# Betamax House - July 2017



## mookster (Jul 3, 2017)

First off I know what you're all thinking - 'mookster explored a house?!?'!

I generally, as a rule, don't explore houses. After a very bad incident in Belgium a few years ago I swore off doing them because they only ever seemed to cause me more hassle than they were worth. I disliked the thought of exploring a house so much I wouldn't even step foot inside one in Luxembourg on my last trip to the continent in 2014. A year or so ago I was dragged into exploring an abandoned farm house in America and I was on edge the entire time and hated every second of the fifteen minutes I spent inside. A house has to be something very special for it to be put on my exploring radar, and this one certainly is that.

This house was last inhabited five years ago by an elderly lady. She had lived there with her husband for most of their married lives until he died, and she carried on living there alone. The neighbours would bring her food and help her, until one day she attacked one of them so they stopped their visits and she became a recluse. She never left the house, as she didn't want the neighbours to see how ashamed she was. In 2012 she suffered a stroke which caused her to fall down the stairs, she was taken to hospital and later died there and the house has been empty ever since.

Entering the house we headed upstairs to the attic to get our gear out. The windows in the attic at either end of the house look straight into the neighbouring properties and there were people up and about already so we didn't spend too long up there for fear of a neighbour spotting our movement through the windows. So we headed down to the bedrooms, these were the only rooms that looked to have had any kind of 'rummaging', there was a bit of mess but not too much. But it was the ground floor where things really went to the next level. It was like stepping into a totally untouched 1970s timewarp. Nothing had been rearranged or gone through. Everything was neat and intact, the cupboards full of belongings were shut and there was a beautiful lack of 'staged' shots. The couple who lived here obviously bought matching sets of everything - the metal and glass cabinets in the living room and dining room matched, the dining table and chairs matched the side board and there was an amazing massive sofa with matching chairs. 

Houses leave me with strange feelings. In houses abandoned due to circumstances like that it is somebody's entire life you are bearing witness to, the aggregate of all their years of existence left behind. This particular house certainly has a pervasive sadness about it, almost a melancholic feel as you look around. I can only hope that it is bought and loved once again.




































































































































I don't know if this place has made me like exploring houses again proper, but it's sometimes good to do things you'd never normally make the effort to do.

More photos here... https://www.flickr.com/photos/mookie427/albums/72157683046658443 ​


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## krela (Jul 3, 2017)

Seeing as you broke ranks and posted a house, I'll break my rule of never commenting on house posts to say...

Yep, it's definitely a house.


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## The_Derp_Lane (Jul 3, 2017)

Superb report, a fair amount of info about the owner but that makes it more interesting.


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## Richard Davies (Jul 3, 2017)

It's nice to see abandoned house that hasn't been smashed up.


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## Gromr (Jul 3, 2017)

Looks like they just popped out to the shops, one of the cleanest houses I've ever seen. Breaking your rules was all worth it I think!


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## Sam Haltin (Jul 4, 2017)

That's a nice house but it must be quite large as there are two sitting rooms. But the best room is the main bedroom, there's so much space that you could fit an en-suite bathroom. Lovely furniture in the main bedroom.


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## mookster (Jul 4, 2017)

Gromr123 said:


> Breaking your rules was all worth it I think!



I might be breaking them again soon!


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## Potter (Jul 4, 2017)

This really is amazing. I love the old tech. I hope stuff gets saved.


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## Dirus_Strictus (Jul 5, 2017)

Very nice set of images Mookster and they certainly remind me of a certain time and certain acquaintance's houses. Go into any abandoned cottage that has just been left and amongst the jumble and mess, one can immediately get a sense of the late resident/residents. Here, in this soul destroying place you hardly get any real feedback of the past or the residents, because there was nothing ever there to start with. No pictures hanging on the walls - although there could have been a mirror overlooking the dinning table given the two pinned hook. The interior is a product of its age where people with the where with all purchased everything in matching sets for specific rooms, the secondhand furniture shops were full of beautiful Walnut bedroom suites as everybody dumped them in favour of the made to measure, wall to wall chipboard and ply. Even the smallest musical instrument shop managed to sell at least a couple of Hammonds a year on the never never! However times and styles soon changed and it is only through people like the owners of this place, that people born well after this period can experience those times.


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## freeclimb (Jul 5, 2017)

Great report, nice to see a good write up and history too. What happened to put you off houses?


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## HughieD (Jul 5, 2017)

Saw a report on this place recently but your report tops that. Real time capsule and sad story...


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## mookster (Jul 6, 2017)

freeclimb said:


> Great report, nice to see a good write up and history too. What happened to put you off houses?



To cut a long story short in 2013 I was in Belgium and me and my friend were attacked by the neighbour of an abandoned farmhouse wielding a large wooden pole. Ater chasing us out the house we discovered his wife was busy slashing our car tyres, and as we waited for the police to turn up someone from the house fired a shotgun in our direction.

It's the most scared I have ever been for my personal safety and after that trip I completely swore off doing houses.


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## nutnut (Jul 15, 2017)

Wow!! A real retro timewarp!!


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## pineapplesnail (Jul 15, 2017)

I can't believe my eyes, this is amazing. Looks like 30 years not 5.


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## jsp77 (Jul 17, 2017)

Stunning Mooks, so much left behind. Nicely captured


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