Man Discovers 'Creepy' Lamp Room In Abandoned New York Mansion

An urban explorer has shared pictures of the eerie discovery he made while inside an abandoned New York City mansion.

The Big Apple might rank among one of the most densely populated cities in America but it's also home to a huge number of empty properties. A 2017 Housing and Vacancy Survey found New York City at the time had 247,977 "vacant units, not available for sale or rent."

That's a tantalizing number to someone like Donald Pimental. He's explored abandoned places in 22 states and counting. With his full-time job as a community therapist affording him ample time off to explore some of America's forgotten spaces, he has documented his discoveries through pictures, the bulk of which have been uploaded to his Instagram, Donald_Pimental.

"I really enjoy the photography of the decay," Pimental told Newsweek. He said sometimes these trips can be emotional, particularly if you encounter family photos or forgotten trinkets. "It reminds you that there is a reason for the place being abandoned and it's likely tragic," Pimental explained.

Yet there was a different feeling about the abandoned New York mansion. Located in the southeast of the city, Pimental encountered an unusual sight during his explorations: a room filled with lamps. It made for an unusual encounter as well as some unsettling pictures, which Pimental later shared to social media.

He also came across an abandoned grand piano and a striking bedroom in the attic, which appears to have once been home to an elderly resident.

"It was a creepy and exciting place to explore," he said. "I felt like I was in the video game Resident Evil as the first one takes place in an abandoned mansion. I was waiting for a zombie to pop out any minute. But it was an amazing experience and I was thrilled."

As for how the lamps ended up there, Pimental is unsure—but he does have a couple of theories. "It could be that someone else who explored this place gathered them all up and put them there for the picture and then left them," he said. "Or when they were closing the place up for when the last owners were moving out they may have just put them all in the same room. There was another room that had a ton of mattresses stacked."

Pimental did do a little research into the history of the mansion, noting that the property was first built in 1909 with the original owner passing away in 1927. A new owner then added more to the property before it was abandoned for reasons unknown.

Despite the unsettling nature of what he encountered, Pimental does not buy into the idea of there being ghosts.

"I certainly get spooked, but more so around getting caught by police or running into shady people," he said. "I don't terribly buy into supernatural stuff but this one house I went to had this massive symbol on the floor that appeared to be cultish. Turns out it was just from a movie."

Instead, he saw it as an opportunity to explore a space still caught between two worlds. Pimental said: "I love exploring these kinds of places to highlight the juxtaposition between the decay and nature for outside shots and the beauty of decay for inside."

It's not the first time an urban explorer's work has grabbed attention online.

One explorer previously went viral after sharing haunting pictures from inside an abandoned elementary school in the town of Flint, Michigan.

Another caught the eye with images taken inside the "most disgusting" room ever at a long-forgotten hotel. Then there was the explorer who found blood samples and surgical tools inside an abandoned hospital.