Bones in the Attic: Mysterious Find in Historic Home

In a discovery that seems like something out of an Edgar Allan Poe story, a Michigan family uncovered a skeleton in their attic as they were remodeling their 19th century home.

The Battle Creek Enquirer reports that the older of two girls who live in the Union City home with their parents, Bryant and Teasha McIntosh, discovered the bones last week in a secret space beneath the attic floor. The girls, both history buffs, according to TV station WWMT, were exploring the home during its remodeling, when they found the bones and a corset.

"We expected to look for artifacts," Bryant McIntosh told AOL Real Estate. "We never thought we'd find bones in the attic."



"It looks like they put someone in there and nailed it shut," Union City Police Department Lt. Chris Mathis told the Battle Creek Enquirer.

Both girls took the unexpected discovery in stride, according to their father, Bryant McIntosh. "My older daughter was like this is so cool!" he said, while his younger daughter concluded "it was creepy and cool all at the same time."

Mcintosh said that the skeleton's visible dental work, small size and accompanying corset suggest the bones belonged to a wealthy woman. And "we're thinking it could be homicide," he said.

Found on Jan. 12, the bones are now being transported to Michigan State University, where an anthropologist will analyze them, according to the Enquirer.

The anthropologist at Michigan State University who will examine the bones was not available for comment.

Once part of the Underground Railroad, the home built in 1839 used to conceal escaped slaves who counted on sympathetic whites like the home's former owners, the Zimmermans, to hide them from authorities as the runaways traveled north to Canada.

Recently, news outlets reported a similar story involving the discovery of a skeleton that has remained in a Swedish home for 800 years. The home was built in 1750 on the remains of a Russian church. The deceased may have had a bit more traditional burial, though: The bones are in a tomb. The realty agent for the home, which was for sale as of August 17, assured The Associated Press that the skeleton "lies in consecrated soil and rests in peace."

We're not sure we can say the same for the remains found in the Union City home.