My cousin Brian lives near Whitehorse where his only neighbour is a University professor. The prof is completely knowledgeable about and a staunch believer of the Hollow Earth theory and has consequently filled my cousin’s head with these facts and figures. Brianb soaked them up like a sponge and can’t squeeze them from his thoughts.
Brian came to visit family last summer, eager to explain his latest infatuation about this world existing just below the surface of the earth. None of us had ever heard about this. His head reeling with passion, I compared him to a mad dog looking for a bone but after listening numerous times, I had to say, “Brian, aren’t you being naïve about this conspiracy? People may think you’re loony-tunes.” He said, “Check it out for yourself because it’s all on the internet.” I did a little digging and discovered what he was talking about. Apparently there are people who are true believers that I figured were a cult, but I knew Brian wasn’t that sort. The more I investigated, a little more rational it became. Without a doubt, the 99 percent of people who debunk this concept are likely the same ones that don’t believe in flying saucers.
It seems that ancient Greeks and even before, people believed in another world beneath the surface of our planet. To them, it was a dark place filled with the souls of the dead. These early beliefs were mythological in origin. Later science was to see inside the earth as an unbroken series of layers surrounding a dense hot core made primarily of iron and nickel. By the 17th century, a new theory evolved: our planet was actually hollow. And even today there are small groups of Hollow Earth believers who fight to validate their ideas. Later, author Rodney Cluff, said, “My concept of the Hollow Earth is that the shell of the Earth is about 800 miles thick and suspended in the center of the hollow is an interior sun divided by day and night sides and that the North and South Pole have openings that lead into the interior.”
The fascination of a Hollow Earth grew and in 1818, the John Symmes version included huge holes at the North and South poles which allowed access to the hidden world inside. The scientific community mocked his theories. Even after Symmes’ death his idea continued to thrive that saw the Hollow Earth theory continue into the 20th century and take on a life of its own. I guess that’s where Brian came in, with a craving to believe in something distinctive. He likely read the book by Jules Verne, A Journey to the Centre of the Earth, the benchmark for a whole sub-genre of subterranean science-fiction stories and movies.
More evidence for Hollow Earth came when Admiral Richard Byrd in 1947 became the first person to fly over the both poles and fly into one of the holes to made contact with the mammoth-like creatures. He found an ancient human-race residing in a lush tropical paradise. Even the animals were larger and healthier than those on earth. He learned this inner world was called Agartha, a legendary city at the Earth’s core often tied to Eastern mysticism. How can you discount someone as important as Admiral Byrd yet something didn’t jell in my mind!
During Byrd’s search for Agartha he noted a Nazi presence in Arctic territory, both north and south. It was well-documented that the Nazis explored Arctic regions to set up bases and test novel weaponry, also that Hitler was obsessed with the occult. In 1968, pictures taken by satellite clearly showed a gaping hole at the North Pole; enough evidence to support the hollow Earth theory.
Maps believed to be Nazi instructions on how to reach Agartha were supposedly corroborated by a letter from a German U-boat navigator, Karl Unger, who claimed their U-209 made it to Agartha. His letter also mentioned that the notorious Rudolf Hess was right about the hollow-Earth theory. Another letter stated the crew had reached the interior of the Earth and they considered remaining there.
The rabbit hole goes deep here, going so far as to speculate that Hitler could have escaped to this underground world. That’s where Brian and I totally differed. There are so many fables about Hitler’s escape to wherever, that this supposition was preposterous. My cousin and I agreed to disagree but after he had returned to Whitehorse, I thought about this Hollow Earth theory often. It seems unthinkable yet and at the same time, what if it was true!
