This week: Attics, Cellars, and Secret Passages Edited by: Arakun the Twisted Raccoon  
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Quote for the week:
"Mystery spread its cloak across the sky.
We lost our way.
Shadows fell from trees.
They knew why."
~From "House of Four Doors" by the Moody Blues |
In classic mystery stories, so many interesting things happen in dark parts of old buildings. Bodies and other evidence of crimes are hidden and treasures are discovered.
Attics in most modern houses aren't as much fun as those in old houses. The attic in my house is very small and is full of foam insulation. No opportunities for hiding treasures or bodies there, unfortunately! 
Attics in older homes vary in size and shape based on the structure of the home. It might be anything from the size of a closet to a large room covering the top floor of the house. Since heat rises, attics are often incredibly hot in the summer. There might be a full size stairway leading to the attic, or it might have a small entrance with a ladder that can be extended.
A basement is a general term for a building's underground floor. Modern basements are often finished and used as living space. A cellar is a type of basement that is typically smaller and unfinished with a dirt or stone floor. Cellars typically do not have any windows and are often accessed with an external entry rather than a stairway from in the house.
Since cellars tend to be cool, they are often used as storage for wines, preserves, or root vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, and onions. My great grandmother had a root cellar that was completely separate from the house and was accessed through a heavy wooden door in the ground.
In tornado prone areas, basements and cellars are also used as emergency storm shelters. During World War II and the 1950s, some basements and cellars were reinforced to use as bomb shelters as well.
In areas such as Louisiana in the US, basements are rare due to a high water table and high moisture clay soil. A basement under these conditions would be prone to severe flooding and would also cause structural instability to the above ground building. If your story will include a basement or cellar, make sure they are actually used in the area where it is set. One published mystery story immediately lost my interest, because it was set in Louisiana, but a serial killer broke into a victim's home through a basement window.
A crawlspace is a shallow, unfinished and usually unheated space under the first floor of a house. It is called a crawlspace because it is usually between 1-4 feet in height, too shallow for an adult to stand up. the function of a crawlspace is to elevate the home off the ground for moisture control and to provide access to utilities. They can become damp and moldy if not properly sealed or vented.
When I was a kid, I loved mystery stories that involved secret rooms and passages. Nancy Drew and other characters in the mystery books I liked spent a lot of time in old attics and secret rooms. My favorite TV show, the original "Dark Shadows," took place in an old house that seemed to have more secret rooms than regular ones!
Real life secret rooms include priest holes build into English and Welsh manor houses in the 16th and 17th centuries. These were small chambers designed to hide Catholic clergy and religious items during the Elizabethan era when Catholics were persecuted. They were often hidden behind fireplaces, under stairs, and within walls.
Modern secret rooms include panic rooms or safe rooms. These are reinforced, secure chambers that are designed to protect residents from intruders or natural disasters. The panic room may be built of bullet proof materials and have a heavy door that can only be locked and unlocked from the inside. The panic room is usually stocked with several days worth of essential supplies and may have a separate communication system from the rest of the house.
The entrance to a secret room or passage might be hidden behind a bookshelf or concealed by patterns in wallpaper or wooden paneling. The door opening might be triggered by a spring or lever disguised as an architectural feature or an item such as a book. The presence of a secret room might be detected by discrepancies in the measurements of the known inner parts of the building and the measurements of the outside.
Something to try: Write a mystery story that involves an attic, basement, or secret room. |
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Mystery: February 04, 2026 Issue [#13577]
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