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She Removed Her Bathroom Mirror And Found An Entire Apartment Hidden Behind It.
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Jul 17, 2025
She Removed Her Bathroom Mirror And Found An Entire Apartment Hidden Behind It.What would you do if you found a secret world hidden behind your bathroom mirror? For one New York City woman, this wasn't a nightmare—it was a real-life discovery that she bravely decided to investigate on camera. This is the true story of Samantha Hartsoe, who became a global viral sensation in 2021. It all started with a mysterious cold draft in her apartment. Her investigation led her to a shocking discovery: her bathroom mirror was not attached to the wall, and behind it was a dark, gaping hole. Armed with a hammer and a flashlight, she climbed through into the unknown. What she found on the other side was not just a small crawlspace, but an entire, abandoned apartment, freezing cold and filled with unsettling signs of recent life. Join us as we follow her terrifying, multi-part journey that captivated millions on TikTok. 👉 If you love modern mysteries and unbelievable true stories, smash that like button, subscribe, and hit the notification bell so you never miss an incredible story! 🔔 Hit the bell next to Subscribe so you never miss a video! ❤️ Like, Comment and Subscribe if you are new to the channel! Join Our Family For More Exclusive Content and Perks : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOaD4JxNYk29LHbHTOx3SQA/join 🔗 More Amazing Stories from Our Channel: ✅ Man Walks 20 Miles To Work Until One Day Cop Follows Him And Sees Why https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHlFcQ0OF8g ✅In 1997, She Got Septuplets — See What They Look Like 21 Years Later!
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0:00
Every old apartment building has its
0:01
quirks. A floorboard that always caks. A
0:04
pipe that rattles in the middle of the
0:05
night. A draft you can never seem to
0:08
locate. Most of us learn to live with
0:09
these minor mysteries, dismissing them
0:12
as just part of the charm or the curse
0:14
of living in a place with a past. But
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what if one of those quirks wasn't just
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a quirk? What if it was a clue? A loose
0:21
thread that if pulled could unravel a
0:24
secret hidden within the very walls of
0:26
your home. In March of 2021, a young
0:29
woman in New York City felt a constant
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unexplained cold draft in her bathroom.
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She decided to document her
0:35
investigation on TikTok. Thinking it
0:37
would be a funny story to share with her
0:38
friends. But what her camera revealed
0:41
was not a simple crack in the wall. It
0:43
was a dark, terrifying secret that
0:45
turned her small apartment into the
0:46
setting of a real life horror movie,
0:48
captivating millions of people around
0:50
the world who watched, holding their
0:52
breath as she ventured into the unknown.
0:54
But before we start our story, smash
0:56
that like button, make sure you're
0:58
subscribed, and hit the notifications
1:00
bell so you won't miss any of our new,
1:02
incredible stories. To understand how
1:04
such a terrifying discovery could be
1:06
possible, you must first understand the
1:08
unique and complex world of New York
1:10
City apartment buildings. The city is a
1:12
living museum of architectural history,
1:14
a vertical landscape of buildings
1:16
stacked one on top of another, each with
1:18
its own story. Many of the apartment
1:20
buildings, especially in burrows like
1:22
Manhattan, were built in the great
1:24
construction booms of the late 19th and
1:26
early 20th centuries. These pre-war
1:29
buildings were constructed in an era of
1:30
different technologies, different social
1:33
structures, and different ideas about
1:34
living space. They were often built with
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features that are now obsolete. old dumb
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waiter shafts for hoisting food between
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floors, forgotten servants passages, and
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complex, often illogical layouts that
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were designed long before modern
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building codes. Over the course of a
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century, these buildings are not static.
1:52
They are constantly being altered,
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renovated, and reconfigured. Walls are
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put up and walls are torn down.
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Apartments are combined, or larger
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apartments are subdivided into smaller,
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more profitable units. During these
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renovations, old features are often
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simply walled off and forgotten. An old
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service corridor becomes a void in the
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wall. A dumb waiter shaft becomes a dark
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vertical chasm sealed behind drywall.
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Sometimes entire rooms or sections of a
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building can be sealed off and
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abandoned. Their existence erased from
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new floor plans, becoming architectural
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ghosts lingering just inches away from
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where people live, sleep, and eat every
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day. This creates a hidden labyrinthine
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geography within the city's residential
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towers. A network of forgotten spaces
2:38
and dead air waiting to be rediscovered.
2:40
Add to this the intense and notoriously
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competitive New York City housing market
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where every square foot is immensely
2:47
valuable. And the idea of an entire
2:49
apartment sitting empty and hidden
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becomes even more shocking and surreal.
2:53
It was within one of these old complex
2:55
buildings that our story's protagonist
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Samantha Hartzo lived. In March of 2021,
3:01
Samantha was living in a three-bedroom
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duplex apartment on Roosevelt Island, a
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narrow strip of land in the East River
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between Manhattan and Queens. It was a
3:09
nice apartment, but she and her
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roommates had always been bothered by a
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persistent, mysterious cold draft in the
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bathroom. No matter how high they turned
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up the heat, the bathroom was always
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freezing. She decided to finally solve
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the mystery. She began a systematic
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investigation, which she started filming
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for her friends on Tik Tok. First, she
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held her hand up to the window. No
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draft. She checked the air vent. No air
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was coming out. She waved a piece of
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tissue paper around the room, hoping its
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movement would reveal the source of the
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cold air. The paper was still until she
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moved it towards the bathroom door
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frame. It began to flutter. The draft
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was coming from the door. But that
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didn't make sense as the air in the
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hallway outside was warm. Her
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investigation then led her to the area
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around the bathroom mirror, which was
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mounted on the wall just beside the
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door. As she got closer, she could feel
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the cold air intensify. It was pouring
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out from somewhere behind the mirror.
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This was strange, but she assumed there
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must be a poorly sealed hole in the wall
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behind it. She touched the mirror,
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perhaps to see how securely it was
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mounted, and that's when the story took
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its first terrifying turn. The mirror
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moved. It wasn't screwed into the wall.
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It was hanging, and it swung away from
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the wall with her touch. Her heart began
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to pound. in a video to her friends. Her
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voice is a mixture of nervous laughter
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and genuine fear. She lifts the mirror
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completely off its hook, her hand
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shaking slightly, and what she reveals
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behind it is the stuff of nightmares.
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Behind the mirror, there was no wall.
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There was just a dark, gaping
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rectangular hole about 2 ft wide and 3
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ft high. It was a black, empty void
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leading into a dark space within the
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building's walls. She shot her phone's
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flashlight into the hole, but the beam
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was swallowed by the darkness. She
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couldn't see the back of the cavity. A
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wave of theories flooded her mind. Was
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it a utility chase? Was it connected to
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another apartment? The uncertainty was
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deeply unsettling. She called her two
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roommates to come and see. Their
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reaction was a mixture of shock and
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horror. They all stood there staring
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into the black hole that had been hiding
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behind their bathroom mirror the entire
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time they had lived there. Samantha's
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story, which she was posting in a series
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of short Tik Tok videos, began to
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attract attention. Her friends and
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followers were now completely invested
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in the mystery. What was on the other
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side of that hole? The consensus from
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her friends was clear. Call the
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landlord, board it up, and do not, under
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any circumstances, go in there. But for
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Samantha, the curiosity was becoming
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unbearable. The mystery of what lay on
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the other side of that hole was too
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powerful to ignore. She felt like she
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was living in the opening scene of a
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horror movie and she had to find out how
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the story ended. She made a decision. A
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decision that would turn her personal
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investigation into a global viral
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phenomenon. She decided she was going
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in. The final video in the first stage
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of her discovery is a masterclass in
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building suspense. It shows Samantha
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preparing for her expedition into the
6:01
unknown. The sense of dread is palpable,
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but so is her brave, almost reckless
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determination. She talks to her friends
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on FaceTime who are nervously watching
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and pleading with her to be careful. She
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prepares her gear. She puts on a face
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mask, not for the pandemic, but for the
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dust and whatever else might be in the
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air on the other side. She straps a
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flashlight to her forehead with a hair
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tie. She grabs the only thing she can
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think of, a hammer, which she holds
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tightly in her hand. looking at her own
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camera, her eyes wide with a mixture of
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terror and adrenaline, she says, "My
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landlord's getting a really fun phone
6:36
call tomorrow." She takes one last deep
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breath, says a nervous, "Wish me luck,"
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and begins her journey, climbing feet
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first through the dark, mysterious hole
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in her bathroom wall, disappearing into
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the secret world that was waiting on the
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other side. As Samantha Hartzo's friends
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watched in horror on their phone
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screens, her legs disappeared into the
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dark void behind the bathroom mirror.
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For a few tense moments, all they could
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hear was her muffled voice and the sound
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of her moving through the tight space.
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Then her headlamps beam illuminated her
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new surroundings. She had successfully
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made it to the other side. She found
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herself in a small, dark, and incredibly
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creepy in between space. It was an
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unfinished, gloomy cavity, cold and
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silent with exposed pipes and electrical
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wires running along the walls. It was
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clear that this was some kind of utility
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chase or a structural void left between
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apartments during construction. But as
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she stood up and panned her light
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around, she saw another opening a few
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feet away. And through that opening, she
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could see a sliver of light. It was
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another room, a different apartment. Her
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heart pounding. She cautiously moved
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toward the second opening. She peered
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through. She was looking into what
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appeared to be a completely empty
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apartment. There was no furniture, no
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sign of life. It seemed to be under
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construction with unfinished floors and
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bare walls. The air was still and
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freezing cold. She took a deep breath,
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gripped her hammer tighter, and stepped
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through the second opening, officially
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entering the secret apartment. The first
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thing she noticed was the scale of the
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place. This wasn't just a single hidden
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room. This was an entire massive
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apartment. As she explored further, she
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realized it was a full two-story duplex,
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and it was all completely empty and
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eerily silent. It felt like a ghost
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apartment, a forgotten world existing
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parallel to her own. As she documented
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her exploration, panning her phone's
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camera around the desolate space, the
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true terrifying nature of the discovery
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began to reveal itself. In the middle of
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what would be the living room, she found
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several large black trash bags filled
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with unknown contents. Her mind
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immediately raced with grim
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possibilities. Why were there bags of
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trash in a supposedly vacant apartment?
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Further in, she found other signs that
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someone had been there. And recently,
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there was an uninstalled toilet sitting
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bizarrely in the middle of a room, still
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in its plastic wrapping, but
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disconnected from any plumbing. In
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another corner, she found a small, empty
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shoe box. Sitting on a dusty floor was a
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single half empty bottle of water. This
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small, mundane object was perhaps the
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most terrifying find of all. The trash
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bags could have been old construction
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debris. The toilet could have been left
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by workers, but the water bottle was a
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clear sign of recent human presence.
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Someone had been in this cold, dark,
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hidden apartment. Someone had been
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sitting in the dark drinking this water.
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But where were they now? Had she just
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entered the secret hideout of a squatter
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or someone hiding from the law? Was she
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truly alone in this apartment? Every
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dark corner and every shadow suddenly
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seemed more menacing. The silence was no
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longer empty. It was heavy with a sense
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of unseen presence. She continued her
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exploration, moving with a mixture of
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journalistic curiosity and raw fear. She
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documented everything. The unfinished
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staircase, the empty bedrooms, the dust
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covered floors. The entire apartment
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felt like a crime scene, a place
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abandoned in a hurry. The biggest shock
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came when she found the apartment's
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front door. She cautiously approached
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it, half expecting it to be locked or
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barricaded. She turned the knob. To her
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astonishment, it was unlocked. All this
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time, she had risked climbing through a
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dark, narrow hole in her wall to access
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a secret space that she could have
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simply walked into from the main hallway
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of her building. This realization
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brought a moment of dark ironic humor to
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her terrifying ordeal. She made sure to
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lock the front door from the inside,
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giving herself a small but much needed
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sense of security. After completing a
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full tour of the cold, silent apartment,
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she knew she had to get back. The
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adrenaline was wearing off, and the full
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weight of the situation was beginning to
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sink in. She made her way back through
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the creepy dark space, climbed back
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through the hole in her wall, and
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finally stepped out of the mirror and
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back into the warmth and light of her
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own bathroom. She was shaky, but safe.
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Her friends on FaceTime let out a
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collective sigh of relief. The
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expedition was over. She immediately
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called her building's management to
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report the unbelievable discovery. The
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official explanation she received was,
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in some ways, as strange as the
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discovery itself. The building's
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management confirmed that it was a
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vacant apartment that was in the very
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early stages of a renovation.
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Construction had been halted and for
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reasons they couldn't explain, the unit
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had been left unsecured, and the hole
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behind her mirror had never been sealed.
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While the explanation was not
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paranormal, the reality was deeply
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unsettling. The knowledge that a
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complete abandoned apartment was
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directly connected to hers, accessible
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through a simple hidden opening and that
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unknown people may have been using it
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was a terrifying security nightmare.
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When Samantha posted the full four-part
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story to her Tik Tok account, the
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reaction was something she could have
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never anticipated. It went massively
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viral. Millions of people watched her
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terrifying journey, completely
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captivated by the real life horror
11:38
story. Her videos were viewed over 20
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million times, and her story was picked
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up by major news outlets all over the
11:44
world. She was interviewed by NBC, New
11:46
York, the BBC, and even appeared on the
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Ellen DeGeneres show. She became an
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internet celebrity overnight. Known
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globally as the NYC apartment woman,
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people were obsessed with the story
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because it tapped into a universal fear.
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The idea that our homes, our private
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sanctuaries might not be as safe and
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secure as we believe. It was a modern
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folk tale about the secrets that can lie
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hidden just inches from where we sleep.
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The story of Samantha Hartzo's discovery
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is a quintessentially 21th century
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phenomenon. It's a mystery that was
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investigated, documented, and shared
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entirely through a smartphone. It
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reminds us that in old complex cities
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like New York, there are still forgotten
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spaces and hidden worlds. Architectural
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ghosts lingering just behind the walls
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of our modern lives. Samantha's bravery
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and curiosity allowed millions of people
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to vicariously step through the looking
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glass with her to explore a secret world
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and to confront the unsettling
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possibility that we may not always know
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what or who is on the other side of the
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wall. Her landlord did indeed get a very
12:48
fun phone call the next day. And for the
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rest of us, it was a gripping,
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terrifying reminder to maybe check just
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how securely our own bathroom mirrors
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are attached to the wall. Thank you so
12:58
much for watching. If you were
13:00
captivated by this modern-day mystery,
13:02
please don't forget to leave a like,
13:04
subscribe, and ring that notification
13:06
bell so you never miss our next amazing
13:08
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