In a scene that could be straight of a horror movie, a woman in New York discovered an entire apartment concealed behind her bathroom mirror. And of course, the natural course of action was to enter and explore this space armed with a hammer.
The multi-part videos posted by Samantha Hartsoe have since gone viral, with her TikTok account gathering thousands of followers even as she is interviewed by news channels. Hartsoe works for a non profit in the city and is also the resident of what netizens are dubbing a rather "creepy" apartment.
In the four part video series Hartsoe discovers that the source of the breeze blowing through her bathroom is a small opening that had been concealed by her mirror. As she noted in her second video, there was a room that could be seen beyond the shaft area.
After laboriously entering the space on the other side of her bathroom, she set out to explore the room, only to realise that there is an entire apartment on the other side. And while she did not have to use her hammer or face off against another person, the state of the other apartment certainly does not inspire confidence. As the woman shows in her final video, there are trash bags and rubble scattered around.
While we're not quite sure what will happen next, Hartsoe's fourth video ends with a promise to make her landlord aware of the situation.
With TikTok banned in India, we turned to a Twitter thread that shared the clips and appears to be excitedly following the story. And as a quick perusal of the comments section shows, the Twitterverse is certainly imaginative. From sharing stories about murderers entering through medicine cabinets to recalling the plot of movies such as Parasite and The Room.
While some were confused as to why the presence of another apartment was so very shocking, others brought up the question of safety.
"This is really crazy!!! I mean, any ill-willed vagrant could've wandered in and with just a bit of luck, found themselves in her bathroom and next thing you know it's a sad story on the nine o'clock news.... landlord needs to be sued," exclaimed one user.
For many however, Hartsoe's safety or decision to explore a possibly murderous habitat is secondary. "The real question. How is that square footage going un-utilized in NYC!!!!!!! There is $5000/mo worth of rent on the other side of that mirror that someone is just letting go unused," exclaimed one user.
Others suggested that rather than complaining to her landlord, Hartsoe should simply have enlarged that bathroom opening to take over the neighbouring apartment. "She has a-whole-nother apartment there for the low-low price of needing to climb through a weirdly-placed door," one user contended.
