- Mel's Hole
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Mel's Hole Classification Grouping Anomalous geography Description Country United States Region Ellensburg, Washington Owner Mel Waters (former) Status Urban Legend Mel's Hole is a supposed geographic anomaly discovered by Mel Waters on his land near Ellensburg, Washington. Waters claimed that he lived in or near Manastash Ridge, Washington, about nine miles due west of Ellensburg, though later investigation revealed that no such person was listed as a resident. According to Waters, the hole has paranormal properties, including a possibly infinite depth and the ability to restore dead animals to life.[1][2]
The first references to the hole were made in a series of interviews with Waters, made by Art Bell on the American radio show Coast to Coast AM (which focuses on conspiracy theories and the paranormal). Waters initially appeared on Coast to Coast AM on February 21, 1997. He subsequently appeared on February 24, 1997, April 2000 and January 29, 2002. His most recent appearance on the show was on December 20, 2002.
Contents
Description
While speaking on Coast to Coast AM, Waters related several stories about the hole and its properties. He also claimed that he had discovered that the hole was in excess of 15 miles (24 kilometers) deep, which he figured out by spooling out 18 reels of 20lb test fishing line, tied end on end, into the hole. Waters claims that he attached a "triangular, one-pound, standard lead fishing weight" to the end of the fishing line.
Waters also told a story of a local man who dropped the remains of his deceased dog's body down the hole. Later, the man saw his dog while out hunting and attempted to call it, however, it appeared to belong to another hunter. Waters also speculated that the hole's properties might be tied to some cosmological events, including unspecified alignments of the moon.[3]
On the September 18, 2008, edition of Coast to Coast AM, guest Red Elk, an intertribal medicine man, recounted the time he visited Mel's hole. He recounted the hole as "around 9 ft. in circumference and somewhere between 24–28 (27.5?) miles deep" and said that it was a blow hole for Mount Rainier.[4]
Location
Waters has never revealed the exact location of the hole. It is possible that it is located in a region removed from publicly available satellite images due to the nearby Yakima Training Center. Despite this, several people have claimed to have found the hole.[1][5] Just before the tenth anniversary of Mel's first appearance on Coast to Coast AM, the moderator of the Mel's Hole website declared the search for the hole was a dead end, and that it would likely never be proven to exist unless Mel came forward with evidence of its location.[6]
In 1997 a nearby Tri-Cities newspaper, the Tri-City Herald, reported that Waters was not listed in the Kittitas County telephone directory or the register of taxpayers, and that authorities in Ellensburg were unable to find any evidence that he was a resident, thus calling into question whether he existed.[5] During one of Mel's interviews with Art Bell on 'Coast to Coast' Mel claims that a friend notified him that his house was broken into by men dressed in black and driving black government vans. Additionally, he claims that his property had a facility designed for pharmaceutical purposes. A plain clothes man, guarded by military personnel told him that it would be easy to find illegal drug trafficking. Mel stated that he left his property and never returned.
"Aspects of Mel's Hole" art exhibit
An art exhibition, "Aspects of Mel's Hole: Artists Respond to a Paranormal Land Event Occurring in Radiospace," curated by LA Weekly art critic Doug Harvey, was presented at the Grand Central Art Center in Santa Ana, California in 2008. The show featured works by 41 artists and collectives, many created specifically for the exhibition, including works by Marnie Weber, Jim Shaw, Jeffrey Vallance, Georganne Deen, Paul Laffoley, The Firesign Theater, Gary Panter, The Center for Land Use Interpretation, James Hayward and Craig Stecyk. The GCAC published a hardbound 146-page catalog in conjunction with the exhibit, containing contributions from all the artists, plus essays by Harvey, psychoanalyst Judy Spence, science author Margaret Wertheim, Hannah Miller, Brian Tucker, Christine Wertheim and the Rev. Ethan Acres.
See also
References
- ^ a b University of Washington (2004-08-01) "Mel's Hole", University of Washington television (2007-05-28)
- ^ Transcript (1997-02-21) "Mel of Mel's Hole" (2007-05-28)
- ^ Seattle Chat Club Mel's Hole Transcripts
- ^ Earth Changes, Prophecy, & Bigfoot 09/18/08 C2C AM, Host:George Noory - Coast to Coast AM
- ^ a b Zebrowski, John (2002-04-14) "Expedition seeks paranormal pit", The Seattle Times (2007-06-10)
- ^ Moderator, Mel's hole website (2007-06-10)
External links
- Audio Clips from a Coast to Coast show featuring Mel Waters
- Audio clips of the original two shows featuring Mel Waters
- Mel Waters' guest page on Coast to Coast AM
- Manastash Ridge, mentioned by Waters as being in the vicinity of the alleged hole, is at coordinates 46°51′28″N 120°20′52″W / 46.85778°N 120.34778°W
- Mel's Hole discussion forum Domain name expired.
- Tri-City Herald story on Mel's Hole
- The Seattle Chat Club's page discussing Mel's Hole
- 2002 Seattle Times article about an expedition to Mel's Hole
- Grand Central Art Center's "Aspects of Mel's Hole: Artists Respond to a Paranormal Land Event Occurring in Radiospace" exhibit.
Categories:- Hoaxes in science
- Urban legends
- Kittitas County, Washington
- Hoaxes in the United States
- 1997 hoaxes
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