In 1888, a strange man named Édouard Vermont arrived in a quiet French village and chose an isolated hill to build a massive mansion. Vermont, an aristocrat with unconventional ideas, used dark volcanic stones to construct a building that reflected his deep desire for isolation.

• Small, high windows minimized natural light.
• Complex, intertwined interior corridors led to completely isolated rooms.
• The entire design was tailored to keep the outside world at bay.

Édouard Vermont lived a life that perfectly matched his architectural creation. He rarely left the mansion, interacting with the local villagers only when absolutely necessary to purchase essential supplies. For decades, the only sign of life inside the fortress was the dim light flickering behind its narrow, shuttered windows, fueling local rumors and deep-seated unease.

In the winter of 1923, the routine of the local mail carrier was disrupted when newspapers and letters began piling up endlessly at the rusted iron gate. Prompted by these stacked deliveries, the town mayor and police officers intervened by breaking the old locks. Inside, they found a bizarre scene: a dining table set as if for a meal, perfectly arranged rooms, but absolutely no trace, body, or note left behind by Vermont. Much like the baffling case in The D.B. Cooper Mystery, the homeowner vanished completely into thin air.

Following Vermont’s disappearance, the mansion became the focal point of a chaotic legal battle. Multiple individuals emerged from the woodwork, each claiming to be the rightful heir with conflicting and often dubious family documents. Unable to untangle the web of fraudulent and contradictory claims, the local courts placed the property under strict judicial custodianship, sealing it away behind red wax for over seventy years.