Urban Exploration 1 by Lank
January 1st, 2008 3:41 AM / Location: 37.766768,-122.4481It'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...
Just inside...
...it was creepy. There were random things on the ground, like this jar of instant coffee and styrofoam cup.
The first room...
... had all sorts of stuff in it. Kind of a mess. Here's some paint and a fire extinguisher.
And...
...also there was a sparsely populated, dusty shelf of books.
The second room...
... had more unusual items within. This blanket is surrounded by dozens of boxes labeled for vodka and wine.
Also...
...there were several buckets full of batteries.
Not to mention...
... a drawer full of belts.
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...
...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?
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9 comment(s)
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?
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.
The drawer full of belts, what story could that be?
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.
Gutsy. I'd be terrified of going into an apparently abandoned house. Think of all the inevitable crackhead squatters!
... to be continued ...