Editing Mel's Hole

{{Short description|Urban legend, started in 1997}}
{{use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}
'''Mel's Hole''' is, according to an [[urban legend]], a "bottomless pit" near [[Ellensburg, Washington]]. Claims about it were first made on the radio show ''[[Coast to Coast AM]]'' in 1997 by a guest calling himself Mel Waters. Later investigation revealed no such person was listed as residing in that area, and no credible evidence has been given that the hole ever existed.<ref name="uwtv1">{{cite web |date=2004-08-01 |title=Mel's Hole |url=http://www.uwtv.org/programs/displayevent.aspx?rID=5160&fID=1474 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928074042/http://www.uwtv.org/programs/displayevent.aspx?rID=5160&fID=1474 |archive-date=2007-09-28 |access-date=2007-04-14 |website=UWTV |publisher=University of Washington}}</ref><ref name="DR" />

==Claims==
The legend of the bottomless hole started on February 21, 1997, when a man identifying himself as Mel Waters appeared as a guest on ''Coast to Coast AM'' with [[Art Bell]]. Waters claimed that he owned rural property {{convert|9|mi|km|spell=in}} west of [[Ellensburg, Washington|Ellensburg]] in [[Kittitas County, Washington|Kittitas County]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], that contained a mysterious hole. According to Waters, the hole had an unknown depth. He claimed to have measured its depth using fishing line and a weight, although he still had not hit bottom by the time {{convert|80000|ft|m}} of line had been used. He also claimed that his neighbor's dead dog had been seen alive sometime after it was thrown into the hole. According to Waters, the hole's magical properties prompted US federal agents to seize the land and fund his relocation to [[Australia]].<ref name="DR" />

Waters made guest appearances on Bell's show in 1997 (February 21 and 24), 2000, and 2002. Rebroadcasts of those appearances have helped create what has been described as a "modern, rural myth". The exact location of the hole was unspecified, yet several people claimed to have seen it,<ref name=uwtv1/><ref name="seateltimes1">{{Cite web|last=Zebrowski|first=John|date=14 April 2002|title=Expedition seeks paranormal pit|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20020414&slug=melshole14m|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200430033353/https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20020414&slug=melshole14m|archive-date=2020-04-30|access-date=2020-08-14|website=The Seattle Times}}</ref> such as self-described "intertribal [[medicine man]]" Gerald Osborne, also known as Red Elk,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Red Elk|url=https://www.coasttocoastam.com/guest/elk-red-5687/|access-date=2020-08-14|website=Coast to Coast AM}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=RED ELK|url=http://redelk.50webs.com/|access-date=2020-08-14|website=redelk.50webs.com}}</ref> who told reporters in 2012 he visited the hole many times since 1961 and claimed the [[Federal government of the United States|US government]] maintained a top secret base there where "[[extraterrestrial life|alien activity]]" occurs.<ref name="DR" /><ref>{{citation |last=Whitaker |first=Denise |title=Eastern Washington hole is shrouded in mystery |date=February 8, 2012 |work=KOMO-TV |url=http://komonews.com/news/local/eastern-washington-hole-is-shrouded-in-mystery-11-21-2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161219105728/http://komonews.com/news/local/eastern-washington-hole-is-shrouded-in-mystery-11-21-2015 |archive-date=December 19, 2016}}</ref>

==Investigation==
In 2002, a group of thirty people led by Gerald Osborne undertook an expedition to find the hole, but were unable to locate it.<ref name="seateltimes1" /> Local news reporters who investigated the claims found no public records of anyone named Mel Waters ever residing in, or owning property in, Kittitas County.<ref name="DR" />

According to [[Washington State Department of Natural Resources|State Department of Natural Resources]] geologist Jack Powell, the hole does not exist and is geologically impossible. A hole of the depth claimed "would collapse into itself under the tremendous pressure and heat from the surrounding strata," said Powell. Powell said an ordinary old mine shaft on private property was probably the inspiration for the stories, and commented that Mel's Hole had established itself as a legend "based on no evidence at all."<ref name="DR">{{cite web|last1=Johnston|first1=Mike|title=Getting to the bottom of Mel's Hole|url=http://www.dailyrecordnews.com/news/getting-to-the-bottom-of-mel-s-hole/article_d72b6a68-7ac2-11e1-b3ce-001a4bcf887a.html|website=Daily Record|date=March 31, 2012 |publisher=Washington Daily Record|accessdate=6 January 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210903001001/https://www.dailyrecordnews.com/news/getting-to-the-bottom-of-mel-s-hole/article_d72b6a68-7ac2-11e1-b3ce-001a4bcf887a.html|archive-date=3 September 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> Geologist Pat Pringle doubted Waters story about having lowered {{convert|80000|ft|m}} of fishing line into a hole, saying that the heat of the Earth would have snapped it before it could reach such a depth.<ref name="seateltimes1" />

== Art exhibition ==
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 (artist)|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 Albert Cuellar, Charles Schneider, [[Marnie Weber]], [[Jim Shaw (artist)|Jim Shaw]], [[Jeffrey Vallance]], [[Georganne Deen]], [[Paul Laffoley]], [[The Firesign Theatre]], [[Gary Panter]], [[The Center for Land Use Interpretation]], James Hayward, Cathy Ward, Eric Wright and [[Craig Stecyk]].<ref name="OCWeekly" /> 

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]], [[Mike McGee (gallery director)|Mike McGee]] and the Rev. Ethan Acres.<ref name="OCWeekly">{{cite web |last=Stacy |first=Greg |date=October 2, 2008 |title=Getting to the Bottom of Mel's Hole at the Grand Central Art Center |url=http://www.ocweekly.com/2008-10-02/culture/mels-hole-grand-central-art-center/full/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903072156/http://www.ocweekly.com/2008-10-02/culture/mels-hole-grand-central-art-center/full/ |archive-date=September 3, 2014 |accessdate=19 September 2013 |website=OCWeekly}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Well to Hell hoax]]
*''[[The Hole (2009 film)|The Hole]]'', a 2009 fantasy film containing many elements of the legend
*[[Skinwalker Ranch]], a similar paranormal "complex" (combining several different kinds of [[Fortean]] accounts in one location)
*[[Made In Abyss]], animated series (most probably) inspired of the phenomena explained in Mel's descriptions
**[[Google Earth]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[https://succulent-bacon.itch.io/mels-bucket Mel's Bucket - a short point-and-click adventure game based on Mel's Hole]
*[https://melshole.org/ Audio clips of the original two shows featuring Mel Waters]
*[http://www.coasttocoastam.com/guest/waters-mel/5595 Mel Waters' guest page on Coast to Coast AM]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070311082134/http://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/oldnews/1997/0311.html#anchor596559 Tri-City Herald story on Mel's Hole]
*[http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=melshole14m&date=20020414 2002 Seattle Times article about an expedition to Mel's Hole] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070618153330/http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=melshole14m&date=20020414 |date=June 18, 2007 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120617151820/http://www.grandcentralartcenter.com/ArtGallery_gcartgallery.php?id=225 Grand Central Art Center's "Aspects of Mel's Hole: Artists Respond to a Paranormal Land Event Occurring in Radiospace" exhibit].
*[http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Eastern-Washington-hole-shrouded-in-mystery-138913254.html Eastern Washington hole is shrouded in mystery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903125715/http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Eastern-Washington-hole-shrouded-in-mystery-138913254.html |date=September 3, 2014 }} by Denise Whitaker, Published: Feb 7, 2012 at 11:33 PM PST, Last Updated: Feb 12, 2012 at 11:24 AM PST.
*[http://www.dailyrecordnews.com/top_story/getting-to-the-bottom-of-mel-s-hole/article_d72b6a68-7ac2-11e1-b3ce-001a4bcf887a.html Getting to the bottom of Mel's Hole] Ellensburg Daily Record, March 31, 2012
*{{Skeptoid | id= 4156| number= 156| title=Falling into Mel's Hole | date= June 2, 2009| last=Dunning | first=Brian | accessdate=March 13, 2019 }}

{{Urban legends}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cascadian folklore]]
[[Category:Coast to Coast AM]]
[[Category:Hollow Earth]]
[[Category:Kittitas County, Washington]]
[[Category:American urban legends]]
[[Category:Washington (state) folklore]]