What a great article! Thanks so much for sharing! I've always wanted a secret passage in my home too, and maybe someday I'll get one just like these people.
I actually was watching some talk show a couple weeks back and they had a woman on there that lived in a house where you walk right in the front door and the first thing you see is the bathroom. If the door is open you can see right into the bathroom, and if it's closed, well, most people assumed it was a coat closet. So this inventive gal repainted her door and put thin shelves on the front with fake books, and made it look just like a bookcase. Nobody could tell the difference unless they were shown.
Not exactly a secret passage, but pretty close! And just think, you'd get to say "The bathroom? Oh it's right there behind the bookcase."