In the quiet town of St. Jacobs, Ontario, one family has been living with a puzzling piece of home history for over a decade — a small green light mounted above the door to their unfinished basement. Their home, built in 1935, holds many of the charming quirks typical of older houses, but this light remains one of its most persistent mysteries.
“We’ve lived in our house for 14 years now and we have yet to figure out what this green light above the door to our basement is for,” the homeowner shared. “The basement is unfinished but has a concrete floor. This door also leads to our side exterior door.”
What makes the situation more curious is that the green light doesn’t work — it doesn’t turn on, and there’s no visible switch or control panel connected to it. The light fixture sits idle, offering no obvious clues as to its original purpose. Close by on the adjacent wall is a white box, which the homeowners identified as their wireless doorbell receiver, but there’s no indication that the two devices are connected.
Over the years, the family has occasionally revisited the mystery, wondering whether the light was once connected to an old security system, a visual doorbell alert, or perhaps even a signaling device of some kind. But without records, labels, or switches, it remains a guessing game.
It’s not uncommon for older homes to have outdated or obsolete fixtures that once served a purpose — particularly in homes built before the widespread standardization of electrical systems. In many cases, such features are remnants of a previous homeowner’s custom solution or a once-common technology that has fallen out of use.
Though it hasn’t affected their daily lives, the mysterious green light remains an unsolved piece of the home’s character. It’s a small but intriguing reminder that homes, especially older ones, often carry with them forgotten stories and unseen histories.
Do you have any ideas about what it could be? Sometimes the answers to these household riddles lie in local history, bygone technologies, or the personal habits of long-gone residents. Until someone connects the dots, the green light remains just that — a mystery waiting to be solved.
