The Weirdest Things Found in People’s Attics

1. A lost Martin Luther King interview

(Image/ Source: The Library of Congress / Flickr)It’s not every day that you find such a prized item- let alone in your own attic! Back in 2012, a man who lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee, discovered a mint-condition audio interview with Martin Luther King, Jr that had been stashed away in his attic. Apparently the man’s father had placed it there for safe keeping years ago.

2. An ex-boyfriend

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This one sounds like something out of a movie. A woman in Pittsburgh had split from her ex, and was living as a single mother. She started noticing food going missing around the house, and the toilet seat was being left up. One morning she heard a noise from a bedroom, and a man tried to grab her. She ran outside for help, and it was later revealed that the man was her ex!

3. A mummy

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A 10-year-old boy from Germany was playing in his grandparents’ attic when he discovered a set of suspicious-looking boxes. He went to investigate, and it turned out to be a mummy! Neither of his grandparents knew it was there, so they were pretty shocked. The grandfather’s own grandpa had actually brought it back from North Africa with him many years ago.

4. A boa constrictor

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If you’re afraid of snakes, then this is your worst nightmare! A Florida family had no idea they had a HUGE boa constrictor living in their attic. They had heard bumping and banging overhead for years before they finally investigated the source of the noise. The boa was quite happy living in the attic’s insulation.

5. The head of King Henry VI

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When the monarch fell, and the French Revolution took over, the remains of monarchs were destroyed. But his head survived… In 1919, a photographer purchased the royal’s head from an auction, and in 1955, Jacques Bellanger, a tax collector, became the new owner. In 2010, the same royal head surfaced again after it was discovered preserved in an attic.

6. A Picasso painting

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In 2015, Dominic Currie from Kirkaldy, UK discovered an original painting by Pablo Picasso in a suitcase stored in his attic. It reportedly belonged to his mother, who had received it as a gift from her World War II Russian soldier lover. It was estimated to be worth an eye-watering £115 million. Safe to say Dominic is a very lucky man!

7. The bones of a child

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This is a bit of a sinister one. In Virginia, police officers received a strange call. When they arrived at the scene of the crime, they discovered a child’s body in the attic. After an investigation, it was found that the body belonged to a two-year-old girl who had died of dehydration. The girl’s step mum was later arrested and charged with first-degree murder, child neglect, and felony murder.

8. Creepy messages

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An estate agent went viral on TikTok after she revealed some pretty creepy messages on the attic walls of a house she was showing. Judging by the writing, the crayon messages seemed like they had been written by children, but the estate agent was still a bit freaked out! Her followers thought it might have been a prank, but the estate agent wasn’t having any of it.

9. A hidden WWII-Era room

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This sounds like a plotline from Indiana Jones. Reddit user mYNDIG discovered a hidden room tucked behind a wall in their attic. The small area contained a narrow bed and a pillow on the floor, as well as a light alarm. It’s thought that this room was probably designed as a hiding place from Nazis. It had been left unused for 70 years.

10. Stradivarius violin

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In 1980, violinist Roman Totenberg had his beloved Stradivarius violin stolen from his office in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Thirty-five years later, in August 2015, the stolen instrument was discovered in the attic of a California resident, whose father - himself a struggling musician - had taken the Stradivarius.

11. Guns- lots of them

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An elderly woman hit the headlines when police found a LOT of weapons in the attic of her apartment. There were over a dozen firearms, including a sub-machine gun, as well as automatic weapons. Blimey. The woman said they were her late husband’s, but she claimed she had no idea that he’d kept them in the house…

12. A pirate radio operation

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There aren’t just creepy things in attics- there’s a lot of cool stuff too! A few years ago, a Reddit user found a huge stash of radio broadcasting equipment in his attic, and he couldn’t wait to show it off to his fellow internet users. The equipment is thought to be from a mini pirate radio outfit, but the Reddit user has no more information than that.

13. A human hand

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In Tampa, Florida, a family got a bit of a shock when they were cleaning out their grandparent’s attic! They found a strange box filled with old Spanish coins and a treasure map- as well as a human hand. These items are believed to be the early 1920s or 30s artefacts. Sounds like a box of pirate items if you ask us…

15. A rare Superman comic

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Home remodeler David Gonzalez was working on restoring an old home in the small town of Hoffman, Minnesota when he found something pretty epic. It was a 70-year-old, super rare copy of Action Comics No.1, which is famous for introducing the world to Superman in 1938. The comic went for $100,000 at an auction, and David had paid only $10,100 for the home.

16. A lost Van Gough painting

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A Van Gogh painting called “Sunset at Montmajour” had been owned by Norwegian industrialist and art collector Christian Nicolai Mustad after being sold in 1901. Mustad had always believed the work was an original Van Gogh, but the lack of a signature led to Mustad hiding the piece in his attic. After a lot of investigations and determination for Mustad’s family, it was later revealed that the painting WAS a genuine Van Gough.

17. World War II love letters

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In Lubbock, Texas, homeowner Andy Green was doing some repair work on a vent in his attic when he found something remarkable. It was a box of love letters written during World War II by Navy chief petty officer Dale Simpson and his sweetheart Virginia Sims. Andy later managed to get in touch with the couple’s relatives to show them the letters. How lovely!

18. Boxes full of cash

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What would you do if you found a wad of cash in your new house? Josh Ferrin of Bountiful, Utah was checking out his new home when he noticed a little access panel in the ceiling of his garage. It turned out to be a huge box of cash that came to a grand total of $45,000. Ferrin then returned the money to the eldest son of the recently deceased previous house owner.

19. A $5 million Russian Czar’s collector figurine

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George Davis is probably one of the luckiest people alive! When going through the attic of his New York home, he found an old Russian figurine. Stashed in the attic for nearly 70 years, the figurine turned out to be a Faberge figure that was commissioned by Russian Czar, Nicholas II for his wife. It was valued at $500,000 to $800,000, but after a 15-minute auction, it sold for $5.2 million!

20. Hitler's record collection

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In 1991, Alexandra Besymenskaja found Adolf Hitler’s personal record collection when she was going through her dad’s attic. It turned out that her father Lew Besymenski, a captain of the Russian military intelligence unit, went to the recently captured headquarters of the Nazis at the end of World War II in 1945. He found tonnes of Hitler’s personal items, and took a few items as souvenirs.

21. A puzzle box filled with jewellery

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Reddit user bellalunacy shared a pretty interesting story about what they found in their attic. While the idea of discovering a puzzle box in their attic might give many people a fright (or flashbacks to Jumanji), bellalunacy went on ahead to solve the puzzle. The box then revealed a huge stash of expensive jewellery worth thousands!

22. A secret apartment

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Another crazy Reddit story. Use CatchingWindows was pretty freaked out when he found an apartment… in his attic. After he hired a property developer to investigate, he discovered the truth. Before the house was converted into a two-story building, it was a shop, and the owners lived upstairs. After the store closed down, a church bought the unit and built around it.23. (Image/ Source: ranker.com)

In Jiangsu Province, China, a man discovered that someone was living in his attic, rent-free. The apartment owner first became suspicious when he noticed items like cash disappearing from his house. The police searched his three-story apartment and discovered a homeless man had been living in the crawlspace!

24. Vintage baby carriages- with awful occupants

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This might be the most disturbing attic find ever. A team of investigators at a 200-year-old farmhouse in Ossining, New York, stumbled on a collection of vintage baby carriages. Each pram had a well-preserved small animal corpse swaddled perfectly and placed in each carriage. They found a total of ten creatures, including dogs, cats, raccoons, and squirrels.

25. A very expensive Chinese vase

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When a brother and sister were cleaning out their deceased parent’s dusty old attic in London, they found a pretty Chinese vase. They eventually got the vase auctioned, and it sold for an eye-watering $85 million, a record for any Chinese art at auction! The vase is believed to be from around 1740 during the Qing dynasty.

26. A Caravaggio painting

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In 2014, a rare Caravaggio painting was discovered behind a locked door of a French attic after the owner tried to repair a water leak. The painting, named Judith Beheading Holofernes, was found under an old mattress, and the owner quickly decided to get the painting auctioned. After being snapped up, it’s now valued at a whopping $136 million.

26. Ghost 'footprints'

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A lot of people are convinced they’ve stumbled across ghostly footprints in their attics- but this one from Reddit user u/buttononmyback is pretty convincing! His attic was pretty unstable- you couldn’t walk across most of the floor as you’d fall through. The floor also happened to be covered in white dust. He and his dad started noticing footprints across the most unstable parts of the attic, and this has now gone on for 20 years…

27. Grandson's dead body

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This is a pretty gruesome one. Zanobia Richmond’s grandson Dyquain Rogers had gone missing in Erie, Pennsylvania in 2014. Police couldn’t find any traces of him. One day, Zanobia heard a bang from her attic and she went to investigate. There was a foul smell, and she found the body of her grandson. His death is still a mystery.

28. A painting by El Greco

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Some people have all the luck! UK resident Richard Bromell found a painting of Saint Peter in his attic, which is thought to be created by a follower of the 16th

-century Renaissance artist El Greco. The painting was initially valued at just £300, but it eventually sold for an impressive £130,000 after a bidding war broke out at auction.

29. A spooky pentagram

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A man went viral after he posted a spooky picture of what he found in his girlfriend’s attic. While helping her move into her new house, the man went upstairs to find a pentagram- a five-pointed star associated with the worship of Satan- alongside the name "Nick." The scariest part? His name is Nick too! Was it a prank by his girlfriend or something paranormal?

30. A painting by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

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Back in 2008 a painting by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, also known as Giambattista Tiepolo was discovered in the attic of an old French chateau. Apparently the painting had been hidden by the grandparents of the painting’s owner because of the nudity in it! The painting was eventually sold at auction for £2.8 million.