If you were wondering where the real chamber of secrets lies, this might be it.
A 23-year-old property developer from Sussex, England, was looking through old-time photos of his family’s 500-year-old estate when he noticed something peculiar.
Freddy Goodall observed a doorway in the library of the 16th century home. When he realized he couldn’t see the same doorway in the room now, he began to do some digging.
“I searched for it but couldn’t see anything at first, then realized it was hidden behind a bookshelf,” Goodall told Jam Press. “Eventually behind one of the books, I found a hole that looked into the hidden room.”
Goodall’s story came to light when he posted a TikTok video of the discovery, which has since amassed 4.5 million views.
In the video, Goodall is seen clearing the books off the shelves, removing the screws on the wooden panel, and then lifting the panel away — astonished to find a dark, empty room behind the mantel.
This led Goodall to notice another panel on the floor, which he then lifts to discover a secret passageway leading to underground rooms.
But his adventure doesn’t stop there.
Goodall spots a ladder in one of the underground tunnels, which he climbs, only to find a larger room above filled with cobwebs, dust and a wasp’s nest.
Goodall eventually realizes he is in a rabbit hole when the room leads him to another passageway and directs him to a basement, two other secret rooms, another corridor with stairs and several other passageways.
The passageways are believed to have been used by servants for easy access around the property, according to Goodall, which somehow went unnoticed by the landlord.
Other mysteries discovered during his expedition were a brick wall with mysterious names and dates written in chalk and an old safe which looked like it had been untouched for decades.
He was able to break into the safe to find books dating back to 1848 filled with information about the property and letters.
In the 1900s, the home was said to have been used as an educational institution, and Goodall located old school books and desks used at the time.
“I was excited to find something new in a house I have lived in for so long!” He excitedly told Jam Press. “It was pitch black — so very creepy at first.”
“I believe they were servant passages that ran under the house and used this to get back and forth from their quarters without being noticed,” he explained. “Some of the underground rooms have been built over the top as one has flagstones which we believe is where they kept the horses.”
“I left the rooms as they were, I like that they have been the same for hundreds of years, there is so much history to be found in each room.”
In a series of TikTok videos, users were eager to go on this journey with Goodall.
“I immediately would have called the cops on my own house,” one user said.
“You need to run out of that house. It’s soo haunted … live with your mom or something,” another user commented.
“Where a serial killer hides his bodies,” another added.
