A couple in Kent uncovered scenes reminiscent of a “horror film” behind one of their kitchen cupboards after “plucking up the courage” to knock down a wall and finally discover what was lurking behind it.
Nine years of curiosity
Lifestyle photographer Tom Gold and his wife Sam Goldbrom, a textile artist and founder of the brand Little Victory, live in an art deco house in Broadstairs, which was first built in 1929 by Ideal Home as an exhibition house. The home, known as Sandy Shores, is expansive with a striking white frontage and aluminium exterior windows, and boasts a “wealth of original features” from “curved walls and doorways” to “inset alcoves” and even “an XL odeon style fireplace.”
The couple are “constantly restoring and improving” their seaside villa, and it has even been used as a shoot location for a variety of “tv productions, fashion magazines, interiors companies and musicians.”
Recently, curiosity got the better of Tom and Sam and they finally decided to knock through a wall in a cupboard in their kitchen. What they uncovered was captured on video and shared to Instagram this week, where it has so far pulled in more than 12.5 million views.
The discovery
Captioning the clip, Tom penned: “In the cupboard at the back of our kitchen, there’s a doorway that had obviously been bricked up and plastered over. After nine years of wondering what might be behind it, today we finally plucked up the courage to find out…”
In the footage, Sam can be seen shining a torch through the hole in the wall, which leads down to a dark staircase. The footage then cuts to showcase the full extent of their discovery – a rabbit-warren of corridors and rooms running underneath their home. They discovered the cellar had electricity and pipework, and many of the rooms were housing boxes of files, suitcases and more.
In one of the rooms, there were dark green painted handprints running up the walls and along the low ceiling. A man off camera can be heard saying: “Nothing to be scared of”, before laughing. At the end of the corridor, they found a “tunnel” which potentially leads up to their garden, though it had been filled with breezeblocks, bricks and rubble, essentially blocking it off.
Public reaction
The clip struck a chord with Instagram users and has been viewed millions of times. In the comments section, thousands of people were keen to share their thoughts.
One person said: “9 years? I would have smashed through it the day I moved in.” Another said: “Oh my god, I watched this like a horror film. I can't believe the amount of space, and how it's mostly clear and tidy?! Hope the hand marks were just a prank lol.”
A third commented: “There is not a single thing in the world that would motivate me to explore that.” While a fourth quipped: “Ma’am, I would bring holy water, 500 blessed weapons, UV light, garlic, silver, salt, and whatever else that could stop physical and/or supernatural threats before entering.” Another referenced the 2022 horror mystery film Barbarian, in which an Airbnb guest makes a similar discovery with devastating consequences: “What in the Barbarian is going on here”.
But someone else added: “This is honestly my dream come true. Some people want to pull up carpet and discover wood floors. I want a DUNGEON!” In a separate post on Instagram, Sam previously shared appreciation for their house, penning: “Our home gives as much as it takes and provides me with a venue for my workshops and an outlet for constant experimentation. We are very fortunate to live in it and hope we’ll be working on it for years to come.”
