Hole Lotta Mystery

Mel’s Hole is a legendary hole in rural Washington said to descend far deeper than science can measure. After reporting bizarre phenomena, from resurrected animals to objects returning transformed, its discoverer Mel Waters vanished under unsettling circumstances. Government agents, unmarked vehicles, and sudden land seizures only intensified the secrecy around the site. Today, the hole remains an enigma that blurs the line between folklore, conspiracy, and the unknown.

Reference List

Astonishing Legends. (2017). Mel’s Hole, Parts 1–2 [Podcast series]. Astonishing Legends. https://astonishinglegends.com

Bell, A. (1997, February 21). Coast to Coast AM: Mel’s Hole [Radio broadcast]. Coast to Coast AM.

Bell, A. (1997, April). Coast to Coast AM: Mel Returns (Government seizure call) [Radio broadcast]. Coast to Coast AM.

Bell, A. (2002, January 29). Coast to Coast AM: Mel Waters Returns — The Second Hole [Radio broadcast]. Coast to Coast AM.

Bell, A. (2002, May 23). Coast to Coast AM: Final Mel Waters Call (San Diego incident) [Radio broadcast]. Coast to Coast AM.

Coast to Coast AM Archives. (n.d.). Mel’s Hole archive page. Coast to Coast AM. https://www.coasttocoastam.com

Dunning, B. (2010). Falling into Mel’s Hole. Skeptoid. https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4231

Ellensburg Daily Record Staff. (2002). Local rumors continue about mysterious pit. Ellensburg Daily Record.

Everand Podcast. (n.d.). Whatever Happened to Mel’s Hole? Everand. https://www.everand.com/listen/podcast/589012281

HideousMonster.com. (2008). The complete Mel’s Hole interview notes [Archived website].

Johnston, M. (2012). Getting to the bottom of Mel’s Hole. Ellensburg Daily Record.

Johnston, M. (2012). How a mythical abyss became a mainstay in Kittitas County folklore. Ellensburg Daily Record.

Kaiser Permanente. (n.d.). Lomatium dissectum: Traditional and medicinal uses. Kaiser Permanente.

Kittitas County Historical Society. (n.d.). Oral histories of Manastash Ridge folklore. Ellensburg, WA.

Mel’s Hole. (n.d.). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel%27s_Hole

Nick Zentner. (2019). Hiking Manastash Ridge [Video]. YouTube.

Reddit. (2019). The Strange Mystery of Mel’s Hole: A Bizarre Geographic Anomaly. r/UnesolvedMysteries.

Reddit. (2020). Whatever happened to Mel Waters and his bottomless hole? r/UnsolvedMysteries.

Siegmeister, W. (1964). The Essene Science of Life and the Great Pyramid Mystery. Health Research Books. (Referenced in discussions of alternative-science lore cited by Mel.)

Stimmel, J. (2020). The Basic Law of Attractive Nuisance and Premises Liability. Stimmel Law. https://www.stimmel-law.com

U.S. Army. (n.d.). Yakima Training Center overview. United States Army.

Umatilla Chemical Depot. (2012). Historical activities and chemical disposal information. U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity.

Unexplained Mysteries Archive. (n.d.). Mel’s Hole mega-thread compilation. UM Forums.

U.S. Geological Survey. (n.d.). Mohorovičić discontinuity profile and crustal-depth overview. USGS.

Wikipedia Contributors. (n.d.). List of deepest mines. Wikipedia.

Hecla Mining Company. (2022). Lucky Friday Mine overview report. Hecla Mining Co.

Basque Cultural Center. (n.d.). History of Basque Americans in Nevada. Basque Cultural Center of Reno.

Las Vegas Review-Journal. (2018). Basque culture leaves its mark on Nevada. Las Vegas Review-Journal.

CWU Crimson & Black. (2020). Ask Wellington: What is the Whalebone Tree? Central Washington University.

CWU Historical Society. (n.d.). Ellensburg’s Whale Bone Tree archives.

Reed, J. (Rutter, J. B.). (1997). I Assaulted an Alien [Documentary]. (Referenced by Art Bell because Mel’s story overlapped with Coast listeners’ familiarity with earlier hoaxes.)