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Lank
Level 4: 561 points
Alltime Score: 13463 points
Last Logged In: October 12th, 2012
BADGE: Senator BADGE: Winner of a Duel BADGE: INTERREGNUM TEAM: The Disorganised Guerilla War On Boredom and Normality TEAM: El Lay Zero TEAM: Group Creation Public Badge TEAM: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse TEAM: Team Shplank TEAM: San Francisco Zero TEAM: ALL THINGS MEATIFUL! TEAM: Public Library Zero TEAM: Urban Picnic Society TEAM: Whimsy BART Psychogeographical Association Rank 2: Trafficker


retired

25 + 55 points

Urban Exploration 1 by Lank

January 1st, 2008 3:41 AM / Location: 37.766768,-122.4481

INSTRUCTIONS: Explore an abandoned building or set of abandoned buildings. Sutro baths, Presidio bunkers, etc.

I explored an abandoned house near where I live. The house has been empty for several months, and I haven't bothered to find out why. It's not a bad looking place, and it's in a nice neighborhood, but it's very dirty right now and collects newspapers that disappear not too frequently.

It's a mystery, this house.

One night, as I walked by it, I noticed that the door to the basement (which is in front, like so many other San Francisco homes) was ever so slightly ajar. It wasn't open, but just off enough that my curiosity grabbed hold of me. I checked the door - not locked! Brilliant!

I ran down the block and grabbed the headlight from my bicycle, and with my handy cell phone cam, went exploring. I think the combination of the tiny light source and rudimentary camera created some quite creepy photos.

I wasn't completely sure that no one was in fact inside this house. And I wasn't sure whether the neighbors would be able to here me once inside, so I moved very quietly and carefully...

...into the mystery...

see the pictures for the story...

- smaller

Just inside...

Just inside...

...it was creepy. There were random things on the ground, like this jar of instant coffee and styrofoam cup.


The first room...

The first room...

... had all sorts of stuff in it. Kind of a mess. Here's some paint and a fire extinguisher.


And...

And...

...also there was a sparsely populated, dusty shelf of books.


The second room...

The second room...

... had more unusual items within. This blanket is surrounded by dozens of boxes labeled for vodka and wine.


Also...

Also...

...there were several buckets full of batteries.


Not to mention...

Not to mention...

... a drawer full of belts.


At the end of the corridor...

At the end of the corridor...

...was a door that perhaps lead up into the house. It was blocked FROM THIS SIDE with many boards and broomsticks. Meaning that no one would be able to get to the cellar from inside the abandoned house... I didn't try to remove the blockage...


On the way out...

On the way out...

...I checked the electrical box, and indeed, the power was shut off. What's going on here? Whose stuff is this? Why is that door blocked and why is the house abandoned?



11 vote(s)



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9 comment(s)

(no subject)
posted by Lank on January 1st, 2008 3:42 AM

... to be continued ...

(no subject)
posted by Meta tron on January 1st, 2008 3:50 AM

...intriguing...

(no subject)
posted by o f on January 1st, 2008 4:28 AM

t'is spooky to encounter the unexpected signs of life, but with no signs of the inhabitant. Did it look as tho someone is living there without permission or was all that stuff left over from when the house was in use?

(no subject)
posted by anna one on January 1st, 2008 4:38 AM

What's particularly awesome about this:
- I've been walking past this house for years, noticing the newspapers and Chinese restaurant menus piling up on the doorstep... I always tell people that one day, the IRS will show up and find the decayed body of the resident.
- I thought Lank was at the grocery store... he comes back with a gazillion photos of scary abandon house + groceries too!
And now we know- the only way out is through the basement.

(no subject)
posted by susy derkins on January 1st, 2008 9:40 AM

The drawer full of belts, what story could that be?

where was this?
posted by Not Here No More on January 1st, 2008 12:05 PM

Very intriguing.

(no subject)
posted by rongo rongo on January 1st, 2008 12:32 PM

The booze boxes and batteries make sense to me. A lot of people go to liquor stores to pick up boxes when they move, because those boxes hold up to a heavy load. And sometimes people don't throw out old batteries because of a vague recollection that they should be put into the hazardous waste collection instead of regular trash, so quite a lot can accumulate over the years.

But the blocked door? That's creepy.

(no subject)
posted by Lank on January 1st, 2008 3:22 PM

The house is on Clayton near Frederick.

(no subject)
posted by Charlie Fish on January 2nd, 2008 7:08 AM

Gutsy. I'd be terrified of going into an apparently abandoned house. Think of all the inevitable crackhead squatters!