Secret Passageways

[FinalVestige79]

Thats rad, I just wanna secret study to hide in when the kids get outta hand lol.

 

[Diamondback]

Thats rad, I just wanna secret study to hide in when the kids get outta hand lol.

And I want one to hide the (theoretical) spouse/kids or provide them a concealed emergency-exit in case any of various friends' stalker exes decide to "come and play" with me and my Unwelcoming Committee...

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[FinalVestige79]

Like wise, safety first.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

I guess older generations were really into the hidden passageways. Maybe there was a need for them?

First, I'm really enjoying this thread thank you for everyone's contributions.
Your comment got me thinking back in the day when locks weren't as reliable as we are led to believe they are now, it strike me that the best place to keep something safe is to put it somewhere no one will find it in the first place.

I know that some early locks had the key hole hidden as the lock itself wasn't very reliable. That's kind of my thinking there.

 

[FinalVestige79]

This just struck me, I used to collect skeleton keys I've got about...100 or so ranging from Revolutionary times to the late 30s. And I have found that the teeth on most keys during the golden era were the same pattern!
l l
l l
l l
l----l l
l-- -l ll
l - l

Something like that, even care keys were the same! So you could open your neighbors door no problem!

 

[Trebuchet64_Fal]

I once stayed at a house an early girlfreinds grandparents had owned and which had been kept in the family to be used as a holiday home .
There was a secret door leading from the hallway into the main bedroom through the coat cupboard . i liked that .

 

[Diamondback]

Your comment got me thinking back in the day when locks weren't as reliable as we are led to believe they are now, it strike me that the best place to keep something safe is to put it somewhere no one will find it in the first place.

You assume locks have ever been reliable--if someone wants in, they're gonna get in period; all better security does is delay so that hopefully they'll decide the possible take isn't worth the time and risk of getting caught, which gets higher the longer it takes to do the B&E.

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[Viola]

I doubt it was entirely about protecting property, either. In my family the vintage first-generation Americans often had rather clear memories of frightening things that had occurred to them or their loved ones directly. "During the pogrom, I hid under the bed" kind of stories.

A hiding place doesn't have to be anything very elaborate to be better than that.

 

[Diamondback]

Ahh, but in that case firing-ports are a must.

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[Mid-fogey]

Many of...

...the old Virginia homes had secret rooms and escape routes built from fear of Algonquin attacks, pirates, the Spanish, etc. In the old days, you were on your own. Sometimes those old single shot pistols weren't enough, and you needed a plan "B".

Westover, for example, had a passage that ran underground to the river, where you could escape by foot or boat.

 

[MPicciotto]

Just came back from Santo Domingo where the huge Cathedral in the "Zona Colonial" built centuries ago had a underground tunnel (entrances not hidden) that ran from inside the Cathedral (very near the alter) to the living quarters for the Priest. The living quarters were only across the courtyard.

Matt

 

[Viola]

Ahh, but in that case firing-ports are a must.

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Now playing: Eric Serra - Dish Out Of Water
via FoxyTunes

Man, I wish, but I'm moving to gun-control land so I might have to content myself with just a bolt-hole.

But America back in the day? You betcha. Something nice and classic like the Marlin 1895 lever-action carbine would be PERFECT. Or is that too pre-Golden Era to be on topic? lol

 

[Diamondback]

Better choice would be shotties or subguns--if you're cornered and know it's all hostiles downrange, spray 'n' pray! Especially with the latter, if the port's more like a mail-slot, turn the chattergun on its side and recoil will help you with laying your pattern...

But now I'm headed fftopic: On the other hand, it is "vintage home defense", so it's closely related...

 

[Viola]

All right, you talked me into an 1897 Winchester pump-gun instead, happy?

I can at least imagine having that one. I think my guy would drop if I explained I really truly needed a subgun no matter what the local laws said.

 

[Diamondback]

Decent pumpgun or SxS, you can always say it's for hunting and trap/skeet... Of course, all local laws apply and you may have to modify tactics based on legal environment.

 

[FinalVestige79]

All right, you talked me into an 1897 Winchester pump-gun instead, happy?

I can at least imagine having that one. I think my guy would drop if I explained I really truly needed a subgun no matter what the local laws said.

fftopic:

Lol I love this thread. I personally prefer a shotgun to sub-gun,hit more in one shot than praying on one bullet hitting its target, plus, that sound of chambering a round "Kuh-Chunk" gives ANYONE the OH Sh*t! Factor.

I can remember nights where I was up writing and my step brother was still living with us, and I didn't know he had left, and I could hear someone scratching with the lock on the backdoor. And I was...prepared. he learned to call ahead when he was coming home at all hours of the night...real quick.

I prefer shotguns and pistols for self defense....and it has to be vintage, I have a Model 12 Winchester from '39, and a Pre WWI M1897 Shotgun with 2 barrels, one was the civilian and the other was the shortened riot type barrel. Among other things.

But yes, sorry to get side tracked, this would be good with Vintage Home Defense. DB Thanks for your input! I didn't know about sideways shooting.

 

[Diamondback]

Full sideways like you see the gangbangers do is pure BS, unless you're S&P-ing--its only use is if you're firing into a small area or have a large number of targets. (The technique was originally used by NKVD scum in the pogroms Viola mentioned, but if the enemy's gonna oblige you by lining up shoulder-to-shoulder or cramming a lot of themselves into small spaces...) I don't care who you are, if you're in a small room and I chatter out a 100-round love-letter (C-drum=100x .45ACP) from a Chicago Typewriter into it you're gonna be hurtin'.

Pistols, you want at most 15-30 degrees of cant, and that's only for better lockup of your arm bones or cross-dominance compensation.

Problem with the noise is, you've just advertised your position... just like using a flashlight. If I'm in the spiderhole and somebody's getting too close, I don't want 'em warned but rather stopped... the entire point of a bolt-hole is to lay low until they're gone, and failing that you need an overwhelming response, not something that gives them time to prepare a counter-counterstrike.

But that's a discussion better grated onto KittyT's old "guns/shooting advice?" thread--if you'd really like to talk serious HD, PM me and I'll shoot you a couple links to areas specializing in it.

 

[FinalVestige79]

I think I understand...kinda lol. I understand the element of surprise and compensating when firing.

 

[nobodyspecial]

A friend of mine has a modern house with a secret room built in - you spin the bookcase in the hallway and presto - spare bedroom. Rather fun, I'd love one in my house.

 

[FinalVestige79]

Chas Addams...

Uses secret passages alot in his book of cartoons from the 2nd World war, I'll scan some examples, they still give me a good laugh lol.