What Is a "Disappointment Room"? One TikToker's Surprise Discovery Sparks Conversation

It's no secret that history has an endless number of skeletons in the closet when it comes to how humanity has treated disabled people throughout the millennia of recorded history.

Tied to the history of disability is something called a "Disappointment Room" or "Disappointments Room," and one TikTok user's surprise discovery in her home sparked a conversation about them. But what is a "Disappointment Room"? Here's what we know about the dark history behind the term, and why one TikToker's shocking find fascinated the internet.

Throughout history, there have been horror stories that tell the heartbreaking and disturbing tales of how disabled people have been mistreated, isolated, outright abused, and misunderstood.

There is an urban legend going around that families in colonial America and other parts of the world would lock mentally or physically disabled family members in a hidden room, disgustingly called "Disappointments Rooms." But how much truth is there to the myth?

It's hard to pinpoint any single cataloging or record of how often "Disappointments Rooms" were used throughout history, or if their use was relatively isolated or rare. However, it fits with what we know about how disabled people were treated before de-institutionalization, which PBS records as having been enacted in 1955.

So it seems likely that while it may not have been a widespread or omnipresent practice, it's possible it was a practice among some families, especially wealthy families with larger houses and more rooms to spare.

A 2016 film called The Disappointments Room played on the legend. However, History vs Hollywood reports that while there was a secret room at the heart of the inspiration for the film, it's unclear what the room was used for.

So when it comes to the history of "Disappointments Rooms," there's not a lot of solid proof to go on, but ample speculation.

Speculation renewed itself in May 2025 after a Maine homeowner shared a video of herself discovering an entire hidden room behind a bookcase in the house she had owned for a year.

TikTok user @zara_braley shared her brother and herself moving the bookcase to discover stairs and doors behind it, leading to an attic room with a window to the outside.

In the comments of her video, one person confidently opined, "Definitely a disappointments room."

However, another user offered a different explanation as to why the room in the 1800s home would be closed off, writing, "Please wear a mask up there it was likely covered up because it wouldn't pass an inspection potentially due to hazards, I'm a collateral appraiser and have seen stuff like this before."

In follow-up videos, Zara shared that they couldn't be sure what the room was used for. But, she explained, the house was full of her "ghost girlies," so maybe one of them will eventually spill the tea.