Waukegan Hoarder's Mansion, Part 4

Down the final set of stairs we go, to see what we can see.

I kind of had an idea.

Yup.

Though there were definitely some interesting finds for someone willing to explore.

The basement was huge -- like the rest of the house. A collection of rooms laid out like a maze. And packed.

I think it's important to say that it's quite possible the house was never in this kind of shape while it was being lived in. A lot of what we've seen could be the result of so many people going through this place, attacking it the way a school of piranhas go after a cow that's wandered too far into the Amazon River.

Also, those are some pretty awesome tables in the lower-left corner.

Sure, there was a lot of stuff here.

But that's certainly no crime. Not here in America.

And there were some beautiful things to be found.

Even though I'd spent more than an hour here, I kept looking around, sure that I'd see something I'd missed earlier, or something that someone else had unearthed.

A little gem like this. A Christmas or birthday present, put away and saved for all those years.

I took one last look around.

I found this, which sort of broke my heart.

And this, which kind of made it feel better.