Mel's Hole
From RationalWiki
| B U L L "If you are in possession of this revolutionary secret of science, why not prove it and be hailed as the new Newton? Of course, we know the answer. You can't do it. You are a fake." |
Mel's Hole is an alleged "bottomless pit" in Washington State, USA.
In 1997, a man going by the name of Mel Waters discussed the hole in a series of interviews with Coast to Coast AM talk radio. Waters claimed that the hole was within the boundaries of land he had purchased near Ellensburg, Washington, though he did not reveal the exact location to the public.
According to Waters, the hole had been used as the local garbage dump for generations, but showed no signs of filling up, and nothing could be heard hitting the bottom, even when dumping large items such as broken farm machinery or dead livestock. Waters claimed that, since acquiring the land, he had attempted to measure the depth of the hole with lengths of fishing twine, and found it to be over 80,000 feet deep (more than 15 miles), this being the maximum length of twine he had lowered into the hole. It is unclear how such a hole could exist without the sides collapsing.
If true, this would make it the deepest known abyss in the world by a very long margin. Waters said that his wife worked for the local university, who had discussed undertaking academic research into the hole. No such research was ever recorded or published.
Tales of paranormal phenomena are also connected with the hole, most notably the story, recounted by Waters, of a man who dropped his dead dog into the hole, only to encounter the same dog alive and above ground, while on a hunting trip nearby some time later. The hole is also associated by some with the Hollow Earth Theory.
Although some locals corroborated the existence of the hole, recalling childhood memories or stories their grandparents had told them of a hole that never filled up, others denied ever hearing of it before and believed the hole thing to be a hoax.
In later interviews during the early 2000s, Waters revealed that he had sold the property containing the hole, and still would not confirm its location. He also told various rambling anecdotes about other mysterious occurrences that had happened to him at other times and in other places.
Meanwhile, search parties of hole enthusiasts had completely failed to identify the whereabouts of Mel's Hole, and local residential and electoral documents were found to show no record of anybody by the name of Mel Waters.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- "Expedition seeks paranormal pit", The Seattle Times, April 14, 2002
- 1997 and 2002 interview recordings
- "P's Hole" at OverCompensating webcomic, 2006
- Featuring some Mel's Hole fan art.
