#and like. she died at age 5. why WOULD newspapers mention her? they weren't in the habit of talking at length about honorees' small childre

[marzipanandminutiae]

pour one out for that poor lady (Laurie Dumas) who got taken in by some rando at the library making up bullshit stories about dedicated "disappointment rooms" in old homes for hiding away disabled children, and decorated a rather whimsically-shaped upstairs coal storage space like a child's room "in honor" of a kid who almost definitely was never imprisoned there

although she did start a nonprofit because of it so. Bad History for a cause, I guess

(but also imagine losing your daughter at age 5 and then having your name dragged through the mud 100+ years later because you- or a later occupant of the house! we don't even know when the strange facade with windows was added! -decided it could be fun to put a schoolhouse exterior on your coal storage space)

[marzipanandminutiae]

like

the house was from 1857. the current owners had no clue who put the metal-lined attic room with a drain and an exterior lock only, much less who decided to give it a facade with little windows like a tiny cottage. a look at the house's exterior shows it was clearly modified over the years- why assume the interior was intact all that time?

(the actual house is the image labeled "real;" the lower is from a movie based on the alleged "true story")

2. there was no evidence that the child they decided to fixate on- a little girl named Ruth who died in 1900 at age 5 -was even disabled. she died young, but that was common back then. and she wasn't mentioned in newspaper articles about her prominent parents, but what newspaper is going to go on at length about an honoree's very young children? she wouldn't be relevant to any articles about their civic good works or whatever. Ruth has a public grave in the local cemetery, so clearly people knew she existed

3. the house clearly has large, visible exterior windows on the third floor, including in the supposed "disappointments room." seems like an ineffective way to hide someone from public view (also seems like a weird feature for a coal storage space, so I'm wondering if the gable and the playhouse facade weren't both added later for some occupant's kids to enjoy. although you'd have to make sure the door stayed open- it only has a knob on the outside)

4. someone on a forum I read made a good point: a little kid running around on a sheet metal floor would make a lot more noise/attract more attention from visitors than if the floor were wood or carpeted. once again, not very effective Hiding AwayTM

5. another point from a forum: they would have had to hire local builders to construct this room. and locals talk to other locals, even if they have to get a drink in them first. that's relying on every workman involved to keep the secret.

it just falls apart if you think about it too hard. much simpler to just do what was, depressingly, far more common: sending someone off to a residential hospital that might or might not try to help them, or locking them up in an existing room

pour one out for that poor lady (Laurie Dumas) who got taken in by some rando at the library making up bullshit stories about dedicated "disappointment rooms" in old homes for hiding away disabled children, and decorated a rather whimsically-shaped upstairs coal storage space like a child's room "in honor" of a kid who almost definitely was never imprisoned there

although she did start a nonprofit because of it so. Bad History for a cause, I guess

(but also imagine losing your daughter at age 5 and then having your name dragged through the mud 100+ years later because you- or a later occupant of the house! we don't even know when the strange facade with windows was added! -decided it could be fun to put a schoolhouse exterior on your coal storage space)