De Haar Castle in the Netherlands. Wouldn’t be surprised if this castle had a secret passage…or 10! Image courtesy of badeendjuh, Morguefile.
When did I first become interested in secret passages? I’m not talking panic rooms or British priest holes, but actual short hallways that take you from point A to point B without being detected.
Maybe my fascination started with the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. Those imps always found convenient secret passages while they were running around having adventures, chasing ghosts, getting trapped, outwitting villains, and solving mysteries.
Secret passages have long been used as a plot device to help characters in literature, especially in mysteries and thrillers. The first time I heard one mentioned was in a young adult book, set in England, I think. I don’t remember the title but part of the plot involved kids watching a ghost dressed in historic clothing disappear into a wall and then they broke down the wall to discover a secret tunnel behind it.
Buckingham Palace has a secret passage, but it’s more a door than anything else. In the White Drawing Room (which I saw during a tour), there is a large mirror and table mounted on a door, so that the Royal Family can move from their private rooms to the drawing room to greet guests.
Secret passages also existed in H.H. Holmes’ Murder Castle, owned by one of America’s first serial killers. His bizarre hotel offered shelter, employment and extermination to unwitting victims during the 1893 World’s Fair. Let’s not get too dark, though.
In real life, secret passages and rooms have been used for hiding people, smuggling, just plain fun or other purposes. But seeing secret passages in real life is definitely a thrill. I’ve seen three of them:
1) The House of the Seven Gables, Salem, MA — This one goes from the dining room to a secret attic room. I’ve mentioned it in a previous post, Booking it around New England. For some beautiful photos and a fascinating description of this house, read The Distracted Wanderer’s blog post about visiting the House of the Seven Gables.
2) Stan Hywet, Akron, OH — Stan Hywet Hall is a stupendous Tudor Revival mansion built for Frank Seiberling, founder of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. It has a secret passage connecting the library to the Great Hall. You can see a bit of Stan Hywet’s Great Hall below in Meghan Carter’s video about Tudor homes.
3) Winchester Mystery House, San Jose, CA — Built by Sarah Winchester, the heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune, it began life as an eight-room farmhouse. Sarah and the builders she hired transformed it into a spectacular mansion with over 160 rooms, with a secret passage, stairs that go nowhere, doors that open onto walls, chimneys that don’t reach ceilings and other wacky features.
Blog readers, care to share your own tales of secret passages?
Eagle-Eyed Editor 