SYNOPSIS: Through research, I have located underground tunnels in the TLP hotspot region. In Dr. Ellen Crystall’s book, she mentions underground tunnels and caves in the area which could be related to the ET activity there. These tunnels located outside of the town of Ellenville,NY are unusual because there is no natural or cultural explanation as of yet for them.
BACKGROUND: These tunnels are a major mystery, local historians have no records of their existence and they have not occurred naturally. Some speculate that they may have been carved by Dutch miners searching for a mineral vein, but no evidence has been found yet to prove that hypothesis. Three tunnels have been discovered, but when explored only the main two where found.
This is one mystery in the area that can be experienced by all.
PICTURES OF THE TUNNELS: Picture-Location of tunnels Picture-Main Tunnel Entrance Picture-Upper tunnel collage
DETAILS: Seemingly by coincidence I stumbled upon a book entitled Field Guide to Mysterious Places of Eastern North America by Salvatore M. Trento, an Oxford grad. In his book he gives information on 3 underground tunnels outside of Ellenville, NY. He also mentions the presence of 20 circular pits outside of Pine Bush. These circular pits are 6ft in diameter and 4ft deep and they reported to have been made by Native Americans. Unlike the pits, there is no supported explanation as of yet for the tunnels.
The author speculates that they were carved by Dutch miners in search of a mineral vein. No records exist of the tunnels and no local historians know how they came to be. On August 23, 1997, I visited the Ellenville tunnels and took numerous photographs as I explored them briefly. The main tunnel is at the foot of High Point Mountain, this tunnel extends 515 feet into the mountain, at the end of the tunnel there is a spring. There was no historical mention of the tunnel until 1905 when the tunnel was discovered. In 1907 a water bottling company bought the land leading up to the tunnel, they built a brick plant and began selling their “superior water.” A small railway was built into the tunnel to satisfy the curious who ventured up to the mountains. To add to the “charm” of the main tunnel, a concrete Roman archway was built near the entranceway. Formal gardens were also built there, but now only the archway remains, the rest is in ruins.
The main tunnel has about a foot of water in it. The upper tunnel is dry and seems to curve up into the mountain. The end of this tunnel has not been found, it seems to branch off in several directions. I would have to agree with the speculation that they were carved by man, especially due to the chisel-marks I noticed on the inner-walls. Despite this, the tunnels are very intriguing. I will explore that tunnel again when I get proper equipment to do so. You must be very careful if you decide to explore these tunnels, it can be very hazardous.
REFERENCES: Trento, Salvatore M. Field Guide to Mysterious Places of Eastern North America Henry Holt and Company, Inc. New York, NY 1997.
Unusual Sites in Putnam County, NY
The Stone Chambers
An enormous number of stone chambers are scattered throughout southeastern New York State. They variously have been deemed to be colonial root-cellars, Native American tombs, or Celtic-Druid temples. There is quite a variety of slab chambers throughout Putnam Valley and surrounding towns, not all are ancient however. Many slab-roofed chambers are hidden beneath the trees of the hills in the Croton Reservoir System, which includes Oscawana Lake, Lake Carmel, Mohegan Lake, and Peach Lake. Stone chambers can be found near all of these lakes in the surrounding forests. Some of these structures are located near Peekskill Hollow Rd., Tompkins Corners, Meads Corners, and Dicktown Rd., all of which are located around Oscawana Lake. Near Carmel, NY, specifically off of Colesheare Rd. and Clear Pool Rd. exist more slab chambers.
Off of Barger St., near Mohegan Lake and along Old Turner Rd. near Peach Lake, sit more unusual stone structures. Near Brewster there is a desolate road known as “Reservoir Road“ where a small stone chamber was discovered. On this road, several encounters with unusual beings have been reported. It has also been reported that one woman took a picture of ghostly, hooded figures in front of a stone chamber. Strange images on film at these sites are not at all uncommon. At most of the stone chambers, people have taken photographs which when developed, show floating globes of light or strange glows. All of the strange apparitions were never seen, but for some reason appeared on film.
In 1992, late at night, a man encountered a white-robed figure in a slab chamber along Route 301. He had seen a red-glow from the chamber, so he went in and was seemingly warned off by the being. Entities of that type have been reported in several other unusual sites in that area. These robed beings are sometimes accompanied by hooded Viking-like entities and sometimes with dwarves in hooded robes. The reports are too frequent and numerous to dismiss as an overactive imagination. Psychic and TV show producer/host, Janet Russell visited the area near Magnetic Mine Rd. near Brewster during the spring of 1998, and agreed to share her experie nce:
“A group of us went up to Brewster on May 23,1998. I had never been up there before so I was interested in what was happening there. Well anyway, we sat around for quite awhile, when one of the fellas said hey I want to show you something so a few of us, went with my friend to what was called the Stone Caves or Caverns. Since I am a psychic I do feel certain energies, well anyway we all went over to this spot. We got out of the car as soon as I approached what was the doorway to the cave. I all of a sudden felt a drastic change in the temperature. It went from being comfortable to what felt to me like I was in an ice cold freezer. The hair on my body stood up, it was very strange to say the least.
Well I immediately got the strange feeling that I was being watched by what I felt was a bigfoot. So me being as brave as I could (LOL) I went directly back to the car. I did not like the energy at that spot. My friends stayed outside the car, But they said they saw what looked like a shadow of a bigfoot. Well while I was seated in the car, I just glanced over into the woods and lo and behold, I saw what looked like yellow piercing eyes staring back at me. But it was only instantaneous. I saw the eyes in two different spots at the same time. Well my buddies were still outside surveying what they saw and felt, I still was in the car (Brave One Me). I happened to look down the darkened road and all of a sudden I saw what looked like globes bouncing up and down the road about 1000 feet in front of me.
With what looked like a green aura or being of some kind. We were there about an hour and it was a very strange feeling, I did not feel that the energy was positive at all, almost evil.” -Janet Russell Abandoned Mines
It is certainly not unusual to hear tales of paranormal experiences surrounding the old mines in southeastern New York state. Reservoir Road, in the town of Southeast, NY has long been known as a location of unusual phenomenon. Even reports of UFO sightings are very common, from the reservoir in Southeast to the Tilly Foster mine pit in Brewster. By the early part of the 20th century, most of these mines were shut down and abandoned. Other unusual sightings have been reported around the Tilly Foster Mine.
Since the late 1800s generations of residents have seen what is usually described as floating orbs of light mostly yellow or white in color. These lights are said to be the ghosts of the miners who died in the late 1800s when the mine caved in, since it was shortly after the accident that the mysterious lights appeared. Many of the glowing lights seen on Magnetic Mine Road (which is part of Reservoir Road for some reason) are accompanied with an eerie fog. Witnesses have also reported seeing aliens, sasquatch or bigfoot, and other strange creatures that some attribute to a dimensional vortex or portal.
For the history of the mine, check out this web site: http://www.southeastmuseum.org/SE_Tour/html/tilly_foster_mine.htm
The Tilly Foster Mine is an open pit iron-ore mine and is filled with mazes of underground shafts. The shafts or tunnels, lead to large galleries in certain spots, where the ore was removed. By 1885, the mine had reached a depth of more than 600 feet below ground. The lower section consisted of tunnels that led to galleries where large pillars of ore were left to support the other levels. As the lower levels flooded, it became increasingly difficult to extract ore. The miners continued to dig and widen the mine until the latter half of 1895 when the depth of the mine became 400 feet and the width was 500 feet. The careless and hasty work being done in the 1890s caused several hundred tons of rock to break loose on November 29, 1895. Thirty-four men were knocked into the pit, thirteen were killed and the rest survived. Only ten bodies were recovered during that day, and it was weeks before the other 3 were found. The mine was shut down for good in August of 1897. The mine was reportedly inactive until 1925 when a company began taking gravel from it for construction of roads. Since then, there have been several unconfirmed reports that the government bought up the land and used it for various purposes. There is, however, ample evidence that indicates secret government/military activity near the mine in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
For a more detailed look into government activity at the mine, Phil Imbrogno’s book, Contact of the 5th Kind, is a good source. Imbrogno explored the mine with his co-author in hopes of finding an entrance to a secret underground base. In my opinion, if an underground base exists the chances of finding are close to zero. If there is a base, that means there are two underground complexes in southeastern NY; one near Pine Bush and one on the opposite side of the Hudson, near Brewster. Please keep in mind this is pretty much just speculation. But then again, anything is possible. ; )
Circular Ground Discolorations near North Salem, NY
West of North Salem (which is south of Lake Carmel) in a field, are two circular ground disturbance rings which are adjacent to one another. They are approximately 290-330 feet in diameter and the band of each ring is 50 feet in width. The circular impressions run contrary to the plowed paths in the fields. This suggests that whatever left the stains was there long before seventeenth-century English immigrants cleared the forest and “planted the seeds of modern agriculture”. These impressions may be the remains of circular earthworks and possibly indicate an ancient underground structure related to those west, in the Wallkill Valley, and even support claims that there are bases in the Brewster area.
REFERENCES: Imbrogno, Philip J. Contact of the 5th Kind Llewellyn Publications. St. Paul 1997. Trento, Salvatore M. Field Guide to Mysterious Places of Eastern North America Henry Holt and Company, Inc. New York, NY 1997.
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