A comment on yesterday’s post reminded me of an old urban legend about another hell hole in Russia, but one which is rather more disturbing. The story goes like this…
Geologists working somewhere in remote Siberia had drilled a hole some 14.4 kilometers deep when the drill bit suddenly began to rotate wildly. The project’s manager was quoted as saying they decided that the center of the earth was hollow. Supposedly, the geologists measured temperatures of over 2,000 degrees in the deep hole. They lowered super sensitive microphones to the bottom of the well, and to their horror they heard the sounds of thousands, perhaps millions, of suffering souls screaming.
The plot thickened when a recording emerged of the account, and just when you thought the story couldn’t get any better, a man who witnessed the drilling went on record with the description of the bat-like creature coming out of the same hole.
The story and it’s additions were made famous by supermarket tabloids (and by the gullible people who read them or well-meaning religious folk) of the early 1990s and it has now entered the halls of infamy thanks to the Internet (and by the gullible people who…).
Is there any truth to it? Snopes says “no”, truthorfiction says “no”, my common sense says “no”, and I tend to agree with all three. Before I continue, let me digress for a moment…
There is something about human nature which yearns to believe the unbelievable. There is the child in all of us which still is innocent enough to believe in fairy tales. Problem is we simply don’t do the research, or use our God-given brains. We hear, then re-tell the incredible stories without hesitation (or a simple Google to see if it is truth or fiction) and before long fiction is re-labeled fact. That is until the truth is discovered and we get egg on our face. Unfortunately many of us Christians are the worst culprits, and not only does our character lose credibly… our faith loses credibility. We must remember that Jesus is the Truth, we are followers and carriers of Truth and although we still desperately need the child-like faith, we shouldn’t have child-like intelligence. With that in mind, back to the story…
The truth. In 1984, an experimental well in Russia’s Kola Peninsula which reached 12 kilometers into the earth. Scientists discovered rare rock formations, flows of gas and water, but no damned souls, no hollow center, and not temperatures of 2000° but of 180°. You can read all about the Kola Well here, all factual and very interesting. The origin of the recording? unknown. The bat-out-of-hell creature addition? A simple lie designed to see whether a religious television program would accept the story at face value without checking it out, which they did (unfortunately).
In conclusion, I wish to say that although Hell isn’t situated under the snow in Siberia… it is very real, you don’t want to go there, and there is only one way to avoid it. Find a Bible look up John 3 :16 and think about it seriously. Siberia hell-hole aside, is hell really in the Earth’s bowels? My opinion is again “no”, simply because the Bible says Hell is eternal, and that the earth is not. In fact, earth is going to all go up in flames one day – but not on Dec 22, 2012 (blog-fodder another post).
Interesting post, Symon. I remember when that legen surfaced. It was intriguing. For those that want similar intrigue and a story about the reality of hell, there’s this great novel called Scream by this guy . . . um, gee, what’s his name?
Posted by Mike Dellosso | January 5, 2010, 6:50 ami totally agree with you now. i must admit, for once i’d been convinced with this and now i feel i was pretty imprudent for sticking with childish conclusion just because I or some of us have immaturely considered the setting of the fiery hell. and that i may loose the credibility of my faith.
i commend this post Syms! you’re right that hell is somewhere in an invisible realm (correct me if i’m wrong) and so as God’s Kingdom. this one has given me a realisation as a Christian.
Posted by Argel | January 5, 2010, 8:25 amGreat post Symon… and some interesting articles
Posted by Darls | January 5, 2010, 2:55 pmgreat post! so true. ha had to laugh at Mike’s comment. free advertising is a wonderful thing…
Posted by Rachel Kate | January 5, 2010, 4:54 pmThat photo is classic. “Noooooo, ooohhhoooo”
Posted by Stephen | January 5, 2010, 10:41 pmAAAIEEEEE… great post – you are such a researcher… I would have been totally sucked in.
Posted by PaisleyJade | January 6, 2010, 12:15 amSometime in 2010, I shall publish my book, “Scientists Discover Hell Beneath Siberia,” which is a comprehensive explanation of a fascinating story which has existed for almost 25 years, traversed the world in many languages, saturated the Internet, and mystified
millions of persons. (About 200 pages, approx. 300 footnotes, dozens of documents and pictures reproduced, extensive bibliography, Internet links, and glossary.) Send an email if you wish notification upon publication to me at: beverlyhillspublishers@yahoo.com.
You’ve heard the story, and the truth is revealed now!
Posted by Joe Duffy | January 8, 2010, 4:14 amHell is in the bowels of the earth and you Christians do not want to believe.
Posted by qwe | February 4, 2011, 12:33 amHell is a physical place that is located in the middle of the Earth. This is what the Bible says. The Devil does not want people to believe that this place exists, but it does. Hell is a real place and if you go there, you will remain there forever. Repent and be born-again before it’s too late.
Posted by Michael | May 5, 2011, 3:34 am