Dealing with the death of a loved one is never easy, and sorting through their possessions can sometimes uncover deep family secrets.

The experience of finding old photographs or childhood keepsakes can be both nostalgically beautiful and sorrowful, often triggering a fresh sense of loss.

It’s not uncommon to discover aspects of your parents‘ lives that were unknown to you, particularly when encountering items from long before you were born.

But the discovery one daughter made while going through her late father’s house was both baffling and eerie. Tay, a woman from Texas, shared the chilling episode on TikTok where it went viral.

In her video, Tay revealed that amidst the clean-out, she found an “ominous” note hidden in the rear of a cabinet.

She wrote in her TikTok video: “My father passed away unexpectedly, and as we were cleaning out his house, I found this ominous note shoved in the very back of his dresser.

“My dad was a simple, straightforward man. Hardworking and honest, so this is completely out of character for him.”

Displaying the note to her viewers, it simply read: “Do not read unless you want the answer.”

Tay, 27, then opened the piece of paper on camera to show people what “the answer” was referring to. But she was left rolling her eyes when she saw what it actually was – detailed instructions on how to win the peg game at Cracker Barrel.

The US restaurant chain, known for its Southern country theme, has had the peg game on their dining tables since the 1960s.

The objective of the game is to remove pegs from a triangular board until only one remains, a task often touted as an “IQ test”. The note included a diagram of the board with numbers for each of the pegs, and a step-by-step guide to winning.

Tay captioned her video: “One last joke on me, I guess.”

Viewers were both perplexed and impressed by the note, with some admitting they would have been nervous about the mysterious wording, while others expressed surprise that her father had managed to solve the notoriously difficult puzzle.

One viewer commented: “I’ve worked at Cracker Barrel for six years and I couldn’t tell you how to beat the damn game.”

Another added: “This is important information he has left behind.”

A third asked: “May I take a screenshot? This is life-changing.”