Couple left terrified about discovering ‘death mask’ under floorboards
Someone had quite the surprise after moving into a victorian-era house when they made an unusual discovery in the building.
A couple had been clearing out their home and doing some renovations when they found something under the floorboards.
Old houses can be a treasure-trove of discoveries and historical artefacts.
Advert
It could be anything from a million old pennies to a scaryy, secret room.
But one couple got a very creepy surprise under their floorboards when they found what appeared to be a death mask.
For those who don't know, a death mask is where you take a cast of someone's face shortly after they die.
You can then reproduce the person's likeness.
Historically, these were used as references for portraits, and could also be kept as mementos of the deceased in their own right.
It all sounds very macabre, but well, they didn't have smartphones back then did they?
Taking to Reddit, the couple described the find, writing: “My husband was pulling out the floorboards and found this death mask. It’s very much a death mask, no doubt, It’s a plaster cast and I’m sure the person must have been dead (or at least unconscious) because one of the eyelids was very slightly open when the imprint of the face was made."
They continued: “Nothing is written on the cast, there’s only a little hook at the back that looks like the mask could be mounted on a wall.
“I don’t know what to do with it. Would it be bad luck to sell it? I don’t know how else to dispose of it. I’m not too keen on keeping it in the flat, it’s super super creepy.”
People had a lot of suggestions for what to do with the discovery.
One wrote: "That's incredibly interesting to me. I bet if you have a local shop for obscurities and oddities, they'd LOVE to have this."
Another said: "Contact your local historical society!!! They deal with things like this all the time."
A third advised: "Try to trace back the history of the building, the family must be pleased to recover something like this from a beloved one. Selling it would be unethical though!"
But another was thoroughly creeped out by the discovery, writing: "Just put it back where you found it, pack your things…. and move!!!"
What would you do if you found this in your home?
Kit Roberts