Man Makes Unusual Discovery After Noticing Two Mysterious Circles On Wall
In 2011, a man who owned a storage unit decided to drill a hole in the wall of the structure after noticing something unusual. During the process, he posted a video of the project on YouTube under the name "cyrex686." The YouTuber had discovered two odd-looking round things on his wall and wanted to investigate.
Unusual Circles
He explained, “I, er, noticed that there were these things down here… circular, whatever." He proceeded to hammer on one of them, and it sounded hollow. So he decided to drill a hole in it. He discovered something quite strange when he took out the drill and started the process.
A Secret Passage?
When he used the drill on one of the holes, he discovered that the circular area was in fact a wooden plug. He was easily able to pop the plug right of of its spot on the wall. In the video, cyrex686 points out that the circular hole wasn't exactly what he thought it would be.
“I thought it was just like two big pipes here, but it’s not. It actually turns out that entirely behind this wall here is another like secret passage or something," he explained. "Which I think I can enter through this hole I’ve started up here.”
A Look Inside
According to the YouTuber, the building he was using was originally a century-old industrial property. Over the years, it had been altered to accommodate numerous commercial units. So who wouldn't be intrigued upon finding a secret compartment?
And who could resist the temptation? Cyrex686 noted, “Our best guess is it was sealed off in the 1980s.” When the YouTuber shined a light into the space, he was unable to see very much. But there was no way he was going to stop there. He was compelled to open it up and get a better look to see what was inside.
No Permission Granted
Cyrex686 didn't own the building in which he rented the storage unit. He really had no business using a hammer to drill a hole into the wall of the structure, and he never really explains in the video what compelled him to start dismantling the wall.
You can't help but wonder if anyone in the vicinity ever heard him drilling down there. But for some reason, his curiosity was so strong that he was forced to continue the project. He and a few of his friends got together, and they popped out the circular plug so they could finally see what was inside the wall.
The Big Reveal
After all the drilling and built-up anticipation, it was the moment the YouTuber had been waiting for: a look inside the mysterious wall. He finally got inside and discovered that behind the wall was a room. The reveal was a big deal, and people who watched the video (over 4 million!) had all sorts of ideas about what the room's purpose may have been.
They speculated on who may have built it and what its original use was. They also had some ideas about what it could be used for in the present time. Some of the online comments were quite incredible, while others seemed to make sense.
A Hidden Chamber?
But not everyone thought the hole would be great for fun and games. People let their imaginations run wild about its purpose. Some had some fairly macabre ideas about what the room was originally created to do. A few suggested that it may have been a hidden chamber.
Perhaps it contained human remains inside? It could have been used by a serial killer or another nefarious person to do evil things out of the public's view. Others believed it may have contained a supernatural being that was released after cyrex686 and his buddies inadvertently let it out when they opened up the wall.
Hide & Seek
A user named CrafterBox had one of the most popular comments about the secret room. He suggested that it would be an excellent way to win a game of hide and seek. He wrote, “You should put a painting over the big whole [sic]. You would be unbeatable at hide and seek.”
Most people would never expect an individual to hide behind a painting, so that would probably work. As long as he or she was stealth enough and quick enough to remove and replace the painting while silently slipping into the secret room behind them. And they weren't afraid of the dark.
Don't Trust Your Friends
People on YouTube had great fun with the mysterious room behind the holes. A user named Bud Watson, who must be a very paranoid individual, suggested that it would behoove cyrex686 to be very careful about the people he surrounds himself with because you never know if you can trust someone 100 percent.
He wrote, “From that point on, you found out that those guys were not really your friends. When you had reached the end of the room, you turned around as you saw your friends plugging the hole up.” Hopefully, if this happened, it would just be a joke and they'd let him out!
Another Theory about the Room's Purpose
Then there were people who took the concept of the secret room to a whole other level. Because, after all, if no one knows about the room, all kinds of things can take place there -- even things that aren't culturally acceptable.
A user named Louie Alouie criticized people for their lame ideas and suggested that the room was used by a deviant. He wrote, “People have the stupidest ideas of what this room really is. It’s obviously a room used to fornicate with goats.” And while his comment may seem disturbing, it received over 100 recommends from the YouTube community.
A Cave For Narcotics?
Still others had even more theories about the room's purpose. Several people got behind the idea that it was created to produce illegal substances. User PoolBoysTX12 commented, “What you just stumbled upon is a hidden Hydro Cannabis Grow room."
You can almost imagine a row of grow lights in the room and dozens of plants along the floor. No one would have any idea that it even existed. One could easily slip in and out of there without anyone suspecting what they were doing. Even if that wasn't the room's purpose, some believed it would be a good route to follow.
The Pieces Are All There
The theory that it could be used as a grow room had a bit of plausibility. PoolBoysTX12 added, “Vent shaft for squirrel fan to move the air out. The metal plumbing was used for hydro phonics [sic] watering system.”
If an individual did want to grow marijuana in a room like that, a hydroponic system would necessitate ventilation and irrigation in order to work properly. Plants need oxygen, water, and light in order to grow and thrive. Savvy marijuana producers have been known to grow their product in spaces such as this using minimal resources. And they've been successful.
A Pulley System for Lighting
It may seem like setting up lighting would be a problem in a secret room like this, but PoolBoysTX12 had that figured out too. In his mind, he noticed a pretty ingenious way a user may have gotten light to the plants to keep them healthy.
He explained, “The pile of wood with the rope was used for a weight for lowering the lights to plant level. Look at the corner of that room, there is a small pulley system.” We have a feeling that PoolBoysTX12 has quite a bit of knowledge about the subject. Perhaps he has some first-hand experience?
Hydroponics Theory Shot Down
PoolBoysTX12 also added, “I would be surprised if you researched your address with police records and didn’t see a drug case. Good luck…” A bunch of people online got very excited by the theory that the secret room had once been a drug den.
There was something fantastical about it being a hydroponic grow room, and the idea seemed quite believable. Yet, once again, while the idea was interesting it wasn't the room's true purpose. “Everyone wants it to be,” wrote cyrex686. “But it never was.” So what exactly was the purpose of the mysterious room? Would an answer ever be revealed?
Stumped
People were stumped. The room had not been used for illegally growing marijuana, playing hide and seek or fornicating with animals. It was not a secret chamber used by serial killers or other nefarious people. Cyrex686's friends did not play a joke on him and push him inside and plug the hole back up again.
While the room didn't have anything to do with hydroponics, its purpose did involve water. Several YouTube users suggested it involved a septic tank, and they were pretty close to guessing the truth. However, they didn't quite hit the nail on the head.
Chemical Storage Theory
After all the speculation, cyrex686 had his own theory about the room's purpose. And because he was actually inside the room and was able to walk around it, take video, and inspect it himself, it seems like he would probably have the clearest idea about its purpose.
He wrote, “I think it was for liquid chemical storage. There are hookups on the outside next to the rail spur line used to supply the factory that was here before.” And while his theory seemed to make sense, he wasn't 100 percent correct about its true purpose. But he got a little help from those online.
A Water Cistern
Don't forget, the building was originally a century-old industrial property before it had been converted into commercial industrial units. So it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that the room had originally been used for storage. Several commenters pointed out that the room was indeed a storage tank.
However, it wasn't used for waste or chemicals. They believed it was probably a water cistern. In all likelihood, it at one point held a reservoir of water, similar to a well. In the past, before pipes were used to supply water, cisterns aided in capturing rainwater from the roof.
Old Technology Vs. New
In order to get the water into a cistern, a system of gutters and downspouts directs rainwater from the roof into the storage area. A cistern is typically located underground, or in this case, in a hidden room. A cistern may be constructed of various materials, such as cinderblock, reinforced concrete, precast concrete, fiberglass, or steel.
A cistern delivers water to a household through the plumbing. The cistern cryex686 found could technically be repaired and used again. And while that seems like a neat idea, who wants to rely on old-fashioned technology when modern amenities are available? And why spend the money?
Another Secret Room
While cryex686 decided not to attempt to get the cistern system operating again, he did not simply leave the room alone. In fact, he made some changes and shared that information with the YouTube community a few years later after he posted the original video.
He responded to one of the commenters, “It’s been a few years since I made this video. I found another secret room next to the original secret room. I was thinking of showing what I’ve done with the room since then… And the secret passageway, I found, which I’ve not gotten into yet, but found the entrance.”
Questions Remain
Cyrex686 made the follow-up comment in 2016. That means he had five years to turn the original room he found into something special. As for the second secret room, he has yet to reveal what it looked like or what its purpose was. And what about the secret passageway? Was he ever able to get inside of it?
Maybe he's being a little secretive because he doesn't really want people to know what he's using the secret room for. Perhaps he got some ideas from the YouTube community and is too embarrassed to let anyone in on his little secret.
Mystery Solved ... Sort Of
It's interesting to note that just a little bit of curiosity, and the discovery of odd-looking round circles on a wall, led to such a big investigation and eventual conclusion. Not only was cyrex686 caught up in the hype of his own adventure, but those who watched his video were also taken for a ride.
And while the answer to the secret room was not the most romantic or macabre, it did reveal a little bit of history. And the mystery remains because we're still not sure about the second secret room or its corresponding secret passageway. Perhaps we'll never know.
