Can anyone think why a closet would lock from the OUTSIDE?

[Cats Against Frist]

Any other reason, that is, than to torture some poor child? I have a 120-year-old Victorian house, and this little back bedroom closet has an outside lock on it -- not a key lock that could keep someone from opening it from the outside, but some kind of old-fashioned latch lock, that only opens from the outside, without a key.

It creeps me out, and I've been racking my brain, trying to come up with some other explanation, so I don't think my son is going to be visited by some poor, tortured child ghost and a glowing-eyed pig.

Any takers?

**edited for spelling

[BigMcLargehuge]

1. had em in the house where I grew up too (built in 1933)

I am guessing it was cheap hardware and that's why it was used. Those same latches also locked the crawl space entrance which was in the back of the closet.

[Cats Against Frist]

12. I thought about that possibility -- but why would you lock something

like that, at all, if there were key locks? If you're not trying to lock something in, then why would there be a lock, at all?

There's no entrance in this closet, where, say, an intruder could get in, and, as far as I know, the walls are all original construction, i.e., no sealed-up entrances.

I think your explanation is very plausible, but there is the nagging question...

[Az]

2. To keep people from prying into it?

A locked closet will naturally have to be locked from the outside. Unless the problem posed is due to a button lock being on the outside.

[Cats Against Frist]

5. It can be opened from the outside by anyone -- it doesn't need a key

You wouldn't have to keep someone from prying -- they could just open it. The only person/thing/devil pig that couldn't open it is the one that's inside the closet.

:scared:

[BigMcLargehuge]

8. to keep these guys in their own dimension?

[Cats Against Frist]

15. That is EXACTLY what I'm afraid of. Brrrrrrrrrr.

[Az]

9. Social sensibilities change

It may well be that locking kids in the closet was the thing to do once.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

10. They probably had some sort of lock on it back then.

[KitchenWitch]

Maybe all those years ago, the door did not stay shut?

[Kenneth ken]

11. your guess doesn't count

because your post doesn't have a number.

:P

[KitchenWitch]

14. OKY DOKY!

:evilfrown:

[democracyindanger]

3. House on a hill?

[Kenneth ken]

4. my guess

was going to be as a babysitting alternative, but that's too close to your to torture some poor child exclusion.

So I'll say, maybe it was the only latch the builder had handy when they built that room / portion of the room. And no one until you has questioned it, so no one has ever changed it.

Of course, if any other closets in the house have a similar latch, my guess is wrong.

:hi:

[Crazy Guggenheim]

6. I was raised in an older house and they had external latches. It's

like having an outside lock.

[Jamastiene]

7. A lot of the older houses around here have locks on the outside

too. They use a skeleton key. No way to unlock these certain types from the inside either. I live in fundie territory though. They are notorious for torturing children to this day. Something about the Bible saying spare the rod and they take it literally. They are sadists. No doubt about it.

[bridgit]

13. to...keep the monsters on the inside...

:shrug: does sound odd but oh those 'victorians'

[qnr]

16. Packrats! So much junk the door wouldn't stay closed :) n/t

[Cats Against Frist]

17. Yeah, someone said that, above -- and that may be enough

too soothe my "willies" about the whole thing.

[BigMcLargehuge]

18. it won't soothe you when they pop open for no apparent reason

almost gave my best friend a coronary when we were 10.

[Cats Against Frist]

20. You're right -- then I will die.

This may sound REALLY stupid, but I've just had the guts to clean up the upstairs and move stuff up there, after living here for three months. The closet was part of the reason, also, just because it's a little creepy, up there. I decided to put my child in the devil bedroom. The walls are yellow, though -- so maybe the cheerfulness will scare them away.

[bridgit]

19. ala fibber mcgee...

:rofl:

[Mabus]

21. LOL

My grandma had a "Fibber Magee" closet in her kitchen. It had a latch lock on it and, believe me, it was needed. I swear, no matter what you wanted, it was in that closet. We used to get a little freaked about it when we were kids because it seemed magical. She had everything in there, candy bar? Fibber Magee closet. Hammer and nails? Fibber Magee closet. Sewing kit? Fibber Magee closet. She even hid booze in there.

[bridgit]

25. yup, i have a friend that has a 'Fibber Magee House'...

x(

[Mabus]

26. You should see my garage

and the upstairs - Grandma would be proud. My husband and I moved in together about five years ago. He brought the contents of his house and I brought mine. Then my old roommate died and left me his stuff. Then my two of my brothers needed a place to store some stuff. Then my husband's best friend asked if he could store his basketball goal, his family of five's bicycles, a picnic table, full size xerox copying machine w/a sorter attachment and two grills for a few months (that was three years ago). The latest addition (which includes a huge boat) is from a friend of ours who just split with his girlfriend. He's moved into a smallish house and doesn't have room for all of his stuff. The only way we keep stuff straight is by tagging each box, bag and suitcase with different colored duct tape. We've got stuff everywhere and most of it isn't ours.

Last time I actually went into the garage through the door (which is detached from the house and has two bays and a work room) I had to remove half a dozen boxes just to get to the light switch. We usually push the lawnmower in through one of the big garage doors so we (and half the neighborhood b/c we seem to be the people in the area that own a working lawnmower) can get to it.

Upstairs we have the local Dem party's computers and printers. One of my stepdaughters just joined the Peace Corps and left about then days ago. Guess where her stuff ended up?

[bridgit]

27. teehee, that's phunny...

:hi:

[Cats Against Frist]

23. That's funny -- maybe after my son gets ahold of the closet...

[yvr girl]

22. Do the doors come open without the latch?

Maybe it's just to keep them secure.

[Cats Against Frist]

24. I haven't tried it -- but that's the best explanation going, so far

[chknltl]

28. Are the locks possibly there to prevent children from getting in?

Are the locks up higher than a small curious child could reach?
If so then perhaps someone might have wanted to keep small children out of these closets.
Sadly I know of a case where a fundie had set up a small class room and "jail" in his basement. This was for his 4 children which he was homeschooling. This character was even more "fundier than thou" in that he had completely covered his chain-link fence with plywood "billboards" adorned with excerpts from the bible. You could actually read this stuff from half a block away. Last I heard he was in a real jail and CPS had custody of his kids. (He got busted for growing pot up in his attic!)

[ashling]

29. Apparently you never saw

BEDNOBS & BROOMSTICKS - Angela Lansbury

Its because of transubstantiation - got to keep those clothes in their place.

[WCGreen]

30. My granny's house had that too.....

I think a lt of stuff like that was done cause they just didn;t think things through....

Older houses, when new, tended to be drafty..... So those latches were probably put there to keep the doors from opening on there own....

[Fox Mulder]

31. Maybe to prevent the evil monkey in the closet from escaping!?

:shrug:

[LisaL]

32. Do you think that because suitcase has a lock from the outside,

it's only to torture someone by locking them inside? How about a car trunk? There are many things that have locks from outside, and they weren't design to torture anyone.
Although obviously they can be used for that if someone so desires.

[China_cat]

33. The house I grew up in had all the closets like that

AND one of the bedrooms. My bedroom, as a matter of fact. But nobody ever tried to lock me in.

[Bridget Burke]

34. A friend built a house with a locking closet, just a few years ago.

It had a "real" lock & a very sturdy door. She & her husband stored valuables there, like her husband's guitar collection & gun collection. And some of her jewelry.

They have no children.

[MountainLaurel]

35. To keep the servants out of the silver?

In the 1700s, even things like sugar and spices were kept in a trunk or cabinet under lock and key, with the lady of the house keeping the keys for everything.

[liontamer]

36. why would you lock a closet from the inside?

I never want to lock my closet door if i'm inside it, but i could easily see wanting to lock stuff in my closet. And before mass production, fancy key locks weren't so cheap.

[Cats Against Frist]

37. Right -- but the point is that ANYONE can unlock it

nothing inside the closet is safe -- and I checked and it is within the reach of small children. Other posters have said draft, because you can't keep it closed, etc. -- sounds the most plausible.

But the idea of keeping something from being stolen is irrelevant.

[caty]

38. How else do you expect to keep the monster in the closet?

Monster in My Closet
by
C.R. Sweeney

What's that in the closet?
Whatever shall I do?
There's a monster in my closet
Oh, how I wish my mother knew

Mother sent me on to bed
And told me to go to sleep
I pulled the covers up o'er my head
But I just had to take a peek

There he was, all large and hairy
With giant glowing eyes
Grownups say there are no monsters
Why tell kids such big lies?

In the darkness of my room
I could still see the hideous sight
Oh how I wish Mother would come
Open the door and switch on the light

"Mother!" I managed to cry out loud
Her footsteps grew louder as she neared
The door swung open, the light turned on
And the monster disappeared!


:scared: