After a TikToker found a secret apartment behind her mirror, another person with the same bathroom started posting

• A series of videos that showed an empty NYC apartment behind a mirror went viral on Thursday.
• TikToker Erin Smith noticed that she lived in the same building and posted a viral video about it.
• Viewers demanded a follow-up removing the mirror, but Smith says there's only a wall behind it.

On Thursday, TikTok user and New York City resident Samantha Hartsoe went viral after she showed the internet an empty, secret apartment that she accessed from behind her bathroom mirror. Now, another viral TikTok video has brought about intrigue that Hartsoe may not be the only one with something hiding behind the looking glass.

Erin Smith (@schmidtyballs) posted a TikTok video on Thursday evening showing that her bathroom was virtually identical to Hartsoe's, down to the sink, mirror, and grated square-shaped vent on the upper portion of the wall.

"Y'all, I literally have that same exact sink, that same exact mirror, that same exact vent, the same exact floor," Smith says in the video, which is stitched to a video of Hartsoe's that shows her removing the mirror in her apartment. "Like, that empty apartment she went into looks exactly like my neighbor's."

Smith shows herself pulling at the corner of the mirror. "I also feel, like, air coming out of that corner," she says.

@schmidtyballs

##stitch with @samanthartsoe NYC has me trippin sometimes. ##nyc ##nycapartment ##mystery ##fyp ##foryou

♬ Mysterious - Andreas Scherren

Smith is a 22-year-old student and director who typically posts content related to the sitcom "New Girl." Her mirror video, however, brought her unprecedented viral attention, she told Insider.

After her sister sent her Hartsoe's videos, Smith said she began to realize the similarities between their sinks, floors, vents, and mirror. She's lived in her current apartment complex for over a year but recently moved units, and the empty apartment Hartsoe showed in her video reminded her of one she had lived in a previous year. Eventually, she decided to make a TikTok about the situation.

"At first I was like, 'Oh my gosh, that's like a person who literally lives probably right above me,'" Smith told Insider. "I never really anticipated that there would actually be anything behind my mirror. I was more freaking out because it's like, 'Oh, hey, we're in the same place.'"

While Smith said they haven't connected directly, she and Hartsoe did interact in the comment sections of Smith's video after Smith said that she thought they lived in the same apartment building. "Wanna hang," Hartsoe asked.

"Yes let's storm management and demand actual heat comes through our heaters," Smith replied.

Hartsoe's original series of apartment mystery videos went viral on Thursday

Hartsoe's series of videos, which show her exploring the vacant, unrenovated space beyond her bathroom video, circulated widely online on Thursday. A viral thread reposting several of Hartsoe's TikToks over 100,000 likes.

—Chey the Shooter (@CheyMillz) March 4, 2021

In the full, four-part series, Hartsoe explores the empty apartment equipped with a flashlight (secured to her forehead with a headband), mask, and hammer. She finds garbage bags and an empty water bottle, but no one inside. Eventually, she finds an exit from the apartment, locking it so that no one would be able to access the unit connected to her bathroom. She told NBC 4 New York that building management was set to inspect the hole behind her mirror on Friday.

Smith's first video has amassed approximately 1.2 million likes as of Friday afternoon and had been viewed over 5.7 million times.

Viewers demanded a follow-up video from Smith

The demand for a follow-up video removing the mirror was immediate and intense, Smith said, with people immediately demanding a part two revealing what was behind the mirror. Several hours after her first video, Smith posted a follow-up saying that she was going to remove it in the light of day when her roommates were awake. She did, however, use a reflection test to show that her mirror wasn't two-way and ease any worries of spying.

@schmidtyballs

I honestly feel like it’s just gonna be an empty hole in the wall idk why y’all think it’s like a portal to another realm ##nycapartment ##nyc ##mystery

♬ Original sound - Winston Schmidt

Smith told Insider that the response was surprising to her, with people making comments about her body and the way she sounds in addition to demanding follow-up videos as her follower count rocketed up into the tens of thousands.

"This whole process has been so overwhelming because I'm just kind of like, I really don't want this many people," she told Insider. "I would much rather have all of this attention if it was aimed towards my 'New Girl' content... This was just a silly thing of me being like, 'Oh my god, we're in the same place.'" Smith is making a parody of 'New Girl' set to debut soon.

Smith told Insider that when she returned home Friday afternoon, she and her roommates removed the mirror to reveal nothing quite as exciting as in Hartsoe's video - just some pipes and what appears to be a foam wall.

She plans to post a conclusion to the entire saga on Friday evening, but told Insider that she thought people were going to say that she got them "all hyped up for nothing" or was stealing clout from Hartsoe.

"I totally anticipate posting the video and being like, 'There's nothing, but while you're here look at more 'New Girl' content,'" Smith said. "