‘House of Secrets’ is definitely an uncomfortable watch so if you don’t want to put yourself through that but are still curious about the case, don’t worry, we have got you covered! But we must warn you, it will surely send chills down your spine. Keep reading to find out what it is about!
After ‘Squid game’, Netflix is at it again with yet another gut-wrenching show that has taken the internet by storm. A show called ‘House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths’ is currently trending at #3 in Pakistan on the streaming giant as well as on Twitter. It is a disturbing show, to say the least, and has left its audience completely rattled and puzzled.
What The ‘House of Secrets’ Is About
This spine-chilling docu-series revolves around 11 family members living under the same roof in Delhi’s Burari area. On the morning of 1st July 2018, a neighbor finds the entire family dead, 9 were found hanging from an iron grill attached to the ceiling while the 10th woman was also found hanging at a distance and, the 11th member, the grandmother, was found lying on the floor in another room.
Immediately, the police were called to the scene to investigate. It didn’t take long for the news to spread like wildfire causing a media frenzy throughout the nation. Everyone, including the police, was shaken to their core upon viewing the horrific crime scene. It was no typical crime scene and a lot of questions were raised. Was it a mass suicide? How could three generations living under the same roof commit suicide, and why? Or was it mass murder? There was no straightforward answer to what had happened. *spoilers ahead*
Police Investigation
Delhi police started looking at every possible angle to try and make sense of the case. There weren’t any clear signs of burglary as it was a clean crime scene with no indication of forced entry inside the house. The police were also finding it difficult to declare it a mass suicide because the victims were blindfolded, their mouths gagged and almost everyone was tied up. Something wasn’t quite adding up.
Could it be mass murder? According to the police, it would have taken at least 20 people to control and murder 11 people in the way that they were found. Hence, this possibility was highly unlikely because the crime scene showed no indications of a struggle.
Police Findings
A CCTV camera was spotted in the street, close to the victims’ house. The possibility of mass murder was quickly ruled out because as per the CCTV footage, nobody from the outside visited the family in the days leading up to the incident. In fact, some of the family members were seen bringing plastic stools and wires on the night of the incident. This further confirmed that nobody from the outside was involved.
Moreover, the post-mortem report also confirmed that everyone except the grandmother had died from hanging, hers was a case of partial hanging. Upon further investigation, a total of 11 diaries were recovered from the house and they had entries dating back to 2007!
What Was Written In The Diaries?
The pages were filled with cryptic instructions and messages that did not make sense to the police at first but, upon further investigation, it was found that the youngest of three brothers, Lalit, had orchestrated everything the led to the family’s tragic death. Shocked? It gets weirder. Lalit was convinced that he could see and talk to his deceased father who would tell him what he expects from the family, including who they should talk to, and how they should conduct themselves if they wish to be prosperous.
Lalit would tell two of the eldest girls from the children to write what their grandfather would want them and the entire family to follow. A week before the horrific incident, Lalit told his family that they had to perform a 7-day ritual where they had to follow instructions given by the deceased head of the house each day. On the last day, they were told to perform a “banyan tree ritual”, in which they had to hang themselves from the ceiling, blindfolded, tied, and mouth gagged. They were made to believe that they would not die and their father/grandfather would come to save them. It became clear that this was neither a case of mass murder nor mass suicide, but of accidental death.
Or was it?
Lalit showed clear signs of mental illness which made him unable to differentiate between reality and delusion. According to experts, he was suffering from psychosis which then became collective or shared psychosis. However, what the audience is finding it hard to grasp is how such an educated family would blindly follow what Lalit would tell them. How could nobody from the family question Lalit’s claims? How could there not be one voice of dissent against him? Guess we’ll never know.
Twitter Reacts To ‘House of Secrets’
The show started trending on Twitter and Netflix not long after its release. Rightfully so, people on Twitter had a lot to say and a lot to ask!
Many lauded the show for highlighting the lack of awareness surrounding mental health.
“I watched House of Secrets Burari Deaths… I think great job taking through the details of what happened & at the same time the lack of mental health awareness & utter sensationalization by Media of truth events! It’s depressing but still so well done,” wrote a Twitter user.
This case is a perfect example of how untreated mental illnesses can lead to catastrophic outcomes. Another Twitter user wrote, “I wish everyone watches #HouseofSecretsTheBurariDeaths so that people understand the importance of mental health and that it is OKAY to talk about it and seek help. Lack of awareness can clearly cost lives, horrifying isn’t it?”.
While others found the show extremely disturbing and turned to humor to console themselves!
Leave it to Twitteratis to make a meme out of every situation but we are not complaining!
There are a lot of potential theories and opinions floating around on the internet. Some believe if the family members like the youngest out of all children, did not have a say in whatever Lalit was making them do then can it really be called an accidental death, or should it be declared as mass murder? What do you even call a case as complex as this? What do you guys think it should be called? We would love to hear your theories in the comments!
