Comments on: Joy of Home Ownership: Buried Mystery in the Backyard

By: Alice

Alice — Tue, 13 May 2008 02:30:20 +0000

DIG IT! Dig it! Maybe it’s got some Pirate Booty!

Diiiig it! Dig it!

By: Cassie

Cassie — Mon, 12 May 2008 21:23:14 +0000

LMAO @ DrJones

Spoiler alert

By: edselpdx

edselpdx — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:38:56 +0000

Sorry to be logical, but they’re probably some kind of over-engineered foundation for a trellis or swing or something. The bent over bolts held the sill/lumber to it. When the structure came down, Tony thwacked the bolts over when he buried it so no one would impale their feet when walking over the thinnly covered foundation.

I agree, check with the neighbors. Likely something the kids used when they were little and Tony took down when they were out of the house.

By: Fran

Fran — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:19:39 +0000

Enormously fascinating. I loved it; but wish we had an answer…

By: John Elar

John Elar — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:39:39 +0000

This is a great post. It is a very nice blog too. I add it to my favorites. Thank you

By: Richard Conto

Richard Conto — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:17:49 +0000

The Register (www.theregister.co.uk) had an article like this some time ago. It turned out that the “headstones” were flawed headstones or rejects from some monument company that got used as pavers for a path or patio.

I’m sure there’s no shortage of people who’d get a kick out of using headstones as pavers. And then the next owner just covered them up (or let them sink into the soil) rather than dig them up and dispose of them.

Next mystery!

By: DrJones

DrJones — Mon, 12 May 2008 03:37:54 +0000

Plasmator: it must be his destiny that he found it. Some of the commenters are relying too much on science and reason!

Maybe one day he’ll have to figure out how to move the US?

By: Plasmator

Plasmator — Mon, 12 May 2008 03:15:47 +0000

This is quite obviously a hatch to an underground station. If he chooses to open it, I certainly hope that he is a good typist and has some time on his hands.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Mon, 12 May 2008 02:50:00 +0000

Well, it either used to be legal to bury family members in your backyard in Tennessee, or it wasn’t but people used to do it in Nashville anyway. I know more than ONE person who moved into an old house and actually DID find an actual grave, complete with marker and casket, in their yard.

By: Ola Amigo

Ola Amigo — Sun, 11 May 2008 22:18:10 +0000

Ripper, good point. Something like that happened in Evil Dead.

By: ripper

ripper — Sun, 11 May 2008 19:08:34 +0000

Careful- you could unleash forces we haven’t seen since the opening of King Tut’s tomb.

By: Princess

Princess — Sun, 11 May 2008 19:06:19 +0000

If this was a grave or time capsule it would have a date on it. MUST be buried treasure. Full of rare gems and gold bullion or priceless antiquities. Open it before the pirates steal it from your yard.

By: megatron

megatron — Sun, 11 May 2008 19:02:46 +0000

We may have found Jimmy Hoffa.

By: Lasse

Lasse — Sun, 11 May 2008 16:52:58 +0000

“Our pal Carl of the Warehouse was digging in his backyard early one morning”.

Uhm, why?

By: ted

ted — Sun, 11 May 2008 13:43:48 +0000

Dude probably made it up.
It’s like the Angel they dug up on the Simpsons. In a week, he’ll be advertising sneakers with it.

By: Rosi

Rosi — Sun, 11 May 2008 11:41:21 +0000

This so cool! The most interesting thing I’ve found in my garden is a paperweight carved with patterns (probably manufactured). But a couple of streets down they found some students who went missing twenty years ago in a family’s garden…
I know it’s really morbid but I find stuff like that really interesting.
But at the moment I’m reading Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen and this is creepily similar… O_O

By: Hirudin

Hirudin — Sun, 11 May 2008 08:17:25 +0000

Didn’t The Tommyknockers start like this too?

By: Hirudin

Hirudin — Sun, 11 May 2008 08:14:23 +0000

Who was Anthony? And how did he manage to write his name in solid cement?
He must have been much smarter than his sister Lisa — about whom we know nothing.
http://www.snpp.com/episodes/2F22.html

By: Ratz

Ratz — Sun, 11 May 2008 07:16:13 +0000

This is weak, there’s no ending to it! Damn, after tempting people like that, that guy’d better watch out in case neatorama readers start creeping in and digging up his back garden so they can find out for themselves.

By: LisaL

LisaL — Sun, 11 May 2008 07:15:27 +0000

Wow…. engrish ftw! o_O sheesh….

By: LisaL

LisaL — Sun, 11 May 2008 07:14:11 +0000

Well, looks like he’s put dirt back over it!! How on earth he could do that is beyond me. I’d be obsessed trying to find what the heck it is.
He really should’ve called some people out there to get them up and open them to see what they were if anything.
UGH I wish I hasn’t found this post.. I want to know what they were!

By: Dave

Dave — Sun, 11 May 2008 02:14:06 +0000

Oooh; remember the movie Poltergeist? That house was built on an old cemetery. I see this mystery ending very badly.

Sell the movie rights now while you can!

By: Diogenes doo doo

Diogenes doo doo — Sun, 11 May 2008 01:26:53 +0000

As a child in Tennessee, I once dug up whole a lot of sand dollars at the base of a tree in a yard on the block…I went to the bank and couldn’t trade them in for sh*t.

the first is true/the latter,not.

Champs: possible pet carcass. Although, what kinda pet would be named Anthony?
Greg: a can of Schlitz? If it’s that , then I’ll give you my entire collection of movie star toenail clippings.

I think its a sacred boy scout virginity burial ?
I remember.

By: HoolaGirl

HoolaGirl — Sun, 11 May 2008 00:38:33 +0000

I agree with Steve. Where is the mystery here?

By: Lars

Lars — Sat, 10 May 2008 23:44:27 +0000

It’s obviously something that was too secret, even for Al Capone’s vault.

By: astrodex

astrodex — Sat, 10 May 2008 22:34:09 +0000

“Dad, we can’t move. What about Fluff and Morris and Tony. What if the people who buy the house decide to dig a hole there? We can’t just leave them.”

“how ’bout we pour concrete over them and then no one will disturb them.”

I say open it. It’s probably cats and gerbils and such, but you (and we) will never know until you open it.

By: greg

greg — Sat, 10 May 2008 21:54:42 +0000

A time capsule would be nice: some vintage Playboys, a can of Schlitz, some lawn Jarts (the deadly kind). As a kid I used to bury matchbox cars in my yard. But, I’m afraid this is something dead. Real dead. “No, you can’t have another gerbil. Remember what happened to the last one?” OPEN IT, OPEN IT, OPEN IT, OPEN IT… Man, this is worse than Christmas.

By: Steve

Steve — Sat, 10 May 2008 21:24:24 +0000

This is a mystery? Really? It’s like saying “I got this envelope in the mail from the utility company. What could possibly be inside!?!?”

By: otterly

otterly — Sat, 10 May 2008 20:41:26 +0000

Before you dig first thing you need to do is find the neighbors who have lived there the longest and ask them if they know anything about. It might just be a bit of 60′ or 70’s left over architectural element.

Your house is not that old and something like like wouldn’t be just skipped over by the builders as what you describe is very shallow.

If I had no option I would sure as hell dig it out, pay the neighborhood kids, get Indiana Jones on that shit.

By: mrmark

mrmark — Sat, 10 May 2008 19:37:39 +0000

Stories without endings