits from the house. Furthermore, since chimneys are a portal of entry to a house, such shoes were typically hidden inside them to keep spirits away. (source)

7 A couple in New York discovered bottles of Prohibition-era whiskey within the walls of their home. Their nearly 100-year-old home was built by a notorious bootlegger who likely hid the alcohol inside the walls.

A couple in New York had been informed that their 100-year-old home was built by a notorious bootlegger. At the time, they did not believe this and passed it off as just a myth. But after they made a surprise discovery inside their walls, they were forced to rethink their stance.

The couple had been living in the house for a little over a year when they decided to renovate it. During the renovations, they chose to remove the outside skirting along the bottom of their mudroom. There, inside the walls, they found bottles of Prohibition-era whiskey. Later, they found another batch of similar bottles under the floorboards of the mudroom, totaling more than 66 of them.

The bottles had been wrapped in straw and were of a Scottish brand called Old Smuggler Gaelic Whiskey that is still made today. Some of the bottles were also full and are estimated to be worth around $1,000 each. However, the couple said that they wanted to keep one of the full bottles to taste-test it.  (1, 2)

8 In 2019, construction workers discovered rare gold coins in a historic French mansion. The coins were found inside a metal box embedded in a wall. These were most likely minted during the reigns of Louis XIII, who ruled France from 1610 to 1643, and Louis XIV who ruled from 1643 to 1715.

There’s no saying how or when one might find a stash of rare gold coins. But if you have a historic French mansion at hand, its walls might be a good place to look for them.

In late October 2019, some construction workers were busy renovating a historic mansion in Brittany, France. There, they came across an intriguing metal box embedded in a wall. To their astonishment, the box was then opened to reveal a treasure trove of centuries-old rare gold coins.

A few days later, the workers recovered yet another set of coins wrapped in a cloth pouch from above a wooden beam. Altogether, they had discovered about 239 rare gold coins.

Afterward, the mansion’s owners alerted the authorities and sent the treasures away to be studied. Archeologists then determined that the coins were minted during the reigns of Louis XIII and Louis XIV. These monarchs had ruled over France from 1610 to 1643 and 1643 to 1715, respectively.

In 2021, the coins were auctioned off for more than €1 million ($1.2 million). (1, 2)

9 A love letter addressed to a woman named Betty Miller was found inside the walls of a remodeled house. The letter, penned by a man who identifies himself only as “Walter,” was dated 19 April 1944.

In 2017, the Greenfield Police Department in Massachusetts posted about a mysterious letter on their social media page. In this post, they talked about how a friend had found a love letter inside the walls of a house while remodeling it. The police then asked the public’s help in finding out more about the letter’s backstory.

The letter was written on 19 April 1944 by a man who identifies himself only as “Walter.” Addressed to a Ms. Betty Miller of 360 Chapman Street, the letter even waxes poetic about Walter’s affections. For instance, he writes, “I have always thought more of you than any other girl, and I still do.”

Fortunately, it didn’t take the police long to solve the mystery. However, since Ms. Miller had already passed away by then, the police couldn’t return the letter to her. Nevertheless, the story had a good ending because she got to lead a happy life despite not marrying Walter. (1, 2)

10 In 2006, a contractor discovered two green lockboxes inside a wall. These boxes had envelopes filled with Depression-era currency, amounting to $157,000. He also found a cardboard box in another wall that held about $25,000.

In 2006, contractor Bob Kitts discovered about $157,000 of Depression-era currency inside the bathroom wall of an 83-year-old house. This money, held in several envelopes, bore the return address of the P. Dunne News Agency. Then, inside another wall, Kitts found a cardboard box that contained about $25,000.

Excited about the discovery, he soon showed the money to the home’s owner, Amanda Reece. However, the two of them could not agree on how to split the cash and the case eventually was soon brought to the attention of the Dunne estate. The estate then sued to claim their rights to the money.

As a result, the money in the envelopes that had the Dunne address went to the heirs of the estate. Reece later decided to drop all claims to the remaining money, leaving just Kitts and the estate to claim it. The Cuyahoga County probate magistrate then gave 13.7 percent of it to Kitts, with the remaining going to the Dunne heirs. (1, 2)