A woman captivated people on social media after she discovered and explored a “secret” apartment behind the bathroom mirror in her New York apartment.
On Wednesday, Samantha Hartsoe started the four-part saga with a TikTok in which she explained that she couldn’t find the source of a breeze in her bathroom.
In the clip, which has been viewed more than 7.7 million times, Hartsoe showed viewers that the cold air is blowing enough to move his hair, even though the bathroom has no ventilation.
After searching the bathroom, Hartsoe discovered that the air is coming from behind his wall mirror.
“So, I realize that the mirror is moving … let me show you what I found in my bathroom in New York”, Hartsoe concluded the first video, with the caption: “Seriously, I would never expect to find this … and I documented all of it. “
In a second TikTok, Hartsoe removed the mirror to reveal what at first appeared to be a hole in the wall that housed the electrical wires, only for the camera to traverse an entire room through the same hole in the wall.
“I have to go in and find out what’s on the other side of my bathroom,” says Hartsoe in the video, before expressing her concern that someone may be living in the hidden room, which leads to comparisons with Parasite, or the horror movie Candyman, who sees a murderous evil spirit appear after his name is called several times in the mirror.
In the comments, viewers encouraged her to continue exploring and to be careful in equal parts, with many expressing their concern about the three-hour delay between videos.
In the third and fourth clips, uploaded on Thursday, Hartsoe squeezed through the hole in the wall armed with a hammer, a mask and a flashlight strip, only to find an entire apartment on the other side.
Although the apartment appears to be full of garbage bags and other types of garbage, it is empty and looks like it is not being used.
Hartsoe concluded the final TikTok by explaining that she would cement her mirror on the wall and call the landlord.
The “hidden” apartment elicited mixed reactions from viewers, with some encouraging Hartsoe to use the space to his advantage, while others expressed their dismay at the idea of living in a house without realizing the existence of another entrance.
“As a New Yorker, my first thought was ‘wow, extra storage space’,” commented one person.
Another said: “Girl don’t say anything, you just bought a second apartment”.
However, someone else wrote: “The fact that the door was unlocked and there was a very recent branded water bottle instantly makes me think of a spying situation. That’s just my anxiety talking, ”while someone else suggested that Hartsoe put a thin layer of flour on the floor to check for footprints.
So far, Hartsoe has not revealed whether she has contacted her landlord and, if so, what they have said.
The Independent contacted Hartsoe for comment.