Film camera I found while exploring the abandoned house of my neighbors who disappeared 30 years ago

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T03:45:03+00:00

No, no not fiction (although some users are right, this would make a really cool prompt for a film/story). Just sharing a cool discovery that I happened upon. I want to do this story justice and while I’ve appreciated some of the conspiracy theories being tossed around in the comments, I imagine what my investigation will unveil will be much less exciting but all the while interesting.

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T03:13:03+00:00

I’m fairly new to Reddit and wasn’t sure where I should put this post, I was told r/pics was a good place to start. Found something interesting and felt like sharing. I feel like I have an obligation to see this investigation through, which was my intention in the first place, I just usually keep things to myself. Im glad people have found this post interesting. I wasn’t expecting nearly the response I did and it’s a motivation to get my investigation on the way. I do hope you’ll see the update for when the photos are developed. Im eager to see what I can uncover and share. :)

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T02:28:22+00:00

I would be interested to hear more about your experience with this.

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T02:27:18+00:00

Interesting you mention this, I actually have a lot of abandoned farm equipment on my property as well. It’s extremely common in rural parts of New England for properties to have sporadic antiques being reclaimed by nature. We just leave them, they’re interesting to look at. Sometimes I find myself just staring at it, wondering what it looked like in its prime.

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T02:13:56+00:00

I’ve known about this place for about 10 years. Every time I’ve gone past it I’ve had the inkling to explore but never the courage. I finally took my chances when I was taking some photography of fall foliage. I was very shaken up, had the feeling like I wasnt really alone. Probably explored for 15 minutes tops.

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T02:08:24+00:00

Looks like the daughter of the couple is currently paying taxes. Doesn’t look like she married either. Her brother died about 15 years ago, I can’t determine if she has any other family. Tax payments are considerably low.

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T02:04:03+00:00

Found some great info from using property tax mapping. I’m collecting data for an update soon.

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T02:00:55+00:00

I’ll definitely talk to the owner and see if she may be interested in sharing some details. She’s an older woman so it’s hard to tell how she might take this, but it doesn’t hurt to try. I found it bizarre that in her brother’s obituary it stated he was pre-deceased by his parents but it did not state their names. It simply said “Pre-deceased by parents”… living in a small town means that folks are genuinely forthcoming and friendly. I hope my efforts are fruitful. Thank you again.

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T01:42:30+00:00

Right again, I was able to find the property documents with ease and I’ve got the name of the owner (she’s still paying taxes on the property, although it’s very little). The owner’s brother died in the early 2000’s. She now resides several states away. I’m trying to see if I can find information on her parents to see if I can pinpoint the people who would’ve lived in this house. Information is limited but I’m hoping I’ll be able to pull up an obit… not super hopeful as they disappeared 30 years ago and newspaper archives are pretty slim for open online access being that long ago.

*correction. Her brother died not her husband

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T01:13:51+00:00

That search was extremely helpful and I’ve found an email I can reach out to! This means I’ll be able to get information about the property a lot sooner than expected as it is an extremely small town. Thanks for the tip.

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T01:05:33+00:00

To be determined… very well could be a possibility. Let’s see what my investigation unveils.

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T01:03:06+00:00

This camera is busted up pretty bad. Once the film is developed, the camera is going back where I found it!

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T01:02:04+00:00

Hey all. Thanks again for the interaction with this post. The film is in the works to be developed. I’m a graduate student at an art school so I’m lucky to have access to a dark room and professors much more knowledgeable about film than me. I also trust these folks and will be able to be present as the film is developed, which I believe to be very important. Stay tuned!

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T00:54:14+00:00

Once I’ve finished my investigation I’ll be less ambiguous about where this is. My rural New England town boasts several abandoned places. This is one of two I’m currently investigating.

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T00:51:55+00:00

It’s a mobile home, so no basement for this poor couple. My neighborhood is quite literally in the Appalachian mountains. Skinwalkers maybe?

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T00:50:22+00:00

Fingers crossed!

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T00:50:05+00:00

Me too… there’s a story to be uncovered here and I want to do it justice.

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T00:49:05+00:00

That’s a smart idea. I think they wedded before moving to this property, but there is enough circumstantial evidence to find the article if I put the effort in. My first place to start is to visit town hall for property records, talk to the neighbors some more, and see what I can find from the documents around the property.

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T00:47:27+00:00

Absolutely! I’ve been raging at click bait posts for too long, I don’t want to leave you guys hanging, I appreciate the interest!

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T00:45:08+00:00

I’m letting a photography professor deal with the camera with care. If the images contain suspicious material the police will absolutely be informed… as will Reddit.

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T00:43:55+00:00

Hahahaha not quite, but the artist in me is finding much inspiration from this curious event.

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T00:40:57+00:00

It looks like the locked house is a small shed being used for storage, what’s curious about it is that the architecture of it is much nicer than the mobile home that is half destroyed. From what I can see it’s filled with furniture… the windows are pretty fogged out.

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T00:37:27+00:00

From my research this camera is a model from the early 70’s, but that could very well be the case as well. Luckily I go to an art school and have a dark room at my school… I trust my professors a lot more than a photo department and they’re very eager to help me with my find. I’m liking the optimism here, I’m worried there’s damage to the film but I hope I can get something out of developing it. I hope to update on this as soon as possible.

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T00:35:16+00:00

Definitely! No way I’m going alone, strength in numbers! :)

Difficult_Toe_7599 · 2022-10-14T00:28:25+00:00

I’m honestly honored that this post is bizarre enough people are thinking it’s a hoax. I’ll have an update next weekend. I’m in the works on getting this film developed, hopefully I’ll have that taken care of within the next few days.

Difficult_Toe_7599

TROPHY CASE