The "Cursed Apartment" that Gave Residents Deadly Cancer for 10 Years

Building 7 of Apartment 85, 1980–1989.Photo byWikipedia commons.

Imagine moving into a new apartment, excited by the modern conveniences of running hot water and an elevator. It’s 1980, and your family is settling into what seems like a perfect home in Kator, Ukraine. Little do you know, this building harbors a deadly secret that will take everything you love away.

This is the chilling real-life story of Apartment 85, a place where multiple families lived and died, all victims of an unseen and terrifying carcinogenic force.

The Tragic Chain of Events

It began in the early 1980s when a family moved into Apartment 85 of Building 7 in a newly built complex. After just one year, the family’s 18-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, a type of cancer that targets the blood-forming tissues. It wasn’t long before she passed away, leaving her family in shock.

Tragedy struck again soon after, when her younger brother, aged 16, received the same diagnosis and died shortly thereafter. Within a year, their mother also succumbed to the same illness.

Doctors initially attributed these deaths to genetics, dismissing concerns from neighbors who started calling Apartment 85 “the cursed apartment.” But as more residents in the building fell ill, the strange pattern could no longer be ignored.

In 1987, the new family that moved into Apartment 85 met a similar fate. Their eldest son passed away from leukemia, and during his funeral, the younger son was fighting for his life in the hospital. Determined to uncover the cause, the father pushed for an investigation, and the horrific truth was finally revealed.

Uncovering the Hidden Killer

In 1989, radiologists entered Apartment 85 to measure radiation levels. Before they even stepped inside, their equipment detected levels 10 times higher than normal.

The deeper they went into the apartment, the stronger the readings became. By the time they reached the children’s bedroom, the source of the radiation was undeniable. In one spot next to the bed, their meter froze at a deadly reading of 200 roentgens per hour. To put that in perspective, just 400 roentgens would be lethal.

The room had been a silent deathtrap. But what was causing such high levels of radiation? Investigators carefully removed the section of the wall and brought it to the Kiev Institute of Nuclear Research. There, they found the culprit: a small, 8mm x 4mm capsule of cesium-137, a radioactive metal that emits strong gamma rays.

How Did Cesium-137 End Up in the Wall?

The origins of the cesium capsule traced back to a quarry in the Donetsk region during the late 1970s. Workers at the quarry had been using a device called a densometer, which contains a tiny vial of cesium-137 to measure material density.

At some point, the vial went missing but was never found. It wasn’t until years later, when that same material was used to make the concrete for Apartment 85, that the deadly consequences became apparent.

For nearly a decade, the radioactive capsule had leaked radiation into the apartment, claiming the lives of two children, two adults, and leaving 17 others seriously ill. By the time the wall was removed, the damage had already been done.

A Deadly Reminder

The tragic story of Apartment 85 serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of mishandling radioactive materials. Even a small mistake, like a missing vial, can have devastating, long-lasting effects. In fact, similar incidents continue to happen. In January 2023, a radioactive capsule was lost on a highway in Australia, triggering a week-long search to recover it before it could cause harm.

The lesson is clear: radioactive materials, even in the smallest amounts, require extreme caution. The victims of Apartment 85 never had a chance to protect themselves from the invisible danger lurking in their home. But their story now stands as a warning to the world about the silent, lethal power of radiation.