The Why Files: Operation Podcast
588: COMPILATION: Hole Stories and Underground Mysteries
Sat, 12 Apr 2025
A construction worker discovers a massive tunnel system while breaking ground for a new building. Meanwhile, deep in the Nevada desert, scientists detect unusual seismic activity that doesn't match any known geological patterns. These events might seem unconnected, but they're part of humanity's complex relationship with what lies beneath. Throughout history, people have built elaborate underground networks - from ancient catacombs to modern military bunkers. Even now, mysterious tunnels are being discovered under cities worldwide, their purposes unknown. Some say they're remnants of lost civilizations. Others claim they're proof of secret government projects. Scientists continue mapping the vast caverns and passages honeycombing Earth's crust, finding new mysteries with each expedition. As we dig deeper into our planet's hidden spaces, we uncover evidence that challenges our understanding of human history. What secrets still wait to be discovered in the darkness below?
Chapter 1: What is Mel's Hole and why is it significant?
Right. How fast does the Earth spin?
Well, that depends on the latitude.
How fast?
Between 300 and 1,000 miles an hour.
Okay, so empty air sticks to the ground, moving at 1,000 miles an hour.
Yep.
In perfect sync. Everywhere on a big round ball.
Yes.
Agree to disagree.
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Chapter 2: What strange occurrences happened around Mel's Hole?
I warn you, what you are about to hear is very disturbing indeed.
What? You know where we can score some Russian sedatives? I don't feel so good.
The Well to Hell is one of my all-time favorite urban legends. I first heard it on Art Bell's show. But how much of it is true and where did it come from? The story was first released by the Trinity Broadcasting Network. And TBN is a Christian network that operates television stations and publishes newsletters. In 1989, TBN ran the story Scientists Discover Hell in both print and on television.
The story was a hit. Rich Buehler, a radio host for Christianity Today, was getting so many calls about the story, he decided to track down the origin. When he contacted Trinity, they said the story was absolutely true. They doubled down. They did. TBN said their source was the Finnish publication Amenusastia, which was, they said, a widely respected scientific journal. Was it? No.
It was a small evangelical Lutheran magazine. So Rich Buehler contacted them. They said a staff member wrote the story from memory.
Oh boy, journalism.
And that person remembered seeing it in a magazine where readers could submit any stories they wanted without sources or fact-checking. No, this was another Finnish paper. The reader who submitted it read it in a Finnish newsletter that covered paranormal stories. Before that, the story was in another religious newsletter out of California, and on and on and on.
The story was just hearsay and exaggeration, but the companies who published the story kept defending it.
You sure this wasn't the New York Times?
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Chapter 3: How did Mel Waters become famous for his hole?
The ground seemed alive, responding to them, helping them even. Their equipment now worked perfectly. They didn't realize they were no longer in control. Marina and Ellie's visions began to synchronize. The guardians Marina saw were protecting the portal that Ellie saw, and behind it was an ancient evil presence, imprisoned for thousands of years. They were getting closer and they could feel it.
Conflicted by warnings to stop and entities urging them forward with promises of truth, they shared their thoughts with Colonel Canev. He didn't care about portals or aliens or interdimensional beings. He just wanted to find object number one. The soldiers were tired. They felt like Marina had them digging a giant circle until Marina said, Here. Ellie heard a voice say, Do not continue.
What lies beyond is not your kind. Then she had a vision of a large rectangular stone emitting a soft blue light. Find the stone. Find the truth. They dug. Five feet down, nothing. Ten feet down, still nothing. The soldiers were exhausted and skeptical, but the women insisted something was there. Fifteen feet, nothing. Twenty feet, they hit something solid.
They cleared the soil and saw a stone barrier carved perfectly smooth and was gently vibrating. Marina knew the guardians put this barrier here for a reason, but she couldn't resist. She had to know what was behind it. But their tools were useless. They couldn't even chip the thing. And going around it wasn't an option. It seemed to cover the entire area, like a shell.
Or a cage.
Right. Colonel Caniff said the mission had to continue. He ordered explosives.
This is a terrible idea.
The detonation shook the Earth. Dust hung in the air for what felt like forever. But when it finally cleared, they saw they had broken through the barrier. But this only created another unsettling mystery. They'd uncovered an entrance to a dark spiral tunnel descending deep into the earth. This was not a natural formation. Its walls were smooth and polished.
Steps were carved into the tunnel floor. Soldiers, workers, and officers stared in awe and terror. Marina was quiet and still. Her eyes followed the steps down, down, till they disappeared into the darkness. Without looking up, she said, It's awake. The End Marina Napolitanova stood at the top of the staircase, staring into the void. The whispers in her mind became screams.
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Chapter 4: What theories exist about the nature of Mel's Hole?
Yeah, I was building tension on purpose.
Oh. Oops.
Lois wasn't sure how far down they went, but her senses told her it must have been 20 or 30 feet. The tunnel opened up to another large room. Cut into the walls were shelves. Lois thought they looked like beds or resting places. She got a closer look. They were shaped like coffins. Joe said they buried their dead in here.
He gestured to a slit in the wall, and Lois realized there were slits carved all around the room, evenly spaced. She looked through one and saw skeletons. Lois asked about them and Joe said they were prisoners and their remains could not be disturbed. They looked around for a few more minutes. Then Joe said, this is the end of the tour. It's time to go back. Then Lois asked Joe, what's down there?
She was pointing at a small square doorway, maybe three feet wide. Joe said, if you go in there, you go at your own risk and you won't go far. Now Lois felt like this was a challenge. She grabbed the length of rope and tied it around her waist. She passed the rope to another friend who did the same, and then another and another. Lois and her three friends squeezed through the small opening.
Oh, like a baby chute. Sorry, sorry, go ahead.
The four women disappeared down the dark chamber. The other two stayed behind and waited with Joe. It was dark, but the women still had their candles and they were having fun. This type of adventure was exactly what they were looking for. Finally, the passage opened up and Lois was able to stand. When she got to her feet, she felt herself leaning forward. She was starting to fall.
A rush of cold air hit her in the face and she was yanked back. Now, it's a good thing they used the rope. Lois was on a ledge no more than two feet wide, then it was a sheer drop 50 feet down. And from behind, Lois heard a friend tell her to keep going. They were getting claustrophobic in the tunnel, but Lois was frozen. Here's what she saw in her own words.
There, across the cave, from an opening deep below me, emerged 20 persons of giant stature. In single file, they walked along a narrow ledge. Their height I judged to be about 25 feet, since their heads came about halfway up the opposite wall. They walked very slowly, taking long strides. Then they all stopped, turned and raised their heads in my direction.
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