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bdawg
May 5, 2003, 10:22 PM
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Check this out if you have some time..... its a pretty surreal story, little long tho.
http://www.holyshiite.com/caver/
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jerrygarcia
May 5, 2003, 10:31 PM
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I call shennanigans.
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puellamontis
May 5, 2003, 11:56 PM
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what the hell is this? why is there no ending? how much time did i just waste reading it to find out what happens? dude! i don't care if it's true or not, i just wanna friggin know what happens! what's up with the webpage error message right before the ending? did anyone else get that?
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cloudbreak
May 6, 2003, 12:02 AM
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I got sucked into reading the WHOLE damn thing too!! Kinda sounds like a pre-cursor to, or a spin-off of, the Blair Witch Project, huh?
Maybe it'll be a movie sometime soon......Ha!!
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rob
May 6, 2003, 12:12 AM
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Heh. Nice story. It reminds me very much of the book 'House of Leaves'. If you're into non-conventional horror I'd strongly recommend it even though it's not about caving. And unless I'm mistaken, it started out getting passed around the internet as a collection of fragments and photographs before finding itself and a publisher.
I'm pretty sure the lack of an ending is the desired ending. He went back in the cave after reassuring all his loved ones (and internet readers) that he'd be back to let them in on the mystery, and never came back. It's only stories where the narrator survives that have an ending.
rob
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lizardsdb
May 6, 2003, 12:37 AM
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yeah that is a good scary story. deffinately just a story though. you can find the same tale with different dates at http://www.angelfire.com/rock/vegan/index.html.
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neeshman
May 6, 2003, 12:49 AM
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ok, holy dam, I found myself getting really stressed reading tht story, I guess I am a wuss. But I usually give up on reading things that long. Very interesting. Wonder how much validity it has. Anyone know how long its been since the last post? He said something bout the 18th... but of what month? Oh well, it has found its way into my growing bookmarks list. But there is no freakin ending!!! Pisses me off.
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telluridehiker
May 6, 2003, 1:09 AM
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That's a creapy story...I wonder why he hasn't updated the site?
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coldclimb
May 6, 2003, 1:48 AM
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Well duh! He went back into the cave with Joe and something got them both!
Or it's just a hoax. Choose one... ;)
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renobdarb
May 6, 2003, 1:58 AM
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you know, there's always one lonely sock left over from a load of laundry... maybe he'll come back with all our missing socks! :D
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superxris
May 6, 2003, 2:01 AM
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WHERE THE HELL IS PAGE 11?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! You can't just cut a story off like that...you just can't!
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xanx
May 6, 2003, 2:23 AM
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yeah hoax or not he could at least finish it... make up a good ending if you have to... "golum" from Lord Of the Rings comes to mind as a very good "monster" for the cave...
but yeah, it freaked me out...
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acrophobic
May 6, 2003, 2:35 AM
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yeah, notice he only has obscure photos, and no real "interesting" shots?
"strangely none of the pictures taken in the room turned out! Pictures of the round rock, and more importantly pictures of the "hieroglyphics" I saw. Pictures taken before and after the room turned out great, but the negatives of the photos taken in the room were clear!"
mm hmm.. how convenient :P
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tenn_dawg
May 6, 2003, 3:42 AM
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Bravo..Bravo!
What an outstanding story!!
Superbly written, I was on the edge of my seat, and my hands are sweating! Now it's bedtime, and there are Hodag's in the dark of my house.
I'm a pretty avid caver, and this story struck home for me in a big way. WOW!
Travis
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tenn_dawg
May 6, 2003, 3:55 AM
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Oh no, I hear something in the distance...Scraping down the hallway....It's muttering under it's breath. "sss...travissssss...why did you leave Roppel cave so eaaarrrrly last week. We have some un finissshed businessssss..."
What a great story, I just can't get over that. I want to read some more. This guy is a great writer.
Travis
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dlintz
May 6, 2003, 4:52 AM
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precious.........
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chalkmeupbaby
May 6, 2003, 5:11 AM
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I had an experience like that once...
Except some people refer to it as meeting your significant other's parents....
Only kidding....good story -- my hands were sweating almost as much as if I were thinking about climbing!
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cupton
May 6, 2003, 6:02 AM
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very good story, but i feel he sorta blew the realistic factor when he just encountered joe on the overlook. too cheese for me. the rest was great though.
the pictures really helped develop the story as real.
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rockclimbingpyro
May 6, 2003, 6:19 AM
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lizardsdb
the address is http://www.angelfire.com/trek/caver/page1.html you inspired me to look it up
Benny
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bandycoot
May 6, 2003, 7:19 AM
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Well written! Props to the author for manipulating us all like that. You have to respect the author if you he was able to gain our attention for as long as he did. It's pretty obvious it was a hoax, but fun to read none the less! Don't start reading the link unless you have some TIME and patience.
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keinangst
May 6, 2003, 2:11 PM
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Wow, an hour (or more) of my time reading that... I was pretty pissed at first, but in retrospect, that was a good job!
Just enough spelling and grammar errors to make it quaint, believable, and non-professional.
If Blair Witch hadn't already been made, this might be a good screenplay.
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hoppinbig
May 6, 2003, 3:58 PM
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Oh my god - that story was amazing, it scared the Sh___ out of me....
Even though this story is fake - I don't ever want to go caving.... ever!
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mypeace
May 6, 2003, 6:32 PM
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wow! even after reading these posts that story was good.
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psych
May 6, 2003, 6:44 PM
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So just because I like debunking things like this, I did a very brief search for caving myths, and in particular this "hodog" he mentions. Notta...I had one sentance that mentioned that word "...the black hodog" and that's it. Hmm...
Is this actually an official cavers myth, or did he just misspell "hotdog"? I gotta admit it was an interesting read and had me pretty tense for the whole thing, but I can't actually buy into it...if his loved ones knew about the page, they would put something up there after a year of him missing. Also, now I can't remember where the cave was supposedly located (like, what state), but the domain www.holyshiite.com is registered to someone in Beverly Hills, and/or Canyon Country CA...
Others would go into the cave at some point and find their gear/bodies/whatever...still though...good stuff!
Mike...
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vertical_reality
May 6, 2003, 7:13 PM
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In reply to: So just because I like debunking things like this, I did a very brief search for caving myths, and in particular this "hodog" he mentions. Notta...I had one sentance that mentioned that word "...the black hodog" and that's it. Hmm...
The correct spelling is "Hodag", if you google that, you'll find a couple of references, I just glanced but the legend is not about a cave monster, more of a back country monster.
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jbird
May 6, 2003, 7:25 PM
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:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Great story.
I love the way that he brings us to the logical inference that he found :twisted: itself down in the cave.
Could be an allegory for a lot of things. (He references rock climbing, caving, parachuting)
Actually, any type of evil vice that the thrill of it keeps you coming back until it sucks you in and you cannot get away from it????
(rock climbing would'nt be in that category)
I agree with all. Good writing regardless the obvious fakery.
"The sun is always shining, It's just your view that gets cloudy"
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acrophobic
May 6, 2003, 7:27 PM
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Yes the story is most likely a fake... there probably WAS a cave.. and they probably DID chizle out the hole to see where it goes... but probably led to a dead end... so they made up a spooky story about it..
would be cool trying to find the origonal author...
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tenn_dawg
May 6, 2003, 7:38 PM
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It's not FAKE, it's FICTION.
But it makes you think, it puts you in the shoes, and the minds of the characters, and the ending is perfect!
By leaving you hanging, and wondering what was in the cave, it is far better than it would have been with one more page.
Has anyone ever waited the entire length of a movie to see the monster, and then was incredibly dissapointed at the end when it was shown? The entire story was mystery and uncertainty. Why change gears right at the end?
And the imagery!! Can you imagine pulling up your rope from the depth of a dark cave, when suddenly it snags...then slowly starts pulling back down... Sheesh, the thought gives me shivers!
What a great story!
Travis
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jbird
May 6, 2003, 7:52 PM
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Oops sorry... I meant "Fictionry" not "Fakery" :lol:
I did find this picture
home.globaleyes.net/.../resources/ Format,%20Janet%2006.jpg
on this website
http://home.globaleyes.net/carbide/Photographs.html
Maybe this "Joe Estes" would know something about "Joe" in the story.
Then again maybe he isn't saying anything?
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jbird
May 6, 2003, 8:00 PM
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Actually there is a "Ted Mueller" as well.....hmmm
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sancho
May 6, 2003, 8:29 PM
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I liked the story (where is the freaking ending :evil: ) but was left with a nagging question about the pictures inserted throughout the text...
How did the guy take the reference pictures of his fist sticking through the hole (the very one they were trying to enlarge)? Obiously he was on one side and the photographer was on the other...
Hmmm, a discrepancy perhaps? Trickey fiction writers!
//oop, wait, that was just his glove, not attached to an arm :oops: //
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mr.poo
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May 6, 2003, 8:36 PM
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oh and about the pictures....one guy had a picture of him in the tomb squeez part. man he barely looked like he could get through, he looked stuck, and he also looked thin. and the fact that he looked thin makes me wonder how the picture of the bigger guy in the blue shirt could have even gotten into the opening in the first place.
thin guy=barely getting throught the hole
bigger guy=how the hell could he get through the hole
other wise cool story and pretty interesting.
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climbingcanuck
May 6, 2003, 10:07 PM
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Wow. what an amazing story. True or not, I was totally into it. they had me crapping my pants. Tight squeeze caving is scarry enough but having an experience like that would make me spend the rest of my life at home.
cant wait for the ending
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mwbtle
May 7, 2003, 5:01 PM
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In reply to: Oops sorry... I meant "Fictionry" not "Fakery" :lol: I did find this picture home.globaleyes.net/.../resources/ Format,%20Janet%2006.jpg on this website http://home.globaleyes.net/carbide/Photographs.html Maybe this "Joe Estes" would know something about "Joe" in the story. Then again maybe he isn't saying anything?
also interesting that it says mystery cave by some of the pictures...I'm thinking its probably a coincidence...or they went to lengths to plant pictures...
pretty scary story...had me on edge. Noticed a couple of tense errors that make me think its definitely fiction...places where he said "if we had known what we'd find" in the journal entries themselves and not in blue...though transcription would explain that.
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veilneb
May 7, 2003, 5:21 PM
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In reply to: oh and about the pictures....one guy had a picture of him in the tomb squeez part. man he barely looked like he could get through, he looked stuck, and he also looked thin. and the fact that he looked thin makes me wonder how the picture of the bigger guy in the blue shirt could have even gotten into the opening in the first place. thin guy=barely getting throught the hole bigger guy=how the hell could he get through the hole other wise cool story and pretty interesting.
It's not a hand, it's a glove in the hole, placed there so you can get an idea what the size of the opening is.
If you read the story, you would realize that the "bigger guy" never goes through the opening.
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wideguy
May 7, 2003, 6:04 PM
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Yeah, Bigger guy, "B",never goes in. Third guy, Joe, Smaller than author reportedly, took the picture from the far side of "Floyd's Tomb," looking back
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fuzzymonkey
May 7, 2003, 6:10 PM
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Joe (i think) is the one who takes the picture while he (the main character) in in the tomb right before he smacked his head. B never entered the cave. This guy (main character) seems offely accident prone, how many times did he hit his head, or something else? yikes.
The story was good, gave me something to read while in class.
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newcanadianclimber
May 7, 2003, 7:04 PM
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that was truly great.... i read the whole thing.... and now have a lot of work to do that i was suppose to be doing
would love to know the author and his other work
Brandon
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aarong
May 7, 2003, 7:20 PM
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Ok, I read it and liked to too. Regardless of what was real and what wasn't -
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weaselman
May 7, 2003, 8:59 PM
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holy cow that story was AWESOME!!!!!!!!
that is easily the best 'amateur' story i have ever read, and is most likely the best 'story' story that i've read for a couple months at least
kudos to the author
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fulltilt
May 8, 2003, 4:24 AM
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So at the end... do they find Bin Laden or not?
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darkside
May 8, 2003, 5:41 AM
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I read this story a couple of days ago and since then I have thought about it a number of times. A great story draws you back like that.
I think some of the reasons the story works so well include aspects of familiar activities and basic emotions. You don't have to be a caver, climber, construction worker, etc, but if you are, you identify more readily with the characters. Moreover it is a basic human feeling to have been afraid of the unknown in the dark at some point. Who hasn't heard strange noises, or been afraid of something under the bed, in the closet, or up in the attic? The writer is very adept at suspense and realized that the unseen can be more powerful than demonic description. The part with the rope pulling back was a great touch for any climber.
It's amazing what the power of suggestion can do, like that noise I just heard in the other room, not really there but..... hang on, there it is again. Did I leave the radio on? I'd better check, BRB.
hel........ :twisted:
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overlord
May 8, 2003, 8:26 AM
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taht was a great story. damn.
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djmacedonas
May 15, 2003, 3:44 AM
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In reply to: Joe (i think) is the one who takes the picture while he (the main character) in in the tomb right before he smacked his head. B never entered the cave. This guy (main character) seems offely accident prone, how many times did he hit his head, or something else? yikes.
If you've ever gone caving... you hit your head a hell of a lot :oops: ... everytime you turn it your in danger. I only went once and realized that I'm far too claustrophobic... I could barely look at that pic of him in that passage without feeling sick in some deep primal way
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overlord
May 18, 2003, 10:48 AM
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that was the point. to make you feel sick.
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orangesand
May 20, 2003, 5:36 PM
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wow! It was a long story, yet inthralling. It ate up some of the time I had to spend and kept my attention easily. I do like the ending... even though I had to double check my page to make sure my server wasn't acting up. I was a little bummed at first, but it was totally worth it!
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fivel
May 22, 2003, 4:58 PM
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Yes a very good story!
It kept my attention and sort of made my hart race for a while there but he needs to think of an ending.
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corpse
May 25, 2003, 2:56 PM
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the "empty" ending IS the ending - it makes you wonder if he's alive.. If he returned and said the noises were just a dying squirrel and that he found the bottom or something, that woudl be boring and not so scarey..
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thedesertnomad
May 25, 2003, 6:21 PM
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Surely a good story, time well spent on a Sunday morning... lol Like our dear friend Ted, I long to seek closure on this one lol... Mostly I would like to find out if the author is indeed the Ted Mueller that was in the the Illinois cave... http://home.globaleyes.net/carbide/Photographs.html There is a picture on the link that shows a heavier, bearded spelunker (Richard Young) which might be passable as "B" in the story. Anyway... I enjoyed it and found the ending to be perfect for the story. I think that scrape marks or odd footprints down the "hidden tunnell" would have really for more hair-raising tales.
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ptone
May 25, 2003, 8:21 PM
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Great fun--
the 'page not found' was perfect :shock:
Oh man--skinnying down a rat hole under unestimable tons of earth into a neanderthal burial ground...
I climb towards the light.
Like a moth?
:!:
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calfcramp
May 29, 2003, 8:23 PM
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That was fan-frickin-tastic. The nail on my left thumb is gone now. the whole bit with the background info about caving is a nice touch too.
But goddam if that frickin page not found didn't piss me right off.
If the author had a video of me reading this story, he would have been laughing his ass off.
I was just exploring some caves last weekend coincidentally...
Pure class.
C
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mazzystr
Oct 21, 2003, 11:49 AM
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the story got me too!
wow. all evening last night the top of my head hurt as if i nailed it on a cave ceiling and i kept thinking to to myself, is that a funny smell that i'm smelling?
it totally wigged me out. it was a perfect story to read for halloween season.
-Chris
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rockclimbr
Oct 21, 2003, 1:28 PM
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very entertaining story, and yes, i got the page error at the end too.
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chalkyhandsman
Oct 23, 2003, 3:10 AM
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Good story, really creeped me out for a while there before i realized the huge holes in it. But altogether a good story, definatly heightened my clostrophobia.
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toejam
Oct 23, 2003, 3:35 AM
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Read this a long time ago. Its well done, but this thread belongs in another forum, perhaps general. Seems kind of insensitive for a joke thread next to the other main topic going.
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dstein
Oct 23, 2003, 5:04 AM
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It could happen. One time..... at band camp......
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juju
Oct 23, 2003, 4:13 PM
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In reply to: Mostly I would like to find out if the author is indeed the Ted Mueller that was in the the Illinois cave... http://home.globaleyes.net/carbide/Photographs.html There is a picture on the link that shows a heavier, bearded spelunker (Richard Young) which might be passable as "B" in the story.
I also want to find out if those pics are related. That one of Richard Young could pass as "B", however there's also a pic of Ted Mueller that looks nothing like the "Ted" in the story.
It was an awesome story nonetheless, and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It's obvious it was just fiction though. Notice how at the end of his last entry he promises his readers that he'll update as soon as he returns. I think it was a lovely touch adding the "Love, Ted" at the end, and if you think about it, it was a perfect way to end the story.
If anyone finds out who the author is or finds more of his stories, definitely share. It was a great Halloween scare.
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