H.H.P.S.
Hermit's Hollow Paranormal Society
Lost Miner's Cave
This was by far my favorite investigation. That being said, I recommend it to absolutely nobody.
Where do I even begin? I guess the very beginning is as good a place as any. Every town's got their Hill House, their Amityville, their little personal ghost story. The Hollow has Lost Miner's Cave.
There was a huge mining boom in the 1860's. See, the mountains around Hermit's Hollow are chock-full of resources. Coal, iron, gold, diamonds -- the further you dig, the richer you'll get. And I am using present-tense for all this, because -- contrary to what a lot of people believe -- the mountains never ran out of ores. That's not why the mining operations stopped. It was because of the curse.
For each vein of copper that was mined, there would be a cave-in. For every diamond, an earthquake. The mountain, in all her generosity, was willing to give her children riches; in exhange for staying within her walls for eternity. Eventually, people took notice. People got scared. Mining operations stopped, yet earthquakes still shook the town. The mountain was still hungry. Her children had taken more than they had given, and she demanded a sacrifice. No one understood this -- except for one. An old miner, one who whistled in tune to the caverns' own howls, whose pickaxe strikes matched the heartbeat of the mother mountain's. He, who knew the caves as well as his own arteries, entered the caverns with only a pickaxe, a shovel, and a lantern -- and never returned. Eventually, the earthquakes stopped. No one dared to return to the mines. Peace fell upon the town.
Some say he's still down there, expanding the tunnels far beneath the town. If you listen closely, sometimes you can still hear his whistling in the wind.
This was an interesting case. Looking through old remaining records, there were reports of a lot of earthquakes during this time period. Frequent cave-ins, odd weather, just generally strange happenings that one day...stopped. I could find no reports of an old miner, but researching individuals is tricky given the whole burning-down-town-hall thing. Historical research aside, I've collected several first-hand accounts of people witnessing weird things around those tunnels. Mostly it's amateur cave explorers wanting a thrill, or teenagers looking for a secret party spot. But their stories match. Reports of an apparition of an old man, untraceable sounds of machinery, disembodied whispers. One guy claims to have an EVP of disembodied whistling, but he's yet to send me the recording. Over all, pretty convincing evidence. But now it was my turn to investigate.
So, you know how I said that I recommend this to nobody? Well, there's a reason, and it begins with 'il' and ends with 'legal'. What I'm trying to say is, if the boarded up entrance and 'DO NO ENTER' signs aren't obvious enough, entering the Lost Miner Cave is VERY much against the law. If you're reading this, Jimmy, sorry. Anyways, the investigation. The plan was to get in at about 8PM, make my way into the deeper caverns to set up my equipment, and stay the whole night. What I hadn't anticipated was how many goddamn tunnels were in just the first part. It was just a constant maze of twists and turns. Following the railroad tracks resulted in a dead end, as did going down every other turn. After three hours or so, I finally made it to the main cavern. By then, I was exhausted and way behind schedule, so I settled on just having two tripods point down some tunnels while I did some spirit box and EVP sessions. After a few staticky responses and a general lack of activity, I decided to turn in early for the night. I spread out my sleeping bag, tucked myself in, and -- despite being in a dank, stinky cave -- managed to drift off. That's when I heard it. Whistling. I bolted out of bed, nerves on end, far more awake now than ever before. Maybe it was the adrenaline, maybe it was nerves, I dunno, but something in me wanted to be very bold and very stupid. I grabbed my phone and flashlight and ran in the direction of the whistling. It was coming from one of the tunnels, this long winding thing with even more twists and turns than the entrance. It just kept going and going, and the no matter how far I ran down it, the whistling always sounded just out of reach. Eventually it faded, leaving me in the dark with a dim light and the terrible realization that, somehow, I had ended up back at the entrance. I didn't even know how I hadn't noticed I'd looped around. What's worse, the sun was rising, meaning that I'd been chasing the whistling for hours without realizing it. I didn't care how exhausted I was. I was honestly freaked out and...kinda excited? Weird, I know, but in my defense, being involved in something WEIRD is the ultimate badge of honor for every paranormal investigator. Anyways, the fear took priority, so I immediately noped out of there without my equipment. Even now, I still haven't regained the nerves to collect my stuff. Maybe I should ask Impulse to tag along? Anyways, like I said, an amazing experience! I hope to never go through it ever again.