This proposed expedition would like to conduct some scientific observations in the Arctic that is hoped will resolve once and for all whether the hollow earth theory has any validity. The indigenous Eskimos believe there is a hole in the Arctic Ocean. Observations of several Arctic explorers of mirages of land in the Arctic indicate that the most plausible location for a north polar opening that leads into the interior of the earth is located at 87.7 N Latitude, 142.2 E Longitude. To check out this theory, a group of hollow earth believers and scientists would like to charter a Russian Nuclear Icebreaker into the Arctic sea.

The notion that “mirages of land” can be visible stem from a variety of interesting sources. Apparently, Russians were some of the earliest to claim to have sighted what was dubbed “Sannikov Land”, north of the New Siberian Islands. Sannikov Land, in essence, is regarded by most historians as a pseudo-historic “phantom island” that may have existed in the Arctic Ocean. Yakov Sannikov and Matvei Gedenschtrom made the initial claim during their 1809-1810 cartographic expedition to the New Siberian Islands. Being first to report the sighting of a “new land” north of Kotelny Island in 1811, Sannikov’s name was also given to the supposed land mass.

Much later in 1886, a Baltic German explorer in Russian service named Eduard Toll also claimed to see the phantom land mass. Toll returned to the Arctic again in 1901 during The Russian Polar Expedition, but he and his team were soon blocked by floating pack ice surrounding the New Siberian Islands. A final 1902 attempt to reach Sannikov Land was excecuted, but this time the team’s vessel was trapped in ice. In November 1902, Toll and three companions left the ship in an attempt to depart Bennett Island towards the south on loose ice floes. None of the men were ever seen again.

Crocker Land is another name used to describe the same sort of phantom island. This name was given by Robert Peary to what he thought to be a mass of land he claimed to see in the distant northwest from the summit of Cape Thomas Hubbard, during a 1906 expedition. George Crocker of the Peary Arctic Club had been the inspiration for the naming of the island, which Peary estimated to be about 130 miles away at close to 83 degrees N, longitude 100 degrees W.

Some historians postulate that Sannikov land may actually have been an exposed land mass at one point which, during nearly 100 years that lapsed between expeditions intended to confirm its existence, was eventually submerged. However, perhaps one of the best explanations given for sightings of both Sannikov Land and Crocker Land may be that mirages that occur in Arctic regions called Fata Morgana. This is a mirage phenomenon named for Morgan le Fay, the fairy shapeshifting half-sister of the Once and Future King in popular Arthurian legends, and is caused by abrupt variances in air temperature when air above the line of sight is warmer than the air below (temperature inversion). Fata Morgana occurs only when light travels through multiple distinct temperature gradients., causing an image which may be compressed in some sections, and all the while appearing strangely expanded in others. To add to the anomalous behavior, air temperature changes over time continue to affect the varying angles of refraction, which cause the image to expand or contract as the atmosphere returns to its standard temperature gradient. Thus, a variety of strange optical effects can occur that cause land-like masses to become visible, when in reality, none ever existed.

ABOVE: An island-like manifestation, courtesy of Fata Morgana (used with GNU Free Documentation Licensing)

Hollow Earth proponents believe that land masses seen in Arctic regions like this are indeed mirages, so in scientific terms, you could say they have at least half the equation correct. However, rather than mirages that appear to be land masses, the Hollow Earth theory suggests that the mirages are actually reflections of land existing within the Earth, visible through the large hole alleged to exist at the North Pole.

As strange as this all may sound, there were actually beliefs regarding the hollow Earth that came close to garnering military interest as far back as the early 1800s. Take for instance Capt. John Cleves Symmes, a hero of the War of 1812, who took up the notion that concentric spheres made up the inner Earth, creating a sort of layered inner-planet that might be inhabitable… or even already inhabited. Symmes’ theories were throw-backs to 19th-century scientific principles, many of which called into question whether the inner structure of the Earth could resemble an egg or other layered structure. Symmes began to look at other objects in nature, including bones, reeds, and even hair, which were known to be outer structures reinforced by a hollow center. If the interior of the earth were the same, he began to suppose that perhaps they could be reached through large holes. These would be a few thousand miles in diameter, and much like theories existing today, Symmes believed that such openings would exist at the North and South Poles.

Symmes took his theories a step further, and began to scour the ranks of his aristocratic acquaintances (these included several heads of state and politicians), asking for funds to finance an expedition to the North Pole. “We will find a warm and rich land,” he said, “stocked with thrifty vegetables and animals, if not men, on reaching one degree northward of latitude 82.” Thus began mankind’s race to the North Pole, which in the minds of some, seems to have never ended.

Of course, geological evidence suggests a variety of different theories which, although incomplete, seem to dispel the notion of a hollow Earth. Take for instance the fact that Earth’s core is observable through monitoring vibrations created by earthquakes and seismic activity. As these vibrations pass from one side of the planet to the other, geologists are able to essentially “map” the structure of mantle, as well as the outer and inner core. A hollow earth, we can assume, would behave a bit differently under such observation (although it is interesting to note that the Earth’s Moon exhibits strange “ringing” effects that many claim to be indicative of a hollow structure). Also, according to Newtonian physics, a person in the depths of the Hollow Earth would appear virtually weightless, since Newton’s shell theorem states that “if the body is a spherically symmetric shell (i.e. a hollow ball), no gravitational force is exerted by the shell on any object inside, regardless of the object’s location within the shell.”

Perhaps the weakest argument used to dispel Hollow Earth theories involves the Kola Superdeep Borehole, a scientific drilling project of the former USSR. In the early 1970s, the project attempted to drill as deep as possible into the Earth’s crust, beginning in May 1970 on the Kola Peninsula. The operation implemented then state-of-the-art Uralmash-4E and Uralmash-15000 series drilling rigs, which succeeded in producing a number of boreholes branching from a central hole. The deepest, SG-3, was achieved in 1989, and reached only a little over seven and a half miles, and remains the deepest hole ever drilled. Considering the immensity of the Earth as a whole, this distance is minuscule, and hardly rules out cavernous systems that might extend into the depths (which, nonetheless, remain contrary to the notion of a Hollow Earth). This project inevitably led to the urban legend of a “Well to Hell“, popularized on programs like Coast to Coast AM by host Art Bell in the late 1990s.

At present, little (if any) evidence exists that there could be a hollow interior that exists within the Earth, much less a forested, warm and happy land as proposed over the last couple of centuries. The fiction of those like Jules Verne inevitably led to the stirring of imaginations everywhere, and although there are indeed modern proponents of such fantastic realities beneath us, the idea of a “Hollow Earth”, at very least, remains a fantasy. Of course, when it comes to caverns and creeping cave systems extending into the depths, we may yet to have scraped the surface as to what strangeness could exist below…

Based on what was described, I’m not convinced that what the witnesses actually saw wasn’t a raccoon. I asked if this creature had appeared to move upright or on four legs, to which she said she wasn’t certain. As for the mysterious “scratching” sounds on the roof of her car, the clawed paws of a raccoon certainly would be the most likely solution, and the raccoon hypothesis nonetheless explains the fur she and her boyfriend described seeing in the creature’s silhouetted outline also. Whether or not the folks who shared this story were actually accosted by a strange little “man”, North Carolina and many other parts of the world nonetheless have folk traditions and histories that involve “little people”, presumed to be spirit folk, which sometimes do appear to cause mischief.

The Southeast has a long tradition held among the Cherokee Indians regarding “little people” who inhabit caves and other small subterranean dwellings throughout the Appalachian Mountains. Often mischievous in nature, these beings are known to appear under peculiar circumstances, and though most are known to be helpful and benign by nature, it is advised in native traditions that one who witnesses a little person should ignore them, so as not to draw attention to their presence. The Cherokee divide these spirit folk into three categories: the Rock People, vengeful and angry dwarfs who are known for accosting lost travelers by tossing stones at them for invading their space; the Laurel People, generally regarded as tricksters; and the Dogwood People, who are the most helpful and kind-hearted of the Little People.

Though such legends are traditionally considered Native beliefs, I find it interesting that the most fascinating accounts of contact with the Little People I have collected from the region don’t originate from the Cherokee themselves, but instead were told to me by locals living in the more remote areas around Western North Carolina. J.R. Sutton, a friend of my family I had known while growing up, had lived near the Cherokee Indian reservation decades ago, and told me about an encounter with “little bearded folks of short stature” he had observed on one occasion. Sutton always used to keep horses, and one afternoon while tending to them he said he was astonished to find three small people sitting on the bare back of one of the animals. “I looked at this and thought they were kids,” Sutton said. “Then one of the little fellers looked around at me and he had a long beard.” Sutton expressed some degree of superstition about the encounter, adding that he “was familiar with the legends, and didn’t want to bother the little folks.” Were the small, bearded dwarves Sutton encountered in his pasture that afternoon the same mischievous spirit folk the Cherokee have told of for centuries?

Two counties away, an even stranger encounter with a little person took place. John Capps, an entrepreneur and Western North Carolina native, lives with his wife on a remote piece of property stretching over an entire mountain on the outskirts of Buncombe County. One day several years ago, John had ridden a golf cart to the base of the mountain to collect a few bundles of firewood to bring back up to their house. The entire property has a peculiar air, and near the area where he had stopped, John has since told me about a large, curious-looking rock with a wide, flat top, which locals say was once used in Indian rituals. “I was loading up the wood down there at the base of the mountain, when I looked over and saw this strange looking little man. He was kinda leaning against a tree, and was wearing these little coveralls, just standing there.” John winced as he searched for words as he related this story to me, saying “he had a funny little look on his face. I’ll tell ya what it was—it was a little shit-eatin’ grin. That’s the best way I could describe it.”

John found the odd demeanor of the little man disconcerting, and decided to ignore the fellow, climbing into his golf cart and heading back up the mountain. “I got back up there to where I was unloading the wood, and I turned around and saw the same little character about twenty yards off, watching me just like he had done all the way down at the base of the mountain. He scared me to death, and for days I wouldn’t go anywhere without my wife riding around with me. I even started carrying a gun.” Before long, John’s wife began to wonder about what might have scared her husband, who was normally a calm, laid-back individual. “I finally told her, and she just said ‘I’ll fix this’.” John’s wife was one-quarter Cherokee herself, and also knew the legends regarding the Little People very well. “She got in touch with some family members who knew the native stories, and whatever they did to ask the little man to leave seemed to have worked.” John and his wife never saw the entity around their property again.

Further East, near the town of Winston-Salem lies what is called the Single Brother’s House in the historic Old Salem Village and Gardens. The building was originally used as a communal home for unmarried men in the area, which had been a Moravian settlement. It is here that encounters with a ghostly entity called “the Little Red Man” were said to occur up until a few decades ago. Perhaps the most famous encounter with the Little Red Man involves the granddaughter of a resident of the house named Betsy. “Little Betsy” as she was called had suffered from a childhood illness which caused deafness, though she maintained the ability to speak. One day Betsy returned from playing in the garden and told her grandmother about seeing “a small man wearing a red cap” who had beckoned her to come and play. Legends say that the entity, though seemingly harmless, was encountered again in the cellar of the building while an important public figure was visiting the house. This prompted his removal, and a minister was asked to come and exorcise the strange little fellow from the property. Winston-Salem’s “Little Red Man” was never again seen.

More recently, another strange incident involving similar phenomenon was reported across the United States in California, as related by a woman named Tammy to Jason Offutt, author of Darkness Walks: The Shadow People Among Us (of which, I might add, Patrick Huyghe of Anomalist Books was kind enough to send me a review copy. Keep an eye out for my review of this fine book in an upcoming Gralien Report post).

Tammy reported that she and her children had lived on a lot with five houses “and one very spooky old barn.” Tammy had begun to notice that “none of the neighbor’s animals, or stray animals for that matter, would go anywhere near that barn.” Eventually, strange things began to occur around the area, and one evening Tammy finally says she heard a “very freaky, very evil-sounding chuckle.” Looking in the direction of the sound, Tammy and her son witnessed what she called “a gnome”. Offutt describes for us what this strange man of diminished proportions looked like: “The entity was about two to three feet tall. Baggy black pants hung from its waist and the “creature” wore a gold-colored shirt. It had a salt and pepper beard and hair that ran from beneath a red, pointed hat.” By all accounts, it appeared to be a traditional gnome; and a creepy one, at that!

Of course, reports of “creepy gnomes” aren’t restricted to the United States. In fact, readers of this blog may recall posts around March of 2008 dealing with a “creepy gnome” seen around the Salta province of Argentina. Strangely, this creature was described as looking very much like a typical gnome as represented in Germanic folklore; culturally, this creates a few problems. To quote myself from the original article, “For the reasons above, culturally there are many problems with a “gnome” appearing in Argentina; for instance, these creatures are a part of the folklore of mostly northern and eastern Europe, having been known famously by such names as Kaukis and Tomten in Germanic traditions, as well as Barbegazi further south in France. Having been a part of the culture of this region for centuries, one might find it more credible if reports of a “gnome” were seen here, especially with his trademark pointed hat.” Apparently, these creepy gnomes no nothing of culture when it comes to where they decide they want to appear.

Are there indeed strange, very small “spirit folk”, or “fairies” which exist in remote areas around the world? Could they be strange, hidden races of “hobbits” which exist primarily underground, hidden from view? Or could they be mere folklore, nothing more than legends that represent some weird archetypal element in the human psyche?

Recently I also received an email from a Gralien Report reader named Jacob with some questions about my views regarding the biblical Nephilim; especially in conjunction with reports of hominid relics and cryptozoology, as well as tensions building in the great surge toward 2012. According to Mark Wickstrom in his book The Gospel of Grace, there are three common views regarding what the Nephilim were:

1) They were the offspring of fallen angels and human women.
2) They were the hybrid offspring of descendants of Seth with those of Cain.
3) They are not historical figures and are ancient imagery with questionable meaning.

Maybe it was looking at the photo above from Nick Redfern’s blog that had me already thinking about subterranean monstrosities living in caves below the Earth. Whatever the case, while pondering Jacob’s questions, I was reminded of one of my favorite books, The Descent by Jeff Long. In it, a race of protohumans called “Hadals” are discovered living in vast caverns beneath the Earth, leading to the notion that a historical figure might have existed (physically) that represented Satan, and furthermore, an actual “underworld” (Hell). In Hebrew, “Nephilim” means “those causing others to fall”, which some scholars literally have taken to mean that men’s hearts would fail at the sight of these beings. Alternatively, perhaps this instead meant that Nephilim caused others to fall spiritually (sin, perhaps), or even that the Nephilim were violent and literally “struck down” their opposition. But perhaps there is yet another more literal interpretation; could the reference to “falling” be similarly translated to mean “descend”? What if it meant to fall as in fall from grace? This might allude to one of two new possibilities… that the Nephilim themselves may have “fallen” (i.e. fallen angels), or to interpret this in a completely literal fashion, perhaps they were Earthbound to begin with, and “falling” was a direct reference to descending into the ground.

Whatever the case, it has also long been supposed that these Nephilim were giants, and that Nephilim is actually a generic ancient Hebrew word indicating some kind of massive creatures. Along these lines, consider again the proto-human element that Jeff Long outlines in his novel. As opposed to a historical “Satan” as was the premise of The Descent, what if in reality there existed a proto-human variant in our family tree which indicated instead that there were “giants” in the days of old?

Instantly, Sasquatches come to mind… and many native traditions here in the US, as well as other parts of the world, suggest that Bigfoot-like creatures are actually Native humans of some sort themselves. For instance, the Chehalis natives of British Columbia say they have occasionally heard Sasquatch creatures speak in what they call “The Douglass Dialect”, a 300 year old variant on their traditional language. Strange that Natives in the region would recognize “Sasquatch language” as a variant of their own tongue… is there any surprise to the revelation that they also consider Sasquatches to be “Indians” like themselves?

Furthermore, when we look at the history of the Smithsonian Museum, specifically reports made by Cyrus Thomas in the 1890s, we see further evidence of “giant Indians” living in the Americas. Thomas, then acting director of the Smithsonian’s Bureau of Ethnology, was appointed by Thomas Powell, head of the Smithsonian, to excavate a variety of the Indian mounds present throughout Ohio and other parts of the Eastern United States. In many instances, Thomas described in his reports the discovery of giant skeletons, the remains of which were often eight feet or more in length from head to toe. Strangely, many of these alledged skeletons were said to have been taken to the Smithsonian, and in a few instances confirmation of their receipt was recorded. To the dismay of a handful of researchers over the years, it turns out that in spite of their recorded arrival, their present whereabouts remains a mystery…

Indeed, I suppose we could spin yarns all day around whether Sasqatches are giants, and giants are Nephilim, and Nephilim lived in caves, ad infinitum. After a while, I suppose it becomes a big game of “Seven Degrees of Sasquatch”. But as readers of this blog have come to know over time, it seems that tying togther seemingly unrelated elements from time to time can often draw new historical and even scientific parallels, further shedding light on this world’s strangest mysteries. I’ll leave you with this favorite quote of mine from the book Genesis:

Gen 6:4 : There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

Still, following the logic of a planet like Earth being utilized by aliens for resources of some kind, blogger Geoff Manaugh of the BLDGBLOG Web site proposes yet an even stranger speculative use for which aliens may be able to source our planet: a geological harddrive.

Manaugh describes the notion where “perhaps someday we won’t actually need harddrives at all: we’ll simply use geology itself. In other words, what if we could manipulate the earth’s own magnetic field and thus program data into the natural energy curtains of the planet.”

Utilizing technology to store informational potential in the very fabric of Earth’s magnetosphere, Manaugh guesses that “mnemonic Death Stars… made of content-rich bedrock” might already be used by aliens from distant galaxies as “spherical data-storage facilities”. Could this fall into the realm of speculative Physicist Michio Kaku’s ideas regarding “class civilizations” and their abilities to master all the energy resources within in a star system… or perhaps even beyond?

I’ll leave you with this final excerpt, which evokes the ever-appropriate Dark Poet of Dunwich:

Like something out of H.P. Lovecraft – or the most unhinged imaginations of early European explorers – future humans will look down uneasily at the earth they walk upon, knowing that vast holograms span that rocky darkness, spun like inexplicable cobwebs through the planet.

Beneath a massive stretch of rock in the remotest state-owned corner of Nevada, top secret government holograms await their future decryption.

The planet thus becomes an archive.

You may read the rest of Manaugh’s fine post by clicking here.

The object was eventually proven not to be of the vintage once believed, as evidenced by other instances where similar findings could be ruled out more easily. J.M. Cronyn’s 1990 book The Elements of Archaeological Conservation discussed many instances where modern-looking machined objects have been discovered within stone or hard mud (called nodules) obviously encased during a period spanning mere decades, rather than centuries or more.

This single event certainly was enough to get my mind stirring, and since learning of the Coso Artifact I’ve been fascinated by various instances where seemingly ancient advanced technology has been discovered, whether it be at excavation sites, or merely remote parts of the world where modern man would least expect them to be uncovered. Discoveries like the famous “Bagdad Battery”, or prehistoric nanotechnology encased within rock samples from Russia, or even clothed human-like footprints discovered alongside those of dinosaurs as discussed in the books of Brad Steiger stimulate the imagination and challenge our curiosity, as well as our present understanding of the history of our world.

Recently, Gralien Report correspondent Randy Bishop shared with me a peculiar article along the same lines as those aforementioned instances, involving a strange series of pipe-like structures surrounding an apparent “pyramid” in China. Heading southeast of Delingha in the Qinghai Province of China, one will eventually reach Mount Baigong, the home of our present mystery which, surprisingly, had remained unknown to outsiders until recent years. The “discovery” came about as a result of American scientists seeking dinosaur fossils in the area, who happened upon the pyramid-like structure and one of three cave entrances lining the front of the structure (two of the three cave entrances are inaccessible; only the largest, an 18-foot-high opening, was where the discovery was made). Within the structure, the discovery of pipes running through the largest cave, one a 16 inch in diameter “half pipe”, the other a pipe-like feature of a similar size. In addition, a great number of upright “pipes” between 4 and 16 inches in diameter were also noticed protruding from above the largest cave on the mountain.

More of these alleged “pipes” were found along the shore and beneath the nearby Toson Lake, oriented only a few hundred feet from the large cave. Along the beach “flat-lying, hollow, pipe-like features” were found, reddish-brown in color and lying with an east-west orientation. Initially, the reports the American scientists issued to area authorities were ignored, until a report finally appeared in the Henan Great River News in June of 2002. Conclusive analysis of the pipe structures has yet to be completed, although the area is now reportedly promoted as a tourist attraction with its odd OOParts (Out of Place Artifacts).

Some have gone so far as to suggest these structures are “a possible sign of extraterrestrial life having visited Earth,” but geologists suggest another possibility. Apparently, a naturally occurring hematite formation in Navaho Sandstone and other varieties of sandstone throughout the American Southwest produces a similar “rusted pipe” phenomenon. This occurs as the result of natural self-organization processes within sedimentary rock formations, occurring during the precipitation of iron oxides within the stone. Such pipe-like formations have been observed in the United States in both Utah and Louisiana. Could this be the same cause for the strange piping discovered on Mount Baigong also, or does the peculiar orientation of the structures within and around the mountain indeed represent something ancient mankind had innovated, perhaps with tools and instrumentation modern scientists take for granted?

To view the original article, please view the link below:

The Baigong Pipes- Nature or OOPart?

Scientists studying the coded signals from the lander Phoenix on the planet’s arctic surface detected the snow falling lightly from clouds drifting across the sky some 2 1/2 miles above the spacecraft, said James Whiteway, an atmospheric scientist from York University in Canada.

“Nothing like this has ever been seen on Mars before,” he said.

So one must ask; if indeed snow can fall on the red planet, then how soon until Hell DOES freeze over? Probably not until the evil Deros that live in Earth’s center finally perfect the cold fusion devices they plan to implement in their plans for world domination…

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/08/080822-maya-maze.html

According to lead investigator Guillermo de Anda, “Caves are natural portals to other realms, which could have inspired the Mayan myth. They are related to darkness, to fright, and to monsters.” Though some speculate that the cave was designed to mimic existing myths in Mayan culture, a few experts suggest that it is likely this arrangement may actually have given birth to such legends itself. 

Not likely, according to William Saturno, a Maya expert at Boston University who feels confident that the myths predate the maze.  ”I’m sure the myths came first, and the caves reaffirmed the broad time-and-space myths of the Mayans.”

* Thanks to Marvin Bishop for sending this story along.

Urban legends of the more sinister variety have always intrigued me, so continuous whispers and friend-of-a-friend tales concerning a mutant race of beings inhabiting the dark tunnel systems, sewers and subterranean passages beneath the capital are always welcome, even if unfounded (despite rumours circulating as far back as the nineteenth century). However, one thing us folklorists do know is that the underbelly of the city is teeming with all manner of spectres, and a majority of these seem trapped in the London Underground.

 http://londonist.com/2007/11/the_saturday_st_24.php

I am reminded of a few reports along these lines which appeared in Brad Steiger’s book Monsters Among Us, having to do with entities encountered back in 1969 in a forty-yard tunnel that passed beneath the Thames River in London:

Big Lou Chalmers felt something brush his neck. When he turned around, he saw something in the shape of a man with his arms stretched out. “I didn’t stop to make out details,” he said later. “I just ran.”  

There are also a variety of stories involving ghostly entities seen beneath London in the old London Underground, a Metropolitan line first opened in 1863. Many of these are available here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A673391

 At this point, no one seems to know why the series of doors, hallways, storefronts, and more may lie beneath the streets of Leavenworth, accessible through the basement of an area title company. Apparently, the small subterranean city stretches several city blocks, and is believed to have possibly been used by/for slaves as far back as the 19th century. This bizarre glimpse at the hidden history of a small Kansas town may bring new meaning to the long favored historical term “the underground railroad.”