Mel's Hole is a supposed geographic anomaly discovered by Mel Waters on his land near Ellensburg, Washington. Waters claimed that he lived in or near Manastash Ridge, Washington, about nine miles due west of Ellensburg, though later investigation revealed that no such person was listed as a resident. According to Waters, the hole has paranormal properties, including a possibly infinite depth and the ability to restore dead animals to life.
The first references to the hole were made in a series of interviews with Waters, made by Art Bell on the American radio showCoast to Coast AM (which focuses on conspiracy theories and the paranormal). Waters initially appeared on Coast to Coast AM on February 21, 1997. He subsequently appeared on February 24, 1997, April 2000 and January 29, 2002. His most recent appearance on the show was on December 20, 2002.
Description
While speaking on Coast to Coast AM, Waters related several stories about the hole and its properties. He also claimed that he had discovered that the hole was in excess of 15 miles (24 kilometers) deep, which he figured out by spooling out 18 reels of 20lb test fishing line, tied end on end, into the hole. Waters claims that he attached a "triangular, one-pound, standard lead fishing weight" to the end of the fishing line.
Waters also told a story of a local man who dropped the remains of his deceased dog's body down the hole. Later, the man saw his dog while out hunting and attempted to call it; however, it appeared to belong to another hunter. Waters also speculated that the hole's properties might be tied to some cosmological events, including unspecified alignments of the moon.
On the September 18, 2008, edition of Coast to Coast AM, guest Red Elk, an intertribal medicine man, recounted the time he visited Mel's hole. He recounted the hole as "around 9 ft. in circumference and somewhere between 2428 (27.5?) miles deep" and said that it was a blow hole for Mount Rainier.
Location
Waters has never revealed the exact location of the hole. It is possible that it is located in a region removed from publicly available satellite images due to the nearby Yakima Training Center. Despite this, several people have claimed to have found the hole.\ Just before the tenth anniversary of Mel's first appearance on Coast to Coast AM, the moderator of the Mel's Hole website declared the search for the hole was a dead end, and that it would likely never be proven to exist unless Mel came forward with evidence of its location.