Woman Renovating New Home Told To Call Cops Over Chilling Find in Basement

Newsweek

a day ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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When a Michigan-based woman started DIY on her new home, she wasn't expecting to stumble on something that seemed to be right out of a psychological thriller.
Aliana decided to get rid of paneled ceiling board in her new basement after some flooding damage, but things took a sinister turn.
"When we removed it, the letters fell to the ground as they were trapped on top of the panel," Aliana, who didn't give a surname, told Newsweek.
A number of old letters had come out of the ceiling, leaving the new homeowner stunned. "We do not know where the letters came from, or how long they have been up there," she said.
Addressed to a few different people, the letters all had a terrifyingly sinister tone. One read: "Dear Mary Gallagher, Don't come out too late in the day or after dark or you still may have a serious accident - X shadow."
Pictures of the unusual letters found in the ceiling of the house.
Pictures of the unusual letters found in the ceiling of the house.
@alaina.slp/TikTok
While another said: "You better watch yourself because if you don't you'll find yourself in one of many ditches. And if you do - it won't be my fault (get it?)."
Shocked by the unnerving nature of the letters. Aliana did some research on the people they were addressed to: "I tried to research the names in the letters," she said. "Most of the people addressed seem to have passed away peacefully. That reassured me somewhat."
"I didn't expect such a strong reaction," Alaina said. "Many urged me to contact police, which I hadn't considered at first."
Aliana decided to share the strange discovery on TikTok in a video that has now been viewed over 350,000 times since being posted earlier this month, and it gained a lot of attention.
In the caption, she shared another theory: "My boyfriend thinks the kids who used to live here back in the '80s or whenever hid these up there as a prank. regardless, it's still weird."
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Woman renovates fixer-upper house—then realizes what was in the floor
Woman renovates fixer-upper house—then realizes what was in the floor
Commenting on the find, one viewer said: "Sending good vibes! This would creep me out too." While another wrote: "Take this to the police please."
"To us, they read as a bizarre prank from back in the day due to some of the juvenile terminology included in the letters, such as 'Thank you for your cooperation' and that they are signed 'XXX Shadow,'" Aliana said.
As viewers urged caution, Aliana spoke with her real estate agent—who also happens to be a police officer. His conclusion? Likely the musings of an unstable individual from years past.
Now less alarmed and more reflective, Alaina sees the letters as relics of the house's strange past. "We plan to frame them and hang them in the basement," she said. "They're part of the home's story."
In January 2025, a Talker Research survey of 2,000 American adults for College HUNKS Hauling Junk & Moving revealed some of the more unusual things people had in their homes.
From nearly 100,000 sports cards to collections of fingernail clippings, brewery coasters, oil lamps, gnomes, porcelain pigs, Elvis Presley or Princess Diana memorabilia and even taxidermy displays of tigers, the list was long.
Despite a large list of found objects, participants said that 34 percent of items people own were non-functional and are things they don't often use or need. With so many things being kept in homes, perhaps it is no surprise that discoveries like these are common.
Alaina joins a long list of people who have shared their creepy house discoveries online. From a New Jersey homeowner who stumbled on a "creepy" hidden room to a woman in England who found a locked door in her cottage that sparked lots of theories.