This is a very scary webpage

[DeeBye]

The Caver

This website chronicles the exploits of an amateur spelunker (cave explorer). I have no idea whether it's fact or fiction, but I DO know that this is one of the scariest things I've ever seen, read, or heard.

It's ~10 pages (images linked inline for 56kers), but it's well worth the read.

[Ashkael]

It's really a good read, and it's scary. However, it ends at page 10! If that journal is really true, then whatever happened to that guy?

[Nystul]

Wow. I'm going to have bad dreams after that one.

[yangman]

:blink:

Reading that at one in the morning, with the lights off was probably a bad idea.

If it's fiction, then it's very well done.

If it's fact, then... :unsure:

[_warrax_]

Oh, it's most definitely a fictional (or at the very least a heavily embellished) account. Quoth the narrator:

The crystal formations are right behind the rock in the upper right hand corner of the photo. I could walk upright, but had to stoop on occasions. Like ducking under that rock.

(this is the text on a link to a photo)

Umm... if there are interesting crystal formations, why on earth would you not take a picture of them, and instead only take a picture of some bland rock which, incidentally, is obscuring them?

And reading further we find this gem:

Strangely none of the pictures taken in the room turned out! Pictures taken before and after the room turned out great, but the negatives of the photos taken in the room were clear!

Translation: I made it up, but can't be bothered to think of a reasonable explanation as to why no photos of all these interesting things exist.

[Premezilla]

warrax, your explanations, as scientific as they sound, does not alleviate the fears for me one bit. And DeeBye, you're mean. Very mean. And to anyone else who might read it, it IS scary. More psychological than mental, but still. At least I'm lucky. I live on an island, and the nearest cave is pretty far away.

[Iceman]

Hi all

It is very scary but there was something that cought my attention. In the first picture that he has taken, he says that, he puts his hand in the hole so we could see the actuall size. As we all can see the hole is supossed to be under him. How that picture was taken when the hole wasn't open yet and noone could pass????

At another picture later on when they finally open the hole and someone does actually fits through why the hole is above them and not under them?????


I do beleive that this story can happen but I have a small hint that it is not true.


What do you think

Iceman

[_warrax_]

warrax, your explanations, as scientific as they sound, does not alleviate the fears for me one bit.

You cannot apply reasoning to phobias; they seem to be more primal than that (for better or worse...). That's why the story works so well, I guess.

EDIT: Iceman: He said he put his glove in the hole (which is also quite odd, but doesn't directly conflict with anything said/shown later).

[Nystul]

It is very scary but there was something that cought my attention. In the first picture that he has taken, he says that, he puts his hand in the hole so we could see the actuall size. As we all can see the hole is supossed to be under him. How that picture was taken when the hole wasn't open yet and noone could pass????

You misread. The hole was 3 feet above the floor in a wall of the cave. He wedged his glove in it and took a picture, to show how small it was. That part of the story is pretty consistant, and believable enough.

The guy references The Blair Witch Project when he discusses the drawings he saw on the wall. It's interesting that he comes out and says that, because to me this entire website looks like it's mimicking the formula of that movie very closely. And why not? It is a great formula for a horror story. The key is to have a story that starts out on such a real foundation that the audience believes are they are (or at least may be) learning about a real event. Eventually, your tale gets so farfetched that the audience will look back and say "It's not real," but by the time the audience gets to that point they are too intensely wrapped up in the story to care.

[Iceman]

I think that you given a closer look to the picture and not the text.
Take a close look at the picture:

First of all there is a small empty part between the glove and the rock and it goes all around the perimeter of the glove so there has to be something in to hold it otherwise the glove is in the air.

Secondly look at the glove the fingers are open in a way that there is a hand inside. If you turn a glove upside down and it is empty then it doesn' look like that.


Iceman

[Iceman]

I think that you given a closer look to the picture and not the text.

What I actually wanted to say was that you have given a closer look to the text and not the picture.

SORRY



Iceman

[NiteFox]

Quack!

[Iceman]

I meant this one actually!!!

[NiteFox]

Can't you not see the duck in the photo I linked?

Quack!

[Obi2Kenobi]

Is it on the right, towards the middle heighthwise? :)

[yangman]

Actually, depending on the material and purpose of the glove, it can hold its shape even when not being worn. My mountain biking gloves do this because there are protective "armouring" on the back, which holds the segments straight, and thick, synthetic material on the palm side which, after much use, has conformed to the shape of my hand. Depending on how you place it, they look fairly life-like.

Looking at the glove in the picuture, you can see that it is much fatter than any hand could ever be. Also, since they are caving, the gloves used most likely contain hard materials that prevent rocks from penetrating the fabric that would also allow the gloves to hold their shape.

As for the placement of that particular glove, although hard to just due to the lighting and lack of clear orientation cues, it doesn't look impossible to do.

[Lady Vashj]

Eeep! :ph34r:

[Cryptic]

It's a fun read. Here's a conspiracy theorist forum thread that probably debunks it.
:P

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/viewth...97&page=1&sort=

>>Well folks, here is the rest of the story- I contacted Frank Stevens, and he was'nt at home but I did speak to his wife.
According to her he came across the story on Angelfire.com, which is a free web-hoster. He liked it so much he decided to retain it. She said the story was an urban legend and a hoax, but that she has recieved several calls from other interested parties as myself.
Maybe the ending was best left hanging- I dunno, but I felt it was my duty to ATS to post my findings and put this one down as one solved mystery.
The author of this story has an ability , and he captivated much attention- and darklanser, after reading the link you provided I am led to believe this work of fiction was inspired by the tragic death of Floyd Collins, and good work, I might add. I had not heard of him before this story, and I encourage all to read his story via the link that darklanser provided. It was another good read, and this story is true.

[LochnarITB]

While I have little fear of unknowns jumping out of such a place, the descriptions of the tightness of the space made my skin crawl. I often have nightmares of trying to squeeze through small openings of all kinds. They always consist of something (or someone) I desire being on the other side, in sight but out of reach, and my not being able to get through. Also, the thought of squeezing into such a place just far enough to get stuck and not be able to exit makes me cringe.

After enduring the imagery to that point, the final link twists the knife that has been driven into my psyche. Thank you very much! :angry:

[Bob]

ah, yes, it very closely resembles a Psyduck (yes, I used to watch pokemon), I can almost see the hands on its head.

so yes, I can't not see it. :D


personally, the thing that gives the whole thing away as a hoax is that it just stops - fact is, he'd be VERY unlikely to get killed on the last trip. And as the site implies, his family read it too, if he HAD died, I'm sure they would have found a way to make an update (it's a subsite, so contact the owner) - just abruptly stopping makes it scarier but also makes it very suspicious.

That and the fact that his 'journal' is written very much more like a story, complete with descriptions - not how you expect to find a journal.
Lots of the piccies could have been made in any old cave or tight gorge. And the piccie "we took on a later trip" I don't remember reading about ANY situation where it COULD have been taken. Considering the meticulous detail of the rest of the account, and the only other person going in being Joe, I can't see why there's no mention of 'and I passed the camera throgh to Joe before going through myself"

Oh, and some technical innacuracies - several hours of use from a cordless drill battery from intensive, high torque, usage - the last one I used lasted 1/2 an hour going through MDF, and how did they recharge 4 batteries overnight in a motel room? did they get 4 chargers too?

-Bob

edit: typos