It’s hard to imagine just how far down the deepest point on Earth really is, but researchers certainly got an insight into the mysteries of our blue planet after they dug as deep into the Earth’s crust as possible back in 1989.
The hole, which is called the Kola Superdeep Borehole SG-3, is located in the Pechengsky District of Russia.
This is the cap of the Kola Superdeep Borehole. They reached 40,111 feet of depth in 1989, after nearly two decades of drilling. One of the deepest drill holes in the world. It was so unexpectedly hot the drilling had to stop as drill bits were melting.
The team managed to reach 12.262 km (7.61 miles) before they had to abandon the task because their equipment was starting to melt.
But according to urban legend, there was another reason why they had to stop digging.
Ever since the hole was created, there have been reports that the researchers made a ‘disturbing discovery’ while exploring deep beneath the Earth‘s surface.
It was considered a pretty huge achievement at the time, but shortly after the hole was dug, rumours started to emerge that scientists had heard terrifying noises coming from the hole.
There was even speculation that a microphone had been lowered miles down where it picked up ‘noises from hell’.
Some theories have suggested the sounds were similar to people screaming in pain, so much so that it was nicknamed the ‘well to hell’.
But apparently, it turned out this was all just urban legend.
In fact, the sounds ‘recorded’ were thought to be a mash up of a soundtrack from a horror movie.
The hole is in the Pechengsky District of Russia (Getty Stock Photo)
Despite all the rumour surrounding the dig, scientists did make some pretty invaluable discoveries, and although there were plans to further the project, it came to a halt in 1995 after issues with funding.
Now, the hole is visited by locals and tourists, but it still remains the longest ever dug, despite the ongoing rumours about what else could be down there.
While it’s not clear exactly where the myth began, one person on Reddit has suggested a possible explanation beyond it being a recording from a horror flick. They explained that the ‘noises’ could actually have been due to the water that was discovered deep in the Earth’s crust.
They wrote: “So… it’s relatively common knowledge now that this story was highly exaggerated and then embellished upon.
“But… it shouldn’t be too strange to hear sounds like ‘human screaming’ from a borehole deep underground.
“The temperatures are higher than the boiling point of water, and deep underground there are hydrous minerals that store water.
“What you get is steam coming from a pipe essentially, and that’s a very similar way people scream… by forcing air through a pipe in their throat.”
