Comments on: Ted's Caving diary

Ted's Caving diary

i_am_joe's_spleen — Sun, 24 Nov 2002 22:16:16 -0800

Ted's Caving diary I strongly suggest reading this late at night and alone for full effect. The homebuilt look of the site adds to the frisson. (more inside...)

By: i_am_joe's_spleen

i_am_joe's_spleen — Sun, 24 Nov 2002 22:19:08 -0800

I've seen this blogged at a low level and on lists in several other places, once I started to Google for it? Why did I google it? Because I was compelled, absolutely compelled to find out more. The presentation is what does it for me. It wouldn't have the same effect in a magazine or a book.

By: sir walsingham

sir walsingham — Sun, 24 Nov 2002 23:16:32 -0800

YIKES! Scary as hell! This story really brings back memories of friends and campfires and attempts to scare the crap each other. You're right, the presentation is absolutely essential to the scariness. The last page is the clincher.... *turns on all the lights in the house, chews fingernails*

By: Hildago

Hildago — Sun, 24 Nov 2002 23:31:27 -0800

Yeah, that last page is the best use of ... that particular aspect of the internet experience... that I've seen. This is a good little story. Drags near the middle, but that adds authenticity.

By: photoslob

photoslob — Sun, 24 Nov 2002 23:31:38 -0800

OK, granted I'm a self proclaimed dumbass, but I get to page 11 and I get a 404. Am I missing something?

By: condour75

condour75 — Sun, 24 Nov 2002 23:31:39 -0800

but why would he put a next button up if he never got back?

By: Hildago

Hildago — Sun, 24 Nov 2002 23:35:59 -0800

Template, condour. Or perhaps we're given to understand it's a show of self-confidence. Watch the spoilers, too.

By: blade

blade — Sun, 24 Nov 2002 23:40:04 -0800

The cave ATE him..... *plugs in night light just in case*

By: tss

tss — Sun, 24 Nov 2002 23:42:05 -0800

Spooky indeed. However, when he started to make connections to the Hodag, I was relieved to learn that he was merely exploring the basement of the Rhinelander, WI Chamber of Commerce! He probably just went out the back and down to the VFW for some bingo.

By: Tenuki

Tenuki — Sun, 24 Nov 2002 23:54:15 -0800

Great link, thanks.

By: nathan_teske

nathan_teske — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 00:15:06 -0800

Why do I read stuff like this before turning-in for the night?

By: bargle

bargle — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 00:24:53 -0800

picture Theres a face on the wall! Hee hee. Not a spoiler. I'm sleepy and insane. Anyway, that was neat. Also... "Gollum!"

By: condour75

condour75 — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 00:26:35 -0800

yes, hidalgo... i said that sort of tongue-in-cheek, but it's certainly bad form to leave 404's in a page. That's probably why the cave ate him. It also eats people who use frames. Didn't your mother ever tell you to check for dead links and wear clean underwear before going spelunking?

By: i_am_joe's_spleen

i_am_joe's_spleen — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 00:39:51 -0800

Yup, I saw the face too. The last "page" is absolutely vital. The Hodag thing is interesting, because it's the only reference that ties it to a known location - and it passed me by (I'm a New Zealander). It wasn't until I'd calmed down and applied rational thought that I noticed the complete lack of factual context. I think that's another reason why the amateur website presentation works so well - it adds to the verisimilitude so that you don't notice the holes in the narrative that you would spot a mile off in a paperback. I don't spook easily. I've read a lot of horror, and it's been too crude and predictable to get a rise. But that really pressed my buttons. If you did read it to the end, it's probably time to look at this.... (I tracked that image down, it's not what they say it is. Thank God.)

By: singmesomething

singmesomething — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 01:02:21 -0800

Creepy!

By: Zoyd Wheeler

Zoyd Wheeler — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 01:08:23 -0800

the blog equivalent of blair witch and that hook is still being swallowed? i'll stick with televangelists for my heebie-jeebie fix, thanks.

By: JohnR

JohnR — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 01:16:20 -0800

Wilderness spirits do exist. I have experienced them. Although this story is probably not true, it reminded me of things. Anyone else?

By: cadastral

cadastral — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 01:22:21 -0800

Wilderness spirits do exist. I have experienced them. No you didn't.

By: lotsofno

lotsofno — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 01:27:58 -0800

i can't believe i read that all in the dark, at 4 in the morning. i'm so scared....

By: hama7

hama7 — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 01:56:55 -0800

Good story, but it's too bad the guy doesn't seem aware that plural words don't require apostrophe's!

By: squared

squared — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 02:53:04 -0800

I came in to work because I couldn't sleep tonight. After a couple of hours, I write a quick letter to the boss and am about to turn off the lights when I remember I haven't checked mefi yet this weekend. Work by the way is in the basement of the old Psych building here on campus (Madison, WI). As if hearing the pitter-patter of Harlow's monkeys occasionally cruising the halls isn't enough, now I have this . . . . by the way, go Hodags!

By: squealy

squealy — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 03:16:34 -0800

You know, I don't think you have to "swallow" a story to find it scary. I thought the first half particularly well done, especially with the sparing use of authentic-looking photographs. I guess being vaguely claustrophobic I'm gonna be a sucker for a story/pics like this though. Towards the end it degenerated a little into a stock horror novel. I guess the thing it reminded me of most was Quatermass. Great link.

By: stopgap

stopgap — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 03:20:26 -0800

i am joe's spleen: what is that image?

By: jonathanbell

jonathanbell — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 03:28:06 -0800

Somewhat reminiscent of House of Leaves.

By: dg

dg — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 03:54:27 -0800

Cool story. Even if it isn't true it really sucked me in. The grammar policeman in me didn't even notice the apostrophe thing!

By: dg

dg — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 03:59:25 -0800

Theres a face on the wall I knew there was something weird about those photos - there seems to be figures or something superimposed very lightly over the rock. Or I need new glasses.

By: batboy

batboy — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 06:12:37 -0800

Reminded me of a good HP Lovecraft story

By: a3matrix

a3matrix — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 06:16:17 -0800

All the cheesiness of the blair witch crap.

By: Songdog

Songdog — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 06:22:01 -0800

He refers to the story of Floyd Collins - Google that for some more creepiness.

By: moonbiter

moonbiter — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 07:40:59 -0800

It reminds me of H.P. Lovecraft. Specifically, it reminds me a little bit of The Beast in the Cave and a little bit of The Nameless City and a little bit of a lot of his other works.

By: aacheson

aacheson — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 07:52:33 -0800

Why are you all saying this is fake? Call me dense, but why do you believe this couldn't happen? Maybe I'm just gullible, but freaky things that you can't explain do occur.

By: mcsweetie

mcsweetie — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 08:37:23 -0800

what a cool story. when I got to the end, I found myself clicking back and next over and over and over again.

By: JohnR

JohnR — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 08:40:02 -0800

cadastral : You are wrong about my veracity.

By: Firefly

Firefly — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 10:29:27 -0800

aacheson: I think the ending is a bit too pat to be realistic. Ted writes that he will return from the cave with proof and then... nothing? Still, excellent story. I read it in the basement machine room while waiting for code to import and was feeling the panic.

By: i_am_joe's_spleen

i_am_joe's_spleen — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 10:38:57 -0800

stopgap: depending on who you believe, it's a plaster statue in the Cheddar showcaves in the UK... or not...

By: aacheson

aacheson — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 10:54:08 -0800

Funny, since the last available page said "next" I assumed that there WAS a page after and it was down. I guess I still assume that and hope that it will eventually come back up. Am I wrong?

By: Sonserae

Sonserae — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 10:55:17 -0800

Oh man....I stayed in bed this morning for two hours reading that. The last page totally bummed me out. Is this true or not? I want to read more!!!!!

By: i_am_joe's_spleen

i_am_joe's_spleen — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 11:32:46 -0800

aacheson, there's a couple of mirrors of this site. They all end the same way. You and Sonserae may want to believe, like Mulder. I certainly had a few minutes of confusion afterwards, but once the buzz wore off, skepticism reasserted itself. - there's no geographical references at all. It's once thing to conceal the cave location, another to strip out everything that locates the events described. - cavers disappearing is news. Three cavers disappearing after one of them has told all his friends and family about the bizarre shit that's been happening to him is definitely news. You hear about this? Me neither. - the fact that his photos of the hieroglyphs didn't come out. Hmmm, all the others did. I think someone who really does go caving wrote this, and used some of their own photos that they had lying around. We're all social apes with small teeth and big brains. Being alert for leopards and crocodiles when we're alone is a Good Thing. Oddly enough, last week I had a genuine episode of sleep paralysis, complete with the sensation that Something Was There. If I didn't know what sleep paralysis was, and had a more suggestible mind, it would have scared the shit out of me.

By: modge

modge — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 11:40:01 -0800

fun read. and i was a Rhinelander Hodag - class of '83.

By: jammer

jammer — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 11:41:41 -0800

i_am_joe's_spleen, just as a minor quibble from someone who has suffered a good deal of it in the past... everyone has sleep paralysis. It is *awareness* during sleep paralysis that is the problem. That being said... yes, it is quite a terrible thing to experience, even when you know what's happening. *shudder*

By: troutfishing

troutfishing — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 14:02:37 -0800

I used to have *waking* sleep paralysis; I would hear a cacaphony of voices and feel the terrible sensation that discorporate entities, spirits or intelligences, were trying to take posession of me. Fortunately, these experiences have gradually disappeared as I grew older.

By: moonbiter

moonbiter — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 14:54:13 -0800

IMHO, if this story were to be true then Ted et al deserve everything that happened to them. From my read of things, he and his buddies have showed about as much sense as just about every victim in every horror flick that has ever been made. But I don't think Ted's story is even remotely true.

By: Hildago

Hildago — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 15:40:49 -0800

Did anyone else find this creepy (headkerchief notwithstanding)? I'm not normally claustrophobic, but I sure am when I look at that picture.

By: dg

dg — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 15:45:40 -0800

It doesn't take more than a click on the Google toolbar or a slight URL chop to confirm that the story is crap. Still a good story, though and had me riveted for a while.

By: michaelonfs

michaelonfs — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 16:45:26 -0800

Hildago Yeah, that picture gives me a real viceral feeling, ugh! A great story in the campfire tradition.

By: rushmc

rushmc — Mon, 25 Nov 2002 16:57:19 -0800

Fun fiction, especially for one who has done some caving and can really picture it as I read along. But dammit, I want to go down that passage behind the round rock!