How well do you really know your grandparents? One man was forced to answer this question when he went rummaging through his relative's abandoned house and found their old belongings. He certainly learned some troubling truths about the people he thought he knew. The secrets he uncovered were ones he never could have predicted...
House Hunters
Revisiting a place with happy memories can be painful when those memories are gone. When one Imgur user was forced to visit his grandparent's home after their passing, he was worried about his emotions, not the crazy secrets that laid inside the abandoned house. It was in bad shape and was about to be bulldozed, so he went back to the residence to clear out the remaining valuables...
Absolutely Decrepit
The place was in terrible condition. He had no idea that his grandparents had been such hoarders. There were thousands of books falling off of shelves, boxes of clothes, and furniture was covered by knick-knacks the couple had collected over the years. The man was sure than he wouldn't be able to find anything of value in the pile of trash, but it was worth a look through...
Pest Zoo
Lots of vermin were living in the house. There were raccoons, mice, and other pests inhabiting the old empty space. Walking through the rooms felt like walking through an unkempt zoo. Despite the nature of the space, the items were still mostly intact, and more importantly, usable. There had to be something worth some money in the rubble, he though, and oh, how right he was...
Photo Finish
First, he opened a drawer in the living room and found tons of old photographs. They appeared to be from the turn of the century. Though he was intrigued by the age of the photos, he was more perplexed by the people in them. Who were they? What part of history was locked inside this old home?
Something Sinister
The man also discovered a collection of old tools. Among them, he found an old fashioned saw, hammer, and most notably, an antique machete. What possible use could anyone in this house have had for an old-timey machete? Even stranger, it was buried in the basement. Maybe someone was trying to keep it hidden, but what other secrets did the household...
Dark Secrets
The man uncovered an old pistol in one drawer. The six-shooter was found in a desk in the bedroom. He figured it was probably used for defense, but now, he wasn't so sure. In light of the other discoveries, who knew what this hidden weapon could really entail. He wondered if the couple was protecting themselves from something or someone who had malicious intent, but who?
Military Family
Though he never thought about it, he figured his grandfather must have served in the military. He even found a photo to prove it. The picture showed his grandmother and grandfather in full dress, ready for the Naval Ball sometime during World War II. There was so much he had never known about them, they almost seemed like strangers. What other secrets lay under the surface...
Let's Play Ball
Another hidden photograph in the house was taken in the year 1907 of the Waite baseball team. There's no way of knowing if someone in the picture was a long lost relative or just a piece of a historical collection. He had to wonder what the future was for these mystery men in the photo, and more, why they were in the house at all...
Party View
The man uncovered what at first looked like an ill-timed photo, but upon closer inspection, it was actually a shot taken from inside the same house! This was a party thrown by his grandparents, with lots of dancing, friends, and liquor. What kind of life did his grandparents lead, and who were all the mysterious faces in the many photographs? He needed to find out more...
Making The News
Clearly his family had deep ties to the military. The man found hundreds of newspaper clippings that detailed the war efforts, some of which had his grandfather's name in them, but other names made frequent appearances as well. He figured that these were friends of the family or of his grandfather, and his grandmother had saved all the ones she thought were relevant...
Luxury Living
Since it was a time of war, luxuries were few and far between. At least, that was the case for most people. The man found a secret stash of fine perfumes in a drawer in the dingy old basement. It seemed his grandmother had a taste for the finer things in life, but never wanted to be caught with them. The samples looked strange, but there were other oddities still to uncover...
Odd One Out
There was one unique thing in the house that couldn't be explained as easily as the photos. In the hoarded rubble, he found a well-loved teddy bear that looked like it was from a long time ago. It couldn't have belonged to him, and he didn't have any siblings. He thought maybe it belonged to his mother, but she had never seen the toy either. Why was a child's plaything in the house at all?
Drink Up
Inside a briefcase, the man discovered a collection of drinking accessories. He saw several shot glasses, a bottle opener, a corkscrew, a stirrer, and an unopened bottle of fine whiskey. Clearly his grandparents knew how to have a good party. He also found a note that said "Thanks for all the good times. Cheers to many more!" The note was signed by Rob Adams. Who was that?
Family Friends
As it turns out, Rob Adams was a name his mother recognized. The Adams were a family that often came to visit throughout her childhood. Rob and his grandfather had fought together in World War II. Once the war was over, they moved to the same town so that the two best friends didn't have to leave the past behind. Rob was a big part of the family's life, and it explained a lot...
Forever Friends
The duo spent their younger years partying as next-door-neighbors. As time passed, both friends married and had children who became as close as cousins. The teddy bear probably belonged to one of the Adams children! The tools and photos from long ago had been handed down over generations, as this house had been in the family for years. Everything started to add up...
Mark Lopez
Many others have discovered strange things in their attics. Take Mark Lopez for example. The man was cleaning out his grandparent's house when he found a spooky-looking old trunk in the attic. Thinking it would be filled with clothes or photographs, Mark opened the luggage. His grandfather always told stories that he thought were just that, stories. He never expected to see what was laying inside...
True Story?
When Mark and his sister Maria were kids, their grandfather would tell them stories of pirates and pillages. Apparently he had located the treasure of José Gaspar (a famous Spanish pirate) in his youth. He had held onto the treasure, but the children always assumed it was a fairytale, but maybe they should have listened to him a little more intently...
Map Maker
Inside, the siblings found some interesting pieces of evidence pointing to the fact that the stories were actually true. First, they found a crudely drawn map of Gainsville, Florida and another of Tampa. It was from the 1930s, but why would their grandfather hold onto it? It was clearly drawn by hand, and probably took hours of drawing and researching. Something was going on, but the contents only got stranger...
Counting Coins
His sister spotted a group of weird, round objects. Upon closer inspection, they looked like coins! The currency was a collection of Portuguese and Spanish coins dating back to the 16th century. This was shocking, but also incredibly intriguing. "Maybe my great-grandparents were pirates," said Mark later. But there were more surprises in store for the treasure hunters...
A Human Hand
Believe it or not, Mark and Maria also uncovered a human hand inside the box! It looked like something out of a scary movie. Why would this hand be among the treasure? "Maria came across it and once she told me she found a hand in a box," said Mark "I was totally blown away." They couldn't believe their grandfather had kept such a big secret from them all...
Appraisal Praise
They knew they had something strange on their hands, so the siblings decided to have their findings appraised. They brought the box to the Tampa Bay History Center. A curator named Rodney Kite-Powell took a look at the coins and hand to see what secrets they held. "They’re a little thin to be Spanish Coins or old coins in general," said Rodney "Generally, older coins were thicker." So, what were they really?
Not What It Seems
The curator also inspected the map. He validated that the map was likely from the 1930s, but there wasn't much else of value in the box. "It’s fascinating, but I just don’t know what to make of it aside from the fact that it’s probably not José Gaspar’s hand," said the curator "And these probably aren’t Spanish coins." The box just became an even bigger mystery...
Safe Keeping
Despite not being able to uncover the full story, the siblings decided to hold onto the strange heirloom for themselves. Hopefully, when they were ready to try again, they could uncover the full mystery of the hand and the currency. As Mark said, "Either my great-grandfather made the best, most elaborate pirate hoax ever and never shared it with anyone, or he really did find some treasure on the Hillsborough River." A lot of people have had similar stories...
Electronic Sounds
A lot of people have found that their old houses have some secret treasures. One Reddit user posted that they found an oscilloscope in their grandparent's old dusty attic. The electronic signals would pass through the machine and bounce around on the round screen. It allowed the user to see electric currents and probably held some secrets about their grandparents too...
Unknown Substance
The user also described a mystery liquid found in the attic. The vial contained a thick, sticky, and dark liquid. She couldn't figure out what it was but speculated it might be a perfume or some type of holy water, as her grandparents were very religious people. Still, what made it so sticky? There were so many secrets she could uncover about her grandparents in this space...
Glass Globes
She found some interesting glass baubles in the attic as well. They were especially interesting because well, no one knew what they even were. Some commenters suggested that they might be gardening bulbs, used to slowly water plants in a garden. Others thought they were old fashioned Christmas ornaments. Either way, there were a lot of them and not a lot of reasoning...
Ready To Blow
Most exciting of all, she discovered a strange cylinder in the attic. She put the picture up online with the caption "It has numbers and weird symbols at the top." After posting the photo online, the commenters explained that she was holding onto an original World War II shrapnel shell that had never exploded. It even had the date that it was meant to go off written on it...
Coconut Mask
This mask was found in one user's grandparent's house. The creepy and rather unsettling mask seems to be made from a coconut shell that was slowly rotting. It was hand sculpted and had been sitting in the house for several years. It had been a source of nightmares when the user was a child, and it's pretty easy to see why. This thing is definitely haunted...
Shelling Out
Rather strange was one person's infatuation with turtles and more specifically, turtle shells. One other user found a lot of turtle statues and pictures in their grandparent's attic. Most importantly, they discovered one enormous tortoiseshell. It was a pretty perplexing thing to find, but one commenter said it looked kind of like a giant avocado. Honestly, that might be easier to explain...
Play Goggles
Before people spent their weekends binging Netflix shows in sweatpants, people used to go to live theater productions for entertainment. One user found their grandparent's old theater goggles that helped them see the stage more clearly. Could you imagine donning a pair of these every time you wanted to watch a movie on your laptop? Things have definitely gotten easier...
Smoking Pipe
Another user found an antique smoking pipe that his grandfather used to use in younger years. The brass smoking pipe could be considered a piece of fine art, as it had a hand-drawn flower, a name inscription on the bottom, and a shaped neck. Though he never got it appraised, some commenters speculated that it could be worth big money should he ever need the cash...
Glowing Glass
While searching through his grandfather's collection of strange objects, one user found this seemingly normal glass. The cup looked like it was radiating green...very weird to see. He shone a UV light on it and the glass turned neon green! This wasn't just an ordinary wine glass, but an exciting way to liven up a dreary dinner party. Imagine guests' faces when they see this!
Marble Solitaire
A family was cleaning out their grandparent's attic when they found this table. The holes in the center confused them, but soon after they discovered a bag of marbles that fit perfectly in the spots. After some interesting theories, they took to the internet to find out what they discovered. It turned out to be a game of marble solitaire that was worth some big bucks!
Old Monopoly
Boardgame lovers will wish they found this gem in their attic. One person discovered this 30-year-old edition of the famous board game, Monopoly. The green on the wood makes it feel like a legitimate gambling game. It came with all the original pieces and cards. It had undergone some serious wear and tear but thankfully looked like it was still in playable condition.
Strange Sculpture
Maybe most perplexing of all, someone discovered this figurine of animals having what looks like an important meeting or casting a vote. Maybe they're having a book club? Or maybe they're playing some kind of game? It's pretty hard to tell, and the user offered no more explanation. They were probably just as confused by this strange and fascinating art piece...