The story of Mel's Hole has attracted the interest of conspiracy theorists and journalists alike over the years. However, the true answer to the origin of this mystery still lies deep underground, yet to be discovered...
The Man, the Myth, the Legend, Mel Waters
In 1997, Mel Waters called into a late-night AM radio show called Coast to Coast. The show was about paranormal activity and conspiracy theories, and they didn't normally accept call-ins. Mel, however, had a particularly interesting story that captivated the show's host, Art Bell.
Strangeness on the Land
Mel relayed that he had made a strange discovery on some land that he previously owned in rural Washington, just outside of Seattle. The property was just west of a town called Ellensburg, which has a history of paranormal activity. Mel told Art about something that he discovered while living near that town, and he explained that this "thing" could be the root of everything strange that has happened in that town...
The 'Hole'
Evidently, Mel discovered an enormous, ominous hole on that stretch of land. He stated that the hole was manmade, or at least made by a humanoid being. He theorized that the hole was extremely old, yet it did not show any signs of aging or deterioration at all.
Let the Measurement Show
Mel claimed that he measured the hole with fishing wire, or at least he tried to. He claimed that he used a mile of fishing wire but had to run to the store to buy more. He had to do that three more times, and he ended up settling with 15 miles of fishing wire. He guessed that the hole was 80,000 feet deep, making it the deepest hole on Earth...
The Town Garbage Hole
Mel's neighbors had known about the hole for a long time before he moved into the neighborhood. They claimed that they dumped their trash down the hole for years and they still couldn't see the bottom. Despite that, the neighbors made their own assumptions about the reason the hole was there...
Making Some Claims
The townsfolk told Mel about some strange occurrences that were linked to the hole. More than one person stated that a mysterious black beam shot out of the hole into the sky several times. Some individuals confided in Mel with an even stranger story that Mel could hardly believe...
A Pet Burial Ground
A local hunter was out in the woods with his beloved dog when the dog inexplicably dropped dead. Devastated, yet deserted, the hunter tossed the dog's corpse into the hole because he was so far away from society. The man was miserable because he couldn't give his dog a proper funeral, so he immediately left the woods and headed back towards town...
That's Not All...
Several days later, the hunter returned to the site to mark the hole as his beloved dog's final resting place. He heard some rustling in the bushes around the hole, and after some investigation, he was greeted by his pooch as if nothing happened. The hunter turned and ran out of the woods as fast as he could. He kept this story a secret for years until he finally came clean to the townsfolk who also noticed some weird stuff going on around the hole...
A Conspiracy Sized Hole
According to Mel, the government had been paying him to keep quiet about the strange hole. He couldn't handle the pressure and guilt that he faced by keeping the hole a secret. Why would the government want to keep him quiet about the hole? What did they know that he didn't?
Red Elk Intervention
To counter the absurdity of his claims, Mel brought on a trusted community confidant named Red Elk. Red Elk is a Native American man whose family had been living on that plot of land since America got colonized. Red Elk had known about Mel's hole, in fact, he likely discovered it back in 1961...
Alien Intervention
Red Elk stated that there were alien people living down in the hole, He claimed that they communicated with their mothership by beaming information up from the bottom. In theory, this was the black beam that a multitude of people claimed they had seen.
Everyone Wants to Know
Red Elk explained that although the hole gave off an unmistakable alluring aura. No matter how many times he tried to get away from it, Red Elk found himself gravitating back to the hole. He couldn't figure out what it was, but he desperately needed to know what resided 80,000 feet below the Earth's surface.
A Mysterious Disappearance
Red Elk claimed that he once brought a group of people on a hike to go find the hole, but they were unsuccessful in finding it. Red Elk thought that this was extremely strange because they were exactly where it should have been. He theorized that the hole only showed itself to a select few people, he and Mel being two of them.
Digging Deeper
Once Mel told his story on the radio, various sources started picking the story up. Some YouTubers who specialize in conspiracy theories even made a video about it. In the video, they showed that the area that the hole was supposed to be located at was blocked off in government-sanctioned public satellite imagery. Nobody was able to answer why this was the way it was...
The Townsfolk Agree
As the story gained some traction, locals started getting interviewed about their theories. A local named Dan Turner, who had no affiliation with Red Elk or Mel Waters, backed their theories without even hearing about them first. He was convinced that the hole had something to do with the existence of alien life.
Moving Forward
As it turns out, Mel's story had some legs. Journalists from all over the state of Washington picked up on the existence of the hole. However, when journalists attempted to contact Mel about the hole, they discovered some sinister information...
He Doesn't Exist
Mel Waters didn't answer any of the phone calls, letters, or e-mails. Some journalists checked up on the directory of every inhabitant who had ever lived in Ellensburg, and they discovered that nobody named Mel Waters had ever lived in the area. Was Mel a hoax? Or, was he eliminated by the government when he came out with his story?
Dan's Response
Dan Turner was questioned for a second time after journalists discovered that Mel Waters never existed. He stated that he never met a person named Mel Waters, and then he shifted his story about the hole. He stated that there might be something positive down there, jokingly, he mentioned that the Holy Grail might be down there...
Getting to the Bottom of This
Three film students who lived in the local area were following the case closely when Dan Turner released his final statement. They mobilized after they discovered Mel Waters didn't exist. They had enough with the misinformation, and they decided that they were going to get to the bottom of all this hole drama.
First off, You Need to Find It
Cory Henderson, Tyler Templeton, and Evan Catlin packed their equipment and sourced the supposed coordinates of the hole. The public satellite imagery gave a rough estimate as to where the hole was supposed to be. Once they got there, they were shocked pretty much instantly...
It's Real
Despite their suspicions, the team discovered that the hole was, in fact, real. It was actually so dark that you couldn't see the bottom. It even looked exactly like the description that Mel Waters gave it on the radio show...
Backing the Theory
In disbelief, the young men started testing the theories about the hole. Evan tossed a rock down into the pit, and they were astounded when they didn't hear the rock hit the bottom of the pit. They never heard the rock hit at all...
Dropping In
The trio didn't buy 15 miles worth of fishing line, but they did bring a Go-Pro and 5 miles worth of nylon rope. They planned on dropping the camera into the hole and lowering it down so they could see into it. However, they were asked to leave the property promptly after the rope reached its end...
Deep Down
The hole was seemingly bottomless. The young men were actually shocked that something like this existed on Earth. For some reason, the ramblings of a non-existent conspiracy theorist were actually backed in fact for the first time in history...
Who Was Mel?
Even though Mel Waters technically didn't exist. someone had to be on the other end of the phone call. The only place that people could turn to was the source of the phone call. The three young men contacted Art Bell, the only man who actually spoke to Mel Waters...
The Radio Host at Large
Art Bell was an oddly difficult man to contact. He ran a radio show about the paranormal and conspiracy theories, so naturally, he wanted to distance himself from society. He feared the prying eyes of the government, but when the young men explained what they were doing, he agreed to communicate with them...
A Man of Mystery
Bell refused to give up the source of Mel's call. He claimed that he learned who Mel Waters was after the call aired and that his name wasn't actually Mel Waters. The man who called in wanted to keep his identity a secret. Art Bell Explained that he was unable to reach Mel Waters after their follow up phone call, and the information that the young men had was just as good as the information that he had...
Who Could It Be?
The young men grilled Bell for answers, but he refused to budge. All of their questions went unanswered, but the boys were able to deduce a certain amount of information from Bell's misdirection. They theorized that Dan Turner was actually Mel Waters, and Art Bell apparently knew how to get in touch with him as well...
The End of the Source Chain
The young men were unable to get in contact with Dan Turner, and they subsequently lost contact with Art Bell as well. Tragically, Bell died of a heart attack just three weeks after their final correspondence. With no more sources to draw from, the young men were forced to shelf their investigation...
The Mystery Remains Unsolved
With nobody left to contact, the case went cold. However, people that were invested in the case still keep in contact and are actively investigating to this day. Maybe someday we will discover what Mel's Hole was all about, but for now, we must wait patiently.