UNBELIEVABLE discovery hiding behind woman’s bathroom mirror

Inside the eerie home hidden within a home

In New York City, space comes at a premium, and most residents can only dream of finding extra square footage in their homes. However, one unsuspecting tenant got rather more than she bargained for when she unearthed a secret apartment hiding behind the mirror in her bathroom. The eeriest domestic discovery we’ve seen to date, read on to see her unsettling find...

A curious case

Documented in a series of now-viral TikTok videos, 26-year-old Samantha Hartsoe noticed an unexplained stream of cold air in the bathroom of her three-bedroom apartment on New York’s Roosevelt Island. She examined the vents, before realising that the icy draft was in fact coming from behind the bathroom mirror.

Mirror, mirror on the wall...

To the shock of Samantha and her two roommates, the mirror lifted away from the wall to reveal a gaping hole in the studwork. At first, they assumed the space was just a void for electrical wiring, but on closer inspection, they got a hair-raising surprise…

Secret living space

Through the hole, they glimpsed an empty room lying on the other side of the wall. In a twist befitting of the Academy Award-winning film Parasite, they wondered if anyone might be living in the eerie space, mere inches away from their own home.

Stepping into the unknown

Despite her roommate’s protests, Samantha decided to venture inside the room to find out more. Donning a makeshift headtorch and mask, and arming herself with a hammer, she crawled through the gap and discovered an entire three-bedroom apartment hiding just behind the wall.

Signs of life?

Inside, she found a discarded porcelain toilet, along with trash bags of belongings and debris littering the stripped rooms, almost as though the apartment was abandoned in the middle of a renovation. The windows had been left open, which accounted for the draft in Samantha’s bathroom. Most unnerving of all, however, was the water bottle balanced on the staircase balustrade: “Okay, so there’s signs of life”, Samantha whispers in one video.

An unsolved mystery

Thankfully though, after a thorough investigation of the abandoned property’s two floors, there were no secret residents to be found. Samantha locked the front door to prevent unwanted visitors from trespassing, before returning unscathed to her own home. Even now, the apartment within an apartment remains a mystery, with the building’s management reportedly perplexed by the chilling discovery…

Awesome covert spaces hidden from view

Samantha’s apartment isn’t the only home hiding a secret. From plush mansions concealing tropical paradises to houses harbouring top-secret tunnels and panic rooms, these elusive spaces across the world have to be seen to be believed. Let's take a look at some of the best clandestine rooms hiding in plain sight...

The disappearing ballroom

This six-bedroom mansion in Surrey, England, has all the trappings you'd expect in a luxury home and then some. Once on the market for £17 million ($21m), it features a supercar turntable, a wine and cigar room and a spa. However, it's the ballroom that's the real highlight.

The disappearing ballroom

At the mere touch of a button, the ballroom floor turns into a fabulous swimming pool, taking just six minutes to complete the transformation. The floor can even be adjusted to different depths, making it ideal for less experienced swimmers or young children.

Concealed safe room

Made from cherry wood, this traditional fireplace is a nice addition to any room. A stylish focal point, this design also hides a concealed space behind it that you would never know is there.

Concealed safe room

With the touch of a secret switch, the fireplace opens up to reveal a safe room. Accessed with a magnet, that touches a button hidden on the mantel, it conceals a passage with a heavy-duty steel door backer and an electromagnetic locking system.

The secret village

This spectacular mansion with a massive secret on Florida's Gold Coast sold last year for a reported £8.1 million ($10m). The nine-bedroom, 17-bathroom mega-mansion has a dazzling array of exceptional features, from a water park to an ornate cinema room, plus some more unusual additions...

The secret village

Unbelievably, the sprawling mansion also hides a charming miniature village within its walls. The theme park-style entertainment wing contains a whimsical ice-cream shop, a book store that doubles up as the property's library and a vintage movie house façade that leads into the cinema room. If that wasn't enough, there's also an English pub, a poker and cigar room and a loft-style music lounge.

The covert convenience

This amazing house in Maine, built by Peter Pennoyer Architects, already has so much going for it; beautifully crafted interiors, an enviable waterfront position and gorgeous décor. But it hides a trump card up its sleeve in this teal sitting room, one that means you'll never get caught short again.

The covert convenience

Behind one of the arched bookshelves that line the room, there’s a secret door that leads to your own personal bathroom. Now that’s what we call the height of luxury! It’s even decorated with a stunning coastal theme to match the home's waterfront location.

A concealed treasure trove

Hard Luck Castle in Nevada, USA, was constructed over a period of 12 years by craftsman Randy Johnson, who splurged a total of £2.4 million ($3m) on the secluded property. The remote four-bedroom, three-bathroom retreat is completely off-grid and has a number of unique features, including a pair of 1920s pipe organs and a glass planetarium. However, the best part of the house is hiding underground...

A concealed treasure trove

Located beneath the castle, the home's best-hidden and most alluring feature has to be the real-life gold mine, complete with a 160-foot mine shaft. According to Johnson, the mine has significant reserves of the precious metal and is still productive, though it hasn't been used for some time.

Secretive state-of-the-art cinema

Creators of luxury panic rooms, Covert Interiors can transform any space into a place of safety. The room tucked behind this reinforced door is no exception – we wonder what sits behind the cool vault-style entrance?

Secretive state-of-the-art cinema

This full basement renovation may look like a cool spot for a movie night but it is actually home to a compact, ultra-secure incredible panic room. With state-of-the-art surveillance, reinforced walls and an unbreakable vault door, this den is the ultimate emergency hangout hideaway.

A private games room

This mock-Georgian mansion in the heart of the Surrey countryside, which recently was on the market for £30 million ($42m), has all the trappings of a statement country house, and then some. There's even a luxurious sprawling games room with a stainless steel vaulted ceiling – surely the ultimate wow-factor social space.

A private games room

But that's not all. In addition to the opulent amenities you'd expect from a property of this stature, including a library, custom kitchen and wine cellar, the mansion also has a hidden full-sized bowling alley. The soundproofed room is perfect for entertaining and hosting top-secret parties.

The room behind the mirror

This pristine newly constructed home in Eldersburg, Maryland was recently listed with Redfin for $644,990 (£520k), but it's unlikely the property will be on the market for much longer. The five-bedroom house really has it all, including a secret room.

The room behind the mirror

A clever architectural addition, the hidden loft space concealed behind the mirror has no end of potential. It could work brilliantly as a man cave, children's playroom or even a calming retreat for relaxing and unwinding in complete privacy.

A concealed paradise

This picture-perfect wooden chalet was moved from Switzerland in 1882 to the banks of the River Thames in Surrey, not far from Hampton Court Palace. The four-bedroom, four-bathroom riverside property is a bona fide party pad with extravagant décor and a secret hiding on the lower floor.

A concealed paradise

Tucked away downstairs is the party mansion's pièce de résistance – a sensational indoor beach. Complete with underfloor heating, it contains 40 tonnes of sand, a bar, pool table and stage, not to mention a tropical fish tank, secret cinema room and wine cellar wall.

A subterranean surprise

This fantastical mega-mansion in the city of Lake Quivira, Kansas, was inspired by the Legend of King Arthur. On the market for £4.1 million ($5.8m), the seven-bedroom, seven-bathroom property has a multitude of magical details, from handcrafted dragon doors to a pulpit taken from a church in Salem, Massachusetts.

A subterranean surprise

The most intriguing aspect of this home, however, lies underground. The free-flowing house has a network of hidden subterranean scuba-diving tunnels located beneath the mega-mansion that connect to the outdoor pool. Accessed by a number of pop-up holes and grottos, the tunnels are filled with sunken treasures, faux fossils and exotic fish.

The concealed cellar

Set into the smart herringbone wood floor of this modern kitchen, there’s a tell-tale outline that leads to a secret all wine-lovers will enjoy. For anyone sat on a bar stool in this sociable space, the clue is right under their nose...

The concealed cellar

Simply pull up the hatch to reveal a custom-built wine cellar. Designed by Spiral Cellars, the space-saving wine store is a solid concrete construction and even features built-in natural ventilation to ensure your tipple stays at the optimum temperature.

A covert casino

Known as Alton Manor, this five-bedroom, 11,500-square-foot French Colonial mansion in New Jersey, has no end of wow-factor amenities. Offering a 42-seater party bar and a state-of-the-art soundproof movie theatre, there's another fun secret lurking underground.

A covert casino

The spacious home is hiding a miniature casino complete with slot machines and a cinema ticket booth staffed by a creepy-looking mechanical usher. Delving deeper below the property, you'll also find a 150-foot secret underground tunnel that's strong enough to withstand a bomb blast.

An escape tunnel

This intriguing three-storey wood, steel and reinforced concrete home overlooks Lake Hamama on Japan's Pacific coast and was completed in 2016 by architecture firm Yukiharu Suzuki & Associates. The jaw-dropping home doubles up as a workshop for its owners and features clever wooden slats, plus steel and glass walls that flood the interior with natural light during the day and make the house glow after dark.

An escape tunnel

The home's most jaw-dropping feature though is its secret concrete tunnel to nowhere, which protrudes out from the basement, offering a fantastic spot to soak up the surrounding views. As well as providing a viewing platform, the tunnel has a practical, environmentally friendly purpose, enabling plenty of fresh air circulation and no doubt saving the owners a fortune on their air-conditioning bills.

The bogus bookcase

When a handsome but apparently ordinary four-bedroom house went on the market in Tacoma, Washington, home-hunters were in for a big surprise. In addition to the large rooms, grand staircase and big open fireplaces, the house had a secret lurking behind one of the many custom bookcases dotted throughout the house…

The bogus bookcase

This room may look innocuous, but swinging open the bookcase reveals a fully-stocked wine cellar. Just imagine warming yourself by the fire, before fetching a bottle of perfectly temperate wine to enjoy with a good book.

A soundproofed secret

Nestled among 17 acres in the desert just outside Scottsdale, Arizona, this palatial Spanish Colonial-style property offers eight bedrooms, 10 bathrooms and a whole lot more besides. The property sold in October 2020 for £17.3 million ($24.1m), and has a luxe home cinema, a full-sized basketball court and a yoga studio, as well as a secret hiding in the basement.

A soundproofed secret

Sitting below ground level is the home's spy-worthy range for shooting and target archery practice. The space has been clad in a tough textured metal and is completely soundproof – perfect for a budding 007 to hone their craft.

A house within a house

The ultimate ultra-discreet bolthole, the exterior of this incredible property in Las Vegas resembles a run-of-the-mill home that you wouldn't look twice at. Yet the Sin City house, which is on the market for £4.2 million ($5.9m), is harbouring a jaw-dropping secret. The above-ground home has a lift and staircase leading 26 feet below the earth to an amazing underground bunker, spanning 15,000 square feet.

A house within a house

The perfect space to hole up in, it was built in 1979 for a prepper. The concrete and steel-reinforced subterranean space contains a cosy two-bedroom, two-bathroom house kitted out with all mod cons, as well as a snug guesthouse and even a swimming pool.

The Batcave

For any millionaire who has always dreamed of having their own personal version of the Batcave, this clandestine entrance is hard to beat. The spy-worthy home has a tennis court that lifts up hydraulically to reveal a ramp down to a luxury garage with enough room for an expansive car collection.

The Batcave

The visionaries at architecture firm Molecule were inspired by Batman's Batcave, digging down nearly 20 feet beneath this Melbourne mansion, dubbed the ‘Wayne Residence’. Inside, the garage boasts tiled floors, LED-lit parking bays, mirrored walls and an illuminated ceiling, while a staircase leads up to the living room.

An underground secret

Inspired by the Acropolis of Athens, this 36,000-square-foot Greek Revival mansion in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, has a total of eight bedrooms and nine-and-a-half bathrooms. It boasts everything from a home cinema and bowling alley to an infinity pool and infrared sauna. The property also has state-of-the-art security features and is located within a gated community that's patrolled 24 hours a day.

An underground secret

Dubbed 'the safest home in America', the zombie-proof house is built like a fortress and includes concealed entries and exits along with a secret 100-foot tunnel that connects to a subterranean bank vault room, indoor gun range, a large car vault and an underground bunker stretching over 15,000 square feet. The bunker even has a military-style command centre as well as remote-controlled ballistic walls and doors that are strong enough to protect against even a missile strike.

The camouflaged garage

It's no secret that the city of San Francisco is short of car parking spaces, and paired with city codes that prevent the alteration of building facades, it makes it nearly impossible to add a garage to the front of a home.

The camouflaged garage

However, Corey McMills of McMills Construction came up with the ideal solution. Teaming up with Beau Soleil Architects, he created a garage door disguised as a bay window that blends in seamlessly with the façade of this heritage building. The multitasking window panes are fitted to panels that open at the flick of a switch.

Hidden hideouts

This remarkable Tudor Revival property, which is charmingly named the Goodkind Residence, is a Minnesota icon and has several secret spaces concealed inside. The storybook house has nine bedrooms and six-and-a-half bathrooms framed by wonderful wood-panelled walls and beamed ceilings, however, there are a few less regal spaces you might not notice at first glance...

Hidden hideouts

Several hidden rooms are accessed through moving bookcases, offering the perfect place to hide out in the event of an emergency. There's also a safe built into the wall panels, as well as a genuine 1950s fortified bomb shelter built under the property.

Speakeasy strong room

This rather normal-looking bookcase is actually much more than meets the eye. Just like a scene from a classic spy movie, the bookcase splits in two and slides open to reveal something wholly unexpected...

Speakeasy strong room

... a small speakeasy! The fully-motorised doors with dual high-strength magnetic locks slide open to reveal a fully-stocked, neon-lit bar. It's the only place we would want to be in an emergency.

A secret office

When information security expert and founder of Counter Hack Ed Skoudis designed his new office, he wanted something more than just a typical workspace. Tucked away above a garage in a nondescript house, entrance to the office is through two doors. Inspired by the Steampunk look of high Victoriana with an industrial edge, the second panelled door, manned by a suit of armour, leads through to the ultimate business bolthole.

A secret office

The bookcase splits in two and turns outward on hidden pivots to reveal this cool concealed workspace. The room features a beautiful, engraved tin ceiling, long bespoke wooden desks and a stunning stained-glass window in the gable.

A concealed cocktail room

This stylish loft in the Nolita neighbourhood in New York has over 4,000 square feet of space, two bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms and a bespoke chef's kitchen. However, all is not as it appears – especially when it comes to the seemingly normal bookcase at the back of the room...

A concealed cocktail room

Incredibly, the bookcase opens to reveal a secret mirrored retreat – a luxe cocktail lounge no less. The louche clandestine space resembles a VIP room in a nightclub with its gold finishes, dancing pole and fancy furnishings. Martini, anyone?

Hidden behind a bookshelf

Concealed upstairs in this seemingly average four-bedroom, four-bathroom house in Oklahoma is this cosy nook, perfect for enjoying a good book. But the curious home has a secret room hidden inside it, can you spot it?

Hidden behind a bookshelf

Hidden behind this ordinary-looking bookshelf is a whole new world. The secret den is the perfect place to hide away from it all, with a safe, seating area, hunting gear and a TV, it would be a perfect panic room to shelter in, should the worst happen.

Billiard room hideaway

Traditionally furnished, this regal billiard room looks like the perfect sophisticated space to entertain guests, yet inside the games den lies a clandestine alcove. Can you spot where it is?

Billiard room hideaway

The corner shelving unit of this games room is actually a secure door leading to a secret safe room. Designed by Creative Home Engineering, the bookcase door is finished in cherry wood and features an electromagnetic locking system that offers the ultimate in security. Who'd have known?

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