In 1997, a man calling himself Mel Waters phoned into a late-night radio show, claiming he had stumbled upon an astonishing phenomenon—a bottomless pit with bizarre and supernatural properties. Among the wildest of his claims was that the pit could resurrect dead animals. Despite his insistence, no official records or evidence of such a location—or even of Mel Waters himself—have ever been found.
The story took shape on February 21, 1997, when Waters first shared his account on Coast to Coast AM, a radio program hosted by Art Bell. At its peak, the show captivated millions of listeners with its focus on the paranormal, unexplained mysteries, and conspiracy theories. Most calls rarely startled Bell, but Waters’ story sparked an enduring fascination.
He described a mysterious, seemingly endless pit located on his property in Kittitas County, Washington. He insisted that the hole possessed extraordinary qualities, including the ability to bring deceased animals back to life. Although he seemed well-acquainted with the area, no official records of a “Mel Waters” residing in or owning land there were ever found. Likewise, no concrete evidence of the pit itself has surfaced.
Over the years, Waters made multiple calls to the program—five in total between 1997 and 2002. Each time, the details surrounding the pit grew increasingly outlandish. Then, after his final call, he disappeared without a trace, leaving behind an unsolved mystery that continues to fuel speculation.
The Mystery of the Bottomless Pit
During his first conversation with Bell, Waters explained that he had attempted to measure the depth of the hole using a fishing line with a roll of Lifesavers candy attached. The idea was that if there were water at the bottom, the candy would dissolve. However, after lowering the line 80,000 feet, he found that the Lifesavers remained intact, suggesting an unfathomable depth.
Other strange occurrences were tied to the pit as well. Sound did not echo within it, and animals refused to go near it, as if sensing an ominous presence. Waters noted that his own dogs reacted with visible fear, keeping a cautious distance from the opening.
One of the most bizarre claims came from a neighbor who allegedly tossed a deceased dog into the hole—only to encounter the very same animal alive and well sometime later. Even more unnerving was Waters’ claim that a strange black beam occasionally emanated from the pit, seemingly absorbing light rather than emitting it. Nearby radios, when placed close to the hole, would pick up old broadcasts from past decades. Additionally, metals exposed to the pit would supposedly change in composition, morphing into unknown substances.
Government Involvement and Mel Waters’ Disappearance
As the story unfolded, Waters suggested that the U.S. government had taken an interest in the hole. According to his accounts, authorities forcibly removed him from his land, offering a hefty monthly payment of $250,000 in exchange for control over the site. He claimed that satellite images of the area no longer displayed his property and that his wife had mysteriously vanished around the same time.
Between 1997 and 2002, he called into Coast to Coast AM several more times, revealing additional elements of his story. During one such call, he spoke of discovering another similar hole in a remote Basque settlement in Nevada. This second pit shared the same eerie characteristics—seemingly bottomless and shrouded in mystery.
During an experiment with the Nevada hole, Waters and the Basque villagers lowered a bucket of ice into it. To their astonishment, the ice changed into a substance that burned without melting, generating an endless flame. The implications were both fascinating and deeply unsettling.
One of the more disturbing experiments involved a live sheep. The animal was lowered into the hole, and upon retrieval, it was found lifeless and covered in a grotesque, pulsating tumor. When the villagers cut open the mass, an 18-inch creature emerged—described as resembling a seal but possessing eerily human-like eyes. According to Waters, this entity made direct eye contact with him, communicating an unspoken but profound understanding. Afterward, the villagers chose to release the being back into the pit.
In December 2002, Waters made his final call to the radio show. He reported that the government had seized control of the second hole, taking the mysterious burning ice. He also mentioned being followed, hinting that he might be in danger. Furthermore, he claimed that the strange seal-like creature had revisited the Basque village, seemingly attempting to warn them about the dangers associated with the bottomless holes. After that, Waters was never heard from again.
(Image: Freepik)
Searching for the Truth
Waters was not the only one to speak of an enigmatic hole in Washington State. Gerald Osborne, a shaman from Kittitas Valley known as Red Elk, stated that he had visited Mel’s Hole several times since 1961. According to Osborne, the pit was more than just a deep chasm—it was a portal connected to secret government activity and possibly extraterrestrial phenomena.
In 2002, Osborne led a search expedition for the elusive pit. The effort, organized by a group of believers who had connected through an online forum, was motivated by the belief that locating the hole could unlock profound secrets about the universe. However, despite their determination, they were unable to find any evidence of its existence.
Local rumors about a bottomless pit had circulated long before Waters’ calls to the radio show. Jay Nickell, a resident of Ellensburg—the largest town in Kittitas County—recalled stumbling upon a similar hole during his teenage years. He and his friends tossed rocks into it, but no sound ever returned.
Meanwhile, employees at a nearby snowmobile dealership acknowledged that stories of a mysterious pit on Manastash Ridge had been passed around for generations. Yet, none had ever seen it firsthand.
The Scientific Verdict
Despite the many stories and alleged sightings, experts assert that such a bottomless pit is an impossibility. Jack Powell, a geologist with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, dismissed Waters’ claims outright. According to Powell, a hole of such depth would collapse under the immense pressure and heat from the surrounding earth.
Powell, intrigued by the tale, listened to Waters’ calls on Coast to Coast AM but quickly recognized the claims as fictional. He speculated that the “mystery hole” might have originated from an old gold mining shaft he had explored as a child. This particular shaft, located on private land, was no more than 300 feet deep—far from the thousands of feet Waters had described.
The Lingering Enigma
No tangible evidence of Mel’s Hole has ever surfaced, but the legend persists. Some view it as an elaborate hoax, while others believe it to be a deeply classified government secret.
Milton Wagy, a historian at the Ellensburg Public Library, noted that after Waters’ initial call in 1997, the library was inundated with inquiries about the hole. Strangely, all records related to Mel’s Hole disappeared without explanation, further fueling conspiracy theories.
“It just vanished,” Wagy said in an interview. “Did Mel take it? Or did it somehow escape from a locked file cabinet? You never know. Maybe there really is a hole out there.”
Red Elk, however, remains firm in his warnings. In his last public statements, he urged people to stop searching, insisting that the government had already secured the site.
“Don’t go looking for it. Stay away. The hole is real, but it’s best left alone.”
And as for Mel Waters? He faded into obscurity after his final call in 2002. Whether he was silenced, disappeared on his own, or never existed at all remains one of the greatest mysteries surrounding the legend of Mel’s Hole.
