A video of a homeowner finding a giant secret "prepper" room eight months after moving into a new house has sparked an active discussion online about what the space could be used for.
In two videos uploaded to social media platform TikTok, user heatherbenge explained she found the secret room after being tipped off by a neighbor.
In the clip, mother Heather said she had bought the house as a foreclosure during the pandemic and that the previous owner contacted a neighbor to let them know about a secret room in the home.
Heather revealed the secret room was behind the closet in the upstairs bedroom and could be opened via an intricate locking mechanism.
In a second video, Heather said: "Oh my God, it's huge and there's trash and cases and cases of bottled water."
A caption read: "The original owner was obviously a 'prepper'—the room had over 40+ cases of bottled water, stockpiles of dried food, receipts for ammo, etc. Probably never been opened for five years."
"Preppers" prepare supplies and secure locations on their property in case of an emergency, such as a nuclear war or natural disaster.
Heather said the space was estimated to be about 300 sq ft and had also been a movie theater room where she now stores wedding dresses for her job.
She added the couple planned to return the room to its original movie theater space.
Since being shared on Saturday, December 17, the videos have been viewed a combined 12.4 million times.
The overwhelming majority of commenters were stunned by the space with many pondering what they could do with a similar room.
TikTok user ChristySenpai said: "OK, but hear me out here, secret library."
Commenter WhyIsThisSoDifficult_ added: "It would absolutely be a movie room again."
While others hinted the room was giving more racy vibes, with brandykennidy posting: "It's giving Fifty Shades of Gray."
How To Prep For Doomsday
According to an April 2018 report in the Journal of Risk Research, a growing number of Americans are storing food, water and weapons with the goal of surviving disasters.
The article argued that the preppers' anxieties are "regularly influenced by preppers' consumption of disaster-based speculation in mainstream news media."
This demonstrated that their concerns tend to emerge in response to numerous disaster risks that are widely reported and recognized in wider American culture, rather than marginal conceptions of 'threats," it said.
According to a September 2020 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) study, 68 percent of surveyed adults had set aside some money for an emergency.
FEMA also found that, of the 5,000 U.S. adults questioned, 81 percent had gathered supplies and 48 percent had created emergency plans in case of a disaster.
"Specifically, the public has continued building a strong intention to prepare for disasters, yet there remains a critical need to turn it into action, which has only increased by 2 percent since 2013," it added.
Newsweek has contacted heatherbenge for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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