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There are few things in this world more tantalizing than mysterious
locked doors. It’s human nature to want to explore forbidden places, so
a locked door presents an alluring enigma. If someone took the time and
effort to lock a place away, there must be something intriguing and
important waiting. However, some of these mysteries are better left
unsolved. Below, read about five of the world’s most fascinating and
mysterious locked doors that should probably be left unopened.
Mysterious Locked Doors – The Mystery of the
Padmanabhaswamy Temple
Although the Taj Mahal is the most well-known temple in India, it is not
the only one that tourists frequent, nor is it the only one that boasts
mysterious locked doors.
The Padmanabhaswamy Temple is believed to have been built in the 6th
century as a temple to the Hindu god, Vishnu. It is filled with precious
treasures and since 1729, had been managed by the Travancore Royal
Family. However, in 2011 their control was stripped away when
accusations that they were mismanaging the temple’s treasures came to
light. A committee took over the temple, and upon entering found six
sealed vaults.
The vaults were not easy to open. They were sealed by iron doors with no
locks, hatches, hinges, or any other indication of openings. Five of the
doors were eventually opened, but one remains sealed: the mysterious
Chamber B.
Chamber B is inexplicably absent from all records of the temple’s
treasure, and there are many legends that have sprung up about it. Some
believe that the chamber is somehow linked to the ocean floor, and
opening it will cause a massive flood of Biblical proportions. Others
claim that the Travancore Royal Family sealed the door with a spell cast
by religious officials from numerous religions and that only a high
priest can open it without bringing about disaster.
Since the temple has been opened by the committee, there have been
numerous attempts to open Chamber B. Many of the people who have been
involved in these attempts have inexplicably fallen ill. Even Sunder
Rajan, who was largely responsible for removing the Travancores from
their stewardship of the temple, died not long after Chamber B was
discovered.
Are these illnesses and deaths just coincidences, or is there something
dark and powerful lurking behind this locked door in the Padmanabhaswamy
Temple? There are many who are still trying to open the chamber, but
others believe it is better left alone.
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The Hall of Records Below the Great Sphinx of Giza
The Great Sphinx of Giza is one of Egypt’s most iconic sites. Carved
from a solid piece of limestone, it is an impressive feat of
architecture and art. However, is this massive statue hiding one of
history’s mysterious locked doors?
It isn’t an uncommon belief that the people of ancient Egypt had
knowledge that modern societies can only dream of. How else could they
have created impressive monuments such as the pyramids? Many who
theorize about the ancient knowledge of Egypt believe that somewhere
under the sands of Egypt lies a library holding its ancient secrets,
known as the Hall of Records.
Could this library be waiting beneath the Great Sphinx? Archeologists
have long known that there are in fact caverns beneath the Sphinx, but
the Egyptian government has so far not allowed any additional excavation
or research into the caverns. What are these caves hiding? Could it be
the lost knowledge of ancient Egypt?
Some believe that there is good reason to leave the caverns unexplored.
In addition to the Hall of Records, some theorize that the caverns were
home to an ancient race of intelligent beings that are distinctly
different from humanity. Some believe they were aliens. Some believe
they were Atlantians. Some believe they were something else entirely.
Whatever these beings were, many think that their home should remain
undisturbed. Who knows what evils they left behind? Who knows if they
ever left at all?
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Mysterious Locked Doors – Beneath the Mausoleum of
the First Qin Emperor
In 1974, five brothers digging a well in China made one of the greatest
archeological discoveries in history. Little did they know that their
discovery would be the first step to finding one of the world’s most
mysterious locked doors.
The brothers found terracotta fragments that led to the discovery of a
massive underground necropolis: the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, the
First Qin Emperor. The necropolis was massive, and excavating just a
small portion took years. One of the first and most famous discoveries
was a group of over 7,000 terracotta statues of warriors and horses
erected to protect the emperor’s tomb.
The brothers who were responsible for the initial discovery and
excavation of the necropolis later came to regret their find. All five
began to suffer immensely after the excavations began. They and their
families began to face extreme financial hardships, soon sinking into
poverty. They came down with mysterious diseases and were too poor to
afford medicine. One of the five hanged himself to end his suffering,
and the others eventually died, penniless. Many believe that the tomb
they helped unearth is cursed and that the curse is the cause of their
misfortune.
The actual tomb containing the remains of Qin Shi Huang has yet to be
opened. The necropolis surrounding it is massive, so excavations will
take decades. Many believe that the tomb itself should remain sealed.
After the suffering that was visited on the brothers who first
discovered the mausoleum, who knows what horrors could be waiting behind
the mysterious locked doors of the tomb itself?
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The Terrors of Banff Springs Hotel Room 873
Ancient temples and monuments aren’t the only places where you can find
mysterious locked doors. Sometimes, a simple hotel room can be the site
of enough horrors to prompt its owners to seal it off for good.
One example of such a riddle can be found at the Banff Springs Hotel in
Alberta, Canada. On the 8th floor of this picturesque hotel, you may
notice that room 873 is mysteriously absent. Where the door to this room
should be, you’ll find only a large expanse of empty wall. Although room
873 seems to have vanished, its door still exists behind this sealed-up
section of wall. If you knock on this section of wall, you can clearly
hear that it is hollow inside.
According to the legends surrounding the room, many years ago a married
couple checked into room 873 with their young daughter. They were a
typical, happy family on holiday. That is, until they entered room 873.
In the middle of the night, something in the room caused the husband to
go insane, and he violently killed his wife and child before taking his
own life.
After the violent deaths, the hotel renovated the room and started
renting it again, hoping to move past the tragedy. However, guests would
regularly be awoken by blood-curdling screams, only to find bloody
handprints marking the walls. Some were thrown from their beds or even
found the bloody hands marking their own bodies.
Are these incidents the result of the massacred family remaining in room
873? Or were these guests getting a taste of what drove the murderer
mad? Either way, the hotel opted to lock the door to the room forever
and seal it off behind a brick wall. Considering its bloody history,
room 873 is another of the world’s mysterious locked doors that should
probably remain closed.
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Mysterious Locked Doors – The Hidden Chamber of
the Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is one of the most popular tourist attractions in India.
In 1631, Shah Jahan began work on the temple, which was to be a monument
to his late wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who had died giving birth to their 14th
child. The temple, which took 22 years and 32 million rupees to
complete, was truly a work of love. Although this breathtaking building
attracts up to 8 million visitors every year, there are places in the
temple that tourists never see.
Below the areas where tourists often visit, there is an entire story
with entrances sealed behind marble arches. It is believed that there
are 1,089 rooms in this hidden level. There is another floor, hiding
approximately 22 rooms, hidden behind Hindu paintwork. Even on the open
first floor, there are numerous mysterious locked doors that no one is
able to unseal.
What is hidden in these sealed areas? There are several theories. The
prevailing belief is that these areas were built hastily and do not
boast the same grandeur as the rest of the monument, so Shah Jahan
wanted to keep anyone from seeing them. However, not everyone believes
that this is the true secret of the mysterious locked doors.
According to one theory, the sealed areas of the Taj Mahal are actually
hiding the woman the monument immortalizes: Mumtaz Mahal. This theory
purports that Shah Jahan secretly had his favorite wife mummified so
that he could keep her close to him, even in death. This would have been
a serious violation of the Islamic Commandments, and he would have been
declared a heretic had the transgression been discovered.
Some also believe that Mumtaz Mahal remains in the hidden rooms in more
than just body; that her spirit haunts the rooms as well. Although the
Shah built this epic monument in her honor, not everyone believes that
this adored spouse was as happy in life as history would have us
believe. Her husband, after all, had a harem numbering in the thousands,
and he and his armies were known for their sexual violence.
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