Fear of Depths

[@JacobGeller]

Join my Patreon so I can afford a better mic to bring spelunking, and get a full video director's commentary on this video as a bonus: www.patreon.com/JacobGeller

[@rngwrldngnr]

You might want to put a comment in the description describing when this was filmed, as I'd imagine there wilould be a lot of people asking in the comments, re:quarantine.

[@JacobGeller]

@@rngwrldngnr cavers actually kinda keep quiet about these sorts of things, so I'll just say to look into your local speleological society, especially in NC or Virginia!

[@beardbeardedbeardsbeardedh9374]

I'm surpised you didn't talked about the game Below, it's would've fit perfectly in this video. If you don't know the game, I sugest you check it out and play it, it's a fantastic game and right up your alley, it feels very claustrophobic and atmospheric, also the music is absolutely stunning. (If you do play it, I would advice not watching any trailers for it, I played the game without knowing anything on it and I really think it made my experience that much more enjoyable and intense).

[@IDaiszy]

I just found your videos like a month ago and this channel is legit art keep it up

[@turkeyhamman4111]

I thought you would mention that junji ito story

[@dirtybubblerising]

The Void does not call me. It says "stay the hell out" And I say "you got it, Void"

[@TheSlammurai]

The Void and I have a gentleman's agreement.

[@CrescentUmbreon]

Can't relate, but I'm glad someone out there has some sense!

[@WaldoBagelTopper]

"You want me to close the door on my way out Void?"

[@marioconte6223]

Based

[@jenniferskweter]

this made me laugh

[@jacoblees312]

The only thing I can think of that is scarier than cave diving is underwater cave diving

[@briannawarren4174]

I remember getting lost in a cave while playing subnautica, I freaked out so hard when my character started running out of air. I was perfectly safe in my home playing on my computer, but I felt like I was the one running out of oxygen

[@yegor2]

fighting Pablo Eskobear, AKA the cocaine bear would be the scariest thing i could think of

[@jameslangbein1471]

@@briannawarren4174 Yes! I love that game, gives you chills. I've freaked out like that exactly the same.

[@Riflery]

Or underwater cave diving in a confined space, in space, at night, upside down, backwards, inside out, while drunk, deaf, mute, and gay. *Shivers* Terrifying.

[@arcticsaxifrage1000]

Riflery I breach the depths. There is no up from here - though every part of me is screaming for fresh air, I’m trapped. I can only go forward. I have nothing but hope. I close my eyes for just a moment, and the sudden loss of sight is like nothing else. I look around, frantically, and suddenly I can’t focus. Girl in Red’s ‘Girls’ echoes in my head.

[@Teddy_yb]

Could y'all imagine being grouped with Jacob in this expedition while he records himself saying all this shit...

[@RodIII1000]

(Jacob accidentally begins to read lines intended for his Bloodborn review at the bottom of the cavern... grizzled splunkers slowly back away.)

[@zenrelaxation9940]

I’d shit myself

[@marisseandgale5365]

I honestly might just get annoyed by the fact that a guy wouldn't shut up about a damn cave. I'll leave.

[@mexa_t6534]

Honestly that would have been fun

[@argelisplanchart9438]

I honestly would smack him right in the face.

[@JohnTK]

When you revealed that Collin’s cave was Mammoth caves, my jaw dropped. I’ve been there before and I had NO IDEA that’s how that cave started out. Really creepy that an origin story like that can just be missed so easily in the modern age.

[@versesZero]

I just took a trip to Mammoth cave a few weeks ago and came back to watch this video again. On our way out we spotted a 'Sand cave trail' and pulled off the road to check it out. It did indeed lead to the infamous entrance shown in those old photos, with some information about Floyd Collins and the rescue attempt along the path. There was no easy way to get down to poke around and see the full entrance from the trail, but I guess that's for good reason. A testament to the theme of the video that my first thought was "Ooh how can I get down there and how far into the cave can I get?"

[@haoxinlinying5278]

Internet historian just made a video about it

[@versesZero]

@@haoxinlinying5278 His video was good too. The bit at the end about the journey his remains took was wild.

[@Fatvod]

Mammoth cave is a system of caves across a wide area. Sand cave isn't specifically the exact same cave.

[@arrow_awsome]

right?! my parents took me there as a kid. would not have expected it to have started as a place someone died; but i guess it does make sence

[@jirris]

I've never listened to something that filled me with such levels of attraction and discomfort at the same time.

[@firmanhandipratama8414]

So how was it ? Did it feel like it was calling you?

[@jumpander]

you should read junji ito mangas

[@User-1939t9]

ive never been so comforable listening to something so uncomforable

[@User-1939t9]

as i wrote this i was jumpscared by giant mosquito decending towards my face

[@cirlu_bd]

@jirris fascination for the disturbing, I love that feeling. I'm not having a good time yeah, but I enjoy the experience a lot, so strange to try to actually describe it, I think your words are better than mine here.

[@airshipcircus]

1 minute in - Ah fuck he's talkin about the cave 4 minutes in - AH FUCK he's IN the CAVE.

[@paulagodebrito]

HAHAHA YEAH I HAD THE SAME REACTION. I was like "oh yeah that's scary- wait hold up he WAS THERE?"

[@bluebaconjake405]

i was like. "woah... he sounds like he's in the stock foota- WAIT HE'S IN THERE?"

[@montlejohnbojangles8937]

Fuck that's a mood and a half

[@pissapocalypse]

@@montlejohnbojangles8937 two whole moods

[@wolfywlf3983]

10 minutes in - *AH FUCK HE IS THE CAVE*

[@RamzaBeoulves]

"A few people had made it to him... A reporter" bruh the dedication i'm here watching KZbin at work while thes reporter risked his life in a freakin pitch-black sand cave?

[@guygex31]

He received a Pulitzer Prize according to Wikipedia

[@fifthofascalante7311]

Meanwhile, in 2021 being a reporter is far, far more dangerous. In involves descent down the deepest of rabbit holes on... Twitter.

[@dylanhaugen3739]

FifthofAscalante tell that to the poor reporter who got murdered and dismembered on the orders of Saudi royal family.

[@fifthofascalante7311]

@@dylanhaugen3739 how? He ded.

[@Hydrauliskk]

@@fifthofascalante7311 40keks

[@OSCARMlLDE]

hey massive shout-out to jacob geller for covering the Floyd Collins event while citing each of his sources clearly and not restating any of the content word for word or anything like that. would that be a weird thing to do or what

[@haemilee8875]

after that video came out I started looking back into all my favorite video essayists and thank fucking god they actually have integrity and something actually profound to say instead of clout chasing

[@awildsylveon9896]

So it IS possible to recount the same historical event using different words and framing?!

[@Charlie-ik3wv]

​@@haemilee8875 wait fill me in here what happened?

[@scj6693]

IH would have been fine (or at least slightly better off) if he just… cited his main source and said he wanted to bring it to a new medium. asking for permission would have been even better. but to just pass it off as his own is so disappointing and disrespectful

[@MasDouc]

Yeah really lost a lot of respect for internet Historian after that. When I first watched it I thought it was a work of art and considered it it to be one of the greatest KZbin videos ever made... Now it's just completely tainted after reading the original Mental Floss article. I've never seen a more clear cut case of obvious plagiarism.

[@JonnesTT]

This guy permanently tries to teach us true horror, the scary without a scare, the thrill that comes only if there is no thriller.

[@ChuckyMarks]

His videos like this are my favorites.

[@turbofoams]

well put!

[@DieReweEmskirchen]

There's a great book by Mark Fisher about these weird and eerie forms of horror in which he talks about Lovecraft, the Strugatzkis and others called The Weird and the eerie, it's definitely worth a read

[@ThatReplyGuy]

I got the same sort of vibes from Marble Hornets, SCPs, and The Russian Sleeper Experiments.

[@robokill387]

@@ThatReplyGuy The russian sleep experiment creepypasta is so cheesy and impossible to take seriously, it's hilarious.

[@nickv364]

Jacob is one of the most terrified men on the planet and is shouting for everyone to be as frightened as he is. His fear is infectious and fascinating

[@dazza2350]

Most terrified is a stretch

[@superbuneary8819]

@@dazza2350 actually pretty accurate. hes decribing all this things in some sort of horror esque type of way when in reality its just nature and its pretty cool and (rationally) dangerous but its the thrill of it. he makes it supernatural when it isnt and it can be annoying but i guess thats what his content is about.

[@morganrobinson8042]

So like a non-racist Lovecraft. There are worse places to be standing, really.

[@keithsimonh]

@@superbuneary8819 as a GM, I'm terribly jealous of his talent/skill

[@furrycircuitry2378]

@@keithsimonh his combinations of words and tone are literally the best I've ever heard he can paint multiple different pictures even if he uses the same words

[@davideagin5321]

"Why would this corridor be EXACTLY this size?" -Tiny ants crawling under your door in summertime

[@14zachay14]

I am become Cave! beckoner of the Lost. Keeper of the found.

[@woulfhound]

Exactly! So much of *staring into the void* is really just a combination of irrational fear, paranoia, panic attacks and just reading too much into places and things that you really don't know shit about. Sure, there are _real_ psychological components to perceiving a void such as outer space or the ocean as well as dark spaces such as caves and tunnels, and there definitely is a correlation to the reptilian brain, but beyond that it's mostly self-induced phobias. Scientifically speaking on the other hand, is there more to a void or a cave than meets the eye? Absolutely. Does that mean that you have to watch out for evil spirits or sleeping eldritch gods? Not unless you can tell the difference between the ones that were discovered using the scientific method and the ones in your own run-away imagination.

[@woulfhound]

@@cyber774 If it is then this is why its funny...

[@MoeMoon]

Having flashbacks to Amigari Fault. 😓

[@cmen6895]

Wolf Hound Yo. Who the fuck are you tryna educate?

[@mineturtledabrave3796]

I can’t stop revisiting this ‘Fear of-‘ miniseries. I seriously hope more are to come.

[@fayhay8011]

I hope there will be "Fear of heat"

[@joet7458]

I hope that one day Jacob will give his fans what we really need; “Fear of Going Outside”

[@ChickenJoe-tq6xd]

Fear of cheetos

[@jackMeought-fr8vl]

Fear of talking to women

[@snowy9587]

Fear of Space

[@mwalker784]

i love how it starts with “we cannot resist the call of the void”, because all i could think was “yeah i can resist that call for sure, thank you so much though”

[@words_on_a_screen]

Join us in the void. Don't resist us, for the void always gets what it needs... You.. 😈 Sorry for making you scroll into the void! 😂

[@Spar7anProjec7]

I agree, you either push me down the pit or I won't ever enter it, lmao.

[@MrBioWhiz]

See i thought the same thing. Then i started watching vids like this. And the mystery, the pull of the unknown. I can understand the call now. I've actuall6 applied for diving lessons. I will see what lies below

[@alexanikolas9172]

Made me immediately think of Ito Junji's comic "The Enigma of Amigara Fault"

[@lukeofender2071]

I can't lmao, I love caves

[@Joaosantos22114]

I once went on a small cave tour on my island, at one point our guide told us all to shut off our lights and remain silent. He then said, "Humans were not meant to be here."

[@James11111]

"Then why the fuck did you bring us here???"

[@shadeabout]

what happened after that?

[@Joaosantos22114]

@@shadeabout nothing lol, we just lit our flashlights again

[@connorp3764]

I remember long ago going with my old scout troop to a caving place, and at one point there was this part that was essentially a big uphill circle around this huge stone. But we were told to shut our lights off and try to navigate in a line around the rock. But some bastard kept on turning their light on so the effect was ruined.

[@gadielgonzalez2755]

Ok that sounds like a good creepypasta intro.

[@tealduckduckgoose]

"This place is not a place of honor... no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here... " The long-term nuclear waste warning message is actual poetry.

[@dolores111]

One of humanities most revolutionizing ahcivments must be kept hidden and dishonored

[@SteveChisnall]

I think one thing we could do that would be the best way to underscore the seriousness of the danger posed by radioactive waste, and to make it clear to would-be intruders that they need to stay away is to end the warning with, the message, "Please forgive us. We're sorry."

[@galacticupfan7386]

@@SteveChisnall as terrible as it is to consider, it must be said that that is a lie. If we truly were, there would be no plant in New Mexico. Humanity’s greatest sin is too valuable to relinquish.

[@casacara]

@@SteveChisnall the most painful part is knowing that more advanced reactor design can make waste far less dangerous and squeeze more power out, but we keep just piling up waste cuz' it's cheaper.

[@wojciechniemirski1782]

I personally hate this "message". It's so needlessly convoluted, hard to grasp even with knowing the language - it's the opposite of what eternal message should be. The one Jacob presented in the video is not as bad, but still I feel it should be just "DANGER" or "DEATH" and universal symbols associated with it - propably the best would be the image of human skull. Also I think "hostile architecture" around the place just draws needless attention and it seems more like people of the past were trying to scare us off to protect their treasure, not convey actually true message.

[@claudiacook619]

This and fear of cold are like epic, viscerally frightening poems to me. It's been years but I find myself coming back over and over to feel all of these threads of sories weave into this beautiful, horrifying, heavy blanket of a video. There isn't another channel on youtube like Jacob's. Incredible stuff.

[@Julio_Gomes]

Truly a great story teller. You just get immersed in anything he's talking about. If he made a 50 minute video called "fear of cup noodles" I'd watch the shit out of it. And 2 million other people would too.

[@MyChannel773]

i recommend some of wendigoon’s videos if you like this style!! imo he’s pretty similar, he also has a really great way of telling stories

[@Julio_Gomes]

@@MyChannel773 nice recommendation dude, never heard of that guy before and seems like something I'd like. Gotta love a good fanbase.

[@Fresh_yams]

there are no other creators quite like him, I found him with fear of cold and was captivated right away

[@Hysterii]

Also Fear of Big Things Underwater, gives me the chills in an existential, poetic way

[@ahobimo732]

When you stand at the cliff's edge, staring into the chasm below, the most horrifying realization is not that you might slip, but that you could leap.

[@numbdigger9552]

We truly are a strange species...

[@cowboysandallthegoodstuff3713]

This is such a wonderful sentence, it's so inspiring and haunting. Thank you!

[@snowmanapocalypse497]

That gives me chills

[@operatorchaos6931]

Truee

[@bradley2349]

Brain Confusion, most likely. It's such a dangerous place to be in - the equivalent of just walking up to a grizzly bear. Your brain knows this isn't safe, but feels like you're clearly ok with the situation, so maybe you should just jump, even if it seems dangerous.

[@f0rnarnia]

imagine that, a horror story where its just you, a cave, and lantern. no monster, no villain, just the vast abyss ready to swallow you whole..

[@tadghgibson4523]

Your pfp is true horror

[@yeethittter1285]

Minecraft on peaceful mode

[@mistwalkerwabalubdub6250]

Try looking up the magnus archives there's a few horror stories in there that depicts this really well

[@dalecal1129]

@@mistwalkerwabalubdub6250 "Take her, not me."

[@flamingaish]

I'd kms 💀

[@seansliger1]

even just exploring caves in Minecraft is scary enough for me

[@Hijiri04]

Cave noises

[@Crylorz]

the panic when you hear a creeper is about to blow up behind you.

[@bigdaddy1695]

Play the forest that will put hair on your balls 😂

[@EightJane]

I straight up refuse to go caving in minecraft. Freaks me out

[@bigdaddy1695]

It’s a kids game Minecraft ☺️ the forest is something else creepy as crap😟😟

[@2brosstillchillin]

the magnus archives hits hard with the concept of the vast. that if we look hard enough, the sky, the ocean, the caves and the forests are all too large to comprehend. nothing is small enough for us.

[@not_them]

The Lost Johns Cave episode is phenomenal too, I love how they explore fear

[@2brosstillchillin]

@@not_them still think that's one of the scariest episodes

[@aspen8544]

I feel this video is more The Buried, especially when talking about caves specifically. Kentucky route zero especially seems like a game made entirely about The Buried, especially with the characters fear of debt as well.

[@2brosstillchillin]

@@aspen8544 thats fair. i felt the kind of claustrophobic feeling, but also the weird blankness of the vast. kinda like how the daedalus was a combination of vast/dark/lonely?

[@Souleater787]

The Buried and The Vast are two sides of the same scary ass coin😊

[@adrianjames6552]

The connections he made between a future species uncovering these monuments despite the "cries" of the past civilization while showing the human race's own drive to explore the Egyptian monuments were mind-blowingly genius and absolutely bone-chilling.

[@Shauniiiiiiiii]

Maybe this future civilisation will consider radiation as harmless as modern day humans consider ancient Egyptian curses

[@crookedintelligence2421]

Yea like the movie (Decent)!

[@JJMomoida]

It's really rather depressing to see that as a cycle of sorts, to be honest. The idea that, despite the warnings, people might go "nah fuck that LOL" and dig as their nature compels them to.

[@spookyho5994]

@@Shauniiiiiiiii oh god

[@luigivercotti6410]

@@JJMomoida Honestly I find it somewhat inspiring myself. That we can know, no matter how many millennia of death separate us, as long as there is humanity in some form, there will always be someone brave enough and stupid enough to seek the truth, to explore and discover at any cost. Because we know, we just know, if we keep exploring, if we just keep delving through the horrors, through the darkness and the peril, downwards into the earth or upwards into space; In our very being we are certain that one of these dark abysses will open into something truly wondrous on the other side. Something, that will make it all worth it. Because it could be there, and therefore it must be. Humanity is a gambling addict, continuously and without fail dropping coin after coin after coin into the pachinko machine of the unending cosmos, because as long we have quarters, we can get a jackpot, and if we never run out, then we're bound to get it, eventually.

[@Kikilang60]

In Texas, in the late fifties, the was company, having a company picnic. While just standing around, a guy fell in well, or mine air shaft. My grand father, who told me this, didn't know, it was just a deep hole in the ground. The guy just fell in, and they could hear saying, "I'm okay. I'm just stuck." The hole was wider at the top, but narrored down. The guy was just snugged up tight in the hole. The guy's family was there, and his brother where the first to go down the hole. The problem was, the hole was to small. You couldn't go down feet first, because it was just wide enough for a person to go down, but not turn around. Worst, a person had to go down head first, with the wall touching the sides of the hole. Everytime a person went down, dirt and junk fell, buring the man deeper. His brothers went down, but it was so frightening, that they paniced, and were dragged out screaming. The was a local military base near, and the town asked for help. Many military personal showed up, but going head down a collasping hole in the ground was to much everyone. There was one British soldier there with a bunch of other people from Britian. One small British man said, "I've been coal mining since I was fourteen, I don't mind tight spaces. They tied the guys feet to the rope, and sent him down with two buckets. While the guy stuck in the hole, was digging himself out, the coal miner was going up, and down with the a bucket. The trips, up and down, at frist, seem to make to much stuff fall down the hole, and they were slowly buring the guy alive. The ended up going slower. Working together, the stuck man, and the coal miner, got free. My grand father said, it never even made the paper, but the courage it took, to go down that hole, was heroic. My grand father said, "No one cheers you on, when you do the right thing. They don't even remember."

[@lileijon3452]

that seems terrifying...

[@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan]

You remembered though

[@cocksukinmobile5756]

Sorry nigga I am too claustrophobic to even continue reading after maybe 10 percent but rest in peace in advance ✋✋

[@krustenkaese3905]

Cocksukin Mobile the story has a happy ending if that helps :P

[@BChan1991]

@@cocksukinmobile5756 nigga? Really?

[@user-dd4fv6qj8g]

The fact that Collins reached a part of the cave that pretty much no one else could, and that's what killed him, really resonated with me. I am an avid caver and I live in a county that is swiss cheese when it comes to the amount of spelunking possible. Heck, I work as a tour guide at one of these caves. But one of the rules we have about caving is never do it alone. Rule of three: Three people, three redundant sources of light. Even still, it takes everything in me not to go out caving ALONE in the midst of a time where social distancing and stay-at-home guidelines abound. Never, ever underestimate how tantalizing the unknown can be. The same tunnels that feel inaccessible and unwelcoming to some are, to me and other cavers, one of the world's last frontiers. The call of the void indeed. I often wonder if there are even words that capture the feeling. Then Jacob Geller goes and does this. God bless it, thank you for making this video. Like, I needed this to explain to myself why I'm having to mentally chain myself to the idea that I CANNOT go out caving alone while wanting nothing more than to get out of the house and delve into any one of the hundreds of entry points into my county's circulatory system.

[@wesleygaray2666]

Man I wish I was brave enough to go into caves, I have the biggest fear of dark places like caves and deeper sections of water but they have always intrigued me at the same time something about it just makes me want to walk in and explore as far as I go, but I am also to scared to even fare even with 3 others I don't think I could.

[@user-dd4fv6qj8g]

@@wesleygaray2666 I do not know if it is possible for you geographically, but Mammoth Caves mentioned in Jacob's video is a great place to start. That was my first cave: it is massive, and at least for the tour I started with, there's little claustrophobia to deal with. That comes in other parts of the cave. Otherwise, google local showcaves in your area, just visiting and doing a simple walking tour of a cave will often give you an idea of how much hunger you have for more of it.

[@user-dd4fv6qj8g]

@@rsh650 To me it means "hopefully don't need this, but have it along with me anyway". You don't WANT to need any of the other sources of light.

[@user-dd4fv6qj8g]

@@mustapleko darwing? symphaty? Spell-checking aside, I feel like commenters like yourself are missing my point. I consistently resist the urge to go out and cave alone; I know better, that's the point. My experience is the coexistence of knowing better and still wanting to follow what I can only describe as an INSTINCT to go deeper. I only commented because I believed that my experience of that dichotomy would be supplementary to Jacob's thesis. But, this is the internet--for some reason, a couple folks find it funny to laugh at my imagined death. Cool. Whatever floats your boat. But I would really like to hear how you feel that adds anything to the conversation surrounding Jacob Geller's incredible video essay. He put his work in, literally recorded parts of this video IN A CAVE to assist in his points. And you can't even be bothered to check your comment for spelling errors. Give me a break.

[@szuzmariacsatkai3496]

What country are you from?

[@juginstin]

The thing about caves swallowing sounds is the scary part to me. I went on a lantern tour in a cave about a week ago. Me and my party's only source of light was a candlelit tin can. I couldn't see 5 feet ahead of me. At one point, I was in a narrow passage, and my party got ahead of me. They were only about 15 feet away, but I felt like I was completely alone and had lost everyone.

[@mistertwister2000]

“Like it was . . . made for me” And that’s when I had to walk away and breathe in the sunshine for a while

[@thawedantarctican2171]

Ah...good ol Amigara Fault...

[@sauviel6296]

Junji ito?

[@thawedantarctican2171]

@@sauviel6296 Precisely

[@VioletGrell]

What a reassuring way to end this video. Not only did you show yourself leaving the cave, but also a glimpse of two people just waiting outside. Like returning to society after experiencing the loneliness of the depths.

[@Tuniphero]

Great Ending

[@thesaviorofsouls5210]

"Why does this cave seem...made for me" yeah nah i read this manga before i'm outta here

[@nemo9864]

What manga, may I ask? I really want to scar my mind.

[@michaelhessel8086]

@@nemo9864 "The Enigma of Amigara Fault" by Junji Ito

[@hawk_zero6531]

It triggered my bloody PTSD

[@thesaviorofsouls5210]

@@nemo9864 the enigma of amigara fault i think ^^ enjoy! Oh someone else beat me to it, my bad.

[@001Brunix]

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@hollowblight372]

Watching "made in abyss" gives me a similar feeling of wanting to know what's at the bottom of the depths. Despite knowing there's no easy way back up, and that each level of the abyss lies beings that could kill you if you make one wrong step, there's still the desire to know whats at the bottom despite the dangers

[@justarandomperson4296]

such a good anime

[@yassersolaiman2313]

Yooo am a made in abyss fan too

[@kneegoblin4352]

greetings fellow made in abyss enjoyer 🗿🍷

[@drouseyman]

yoooo made in abyss enjoyers in the comments i love made in abyss favorite manga/anime of all time personally

[@SeptimusTSS]

its an absolute travesty that the author increasingly started using his manga to explore his sick poop/CP/amputee fetishes, making it absolutely unreadable at the end. I agree though, the abyss concept is amazing.

[@FleurMarigold]

now imagine a speculative fiction about a future race of humans stumbling upon that waste disposal and all the horrors of attempting to unearth it

[@James_Wisniewski]

Marking like that really seems like it invites curiosity and exploration. Maybe some things are better left simply unmarked and forgotten.

[@TucsonHat]

My dad advised on/supervised the building of a nuclear weapon assembly bunker. At face value it's basically a very large dome/pile of graded (similar sized), white rock that was shipped in from somewhere off site (it's designed with the rock pile as the roof, should a criticality/meltdown/detonation occur, a web of cables supporting the rock will melt, the rock will bury the bunker). No large, foreboding monument that will accurately depict the danger, transcending language and time. To an outside observer, It looks exactly like the type of ancient site we love to dig up looking for answers..

[@BagelBagelB1]

@@TucsonHat bruh

[@theB0sSPr0]

someones probably made some creepypasts from this before not that I could find it

[@hinducroat9838]

They will probably mark our warning off as a mere superstition just like we do when we unearth a tomb from a long forgotten civilization with a supposed curse attached to it

[@malaizze]

If Jacob is going to a cave for his cave essay then I challenge him to write an essay about Mars

[@slimykit3816]

Jacob should make a video of the endless limited space and talk about No Mans Sky

[@AnonymousYoutuber69]

I challenge him to write an essay about Fort Knox and then one about carrying heavy metal bars to my house.

[@pip4708]

he kinda already did. I don't remember the name but the game was outer wilds

[@robertinogochev3682]

I challenge him to write one about Uranus.

[@malaizze]

@@robertinogochev3682 I mean have you SEEN him? I'd welcome it

[@Snnoy]

Y’know, weirdly enough, I always found Minecraft to be amazing at conveying this feeling. The caves felt endless, and back when I was little, I sometimes got completely stuck in them. Sometimes I’d try to just dig out, but ended up finding it to be too much effort, and just kept looking around blindly for an exit. I’d attempt to use glitches to escape, like the one where quitting and joining the world would teleport you through the ceiling above, but that would always end with me dying. It honestly felt like it was meant to be a deep, dark prison.

[@deadmemer5150]

I leaned to bring a stack of logs with me into the caves for that very reason

[@drlostcause4427]

Those caves are much creepier now

[@reynaclarke2110]

i still get lost in them, and i am also a very soft little man and so i go into creative and punch my way out then switch back when i reach the surface

[@Nacanaca12]

I used to know the caves in Minecraft. I've played the game since I was a child. I was frightened at first, but with time I got to know how the caves worked and what to expect within them. Unlike caves in real life, these were made by people. With computers, yes, but there was a subtle logic to them which I could remember. With the recent cave update, all my experience is worthless. It's new. It's deep. It's dark. It's beautiful. I want to see more, to live more, to go deeper. That is how I die.

[@lorenzopacheco6651]

There's something so enchanting yet terrifying when the new Cave update came out. Minecraft caves back then were pretty simple, maybe a big tunnel and a mineshaft here and there. But now, you'd have these insane expanses or claustrophobic crevices. Exploring those entirely fresh and unique caves was an amazing experience. Seeing all the weaving tunnels and underwater rivers. But what really struck me was how it felt like there was something calling you down there. The urge to dig deeper, to see how far it goes. Especially if you weren't aware that the new depth limit went into the negatives. I don't know if others had a similar experience, but I was deep in this cave and I was running out of food but there was this huge pit that came out of nowhere and it's like when you look at it, it calls you.

[@evyknouse4590]

This reminds me of Junji Ito's short story "The Enigma of Amigara Fault". It is a manga story about a cave with holes that specifically fit those that are called to it, and as you keep moving down your personalized hole, it shapes you into something completely grotesque, without any hope of escape. It is one of my favorite Junji Ito stories and fits the themes of this video. Go give it a read!

[@friday3592]

exactly my thought too, especially at around 10:48 I was like NOO that's how amigara fault gets you!!

[@whokilleddb]

EXACT-FUCKING-LY

[@ChaseFace]

Overrated, most people just know that one. Long Dream is better.

[@MaticTheProto]

„This is my hole, it was made for me!“

[@keltzar1]

Jacob shows an image of that in the video.

[@AlexRedacted]

Turn back Turn back from this cave You said, "Let me prove that I'm brave Let me keep going" But the cave goes for miles And miles and miles And you're so tired But I know that you're strong

[@Circusmaid]

...But I know you're strong... I know you can....keep going

[@feverprole]

@@Circusmaid sorry to break the mood, but this wasn't an attempt to come up with a poem on a spot, it's a song

[@o2xide503]

So You too are on board with the theory that chell is Cave Johnson's daughter

[@AlexRedacted]

@@o2xide503 I'm just old and lazy. I was on board with it 8 years ago.

[@Mateo-fo5xd]

a few years ago, me and my friends found an entrance to the drain system under one of the roads in our town, we strapped flashlights to our bikes, and went in at full speed, the journey felt like it took hours, until we found a place where the tube split in two, smaller yet large enough holes for us to fit and crawl. we were about a minute into one of these small holes, when we felt a deep, resonating roar, coming from far down the tunnel, slowly coming closer, we _shit_ our pants and ran as fast as we could while crouching to our bikes and escaped. Aftere what felt like mere minutes we were out, and cuestioning what we heard back there, we found out that it was just the roar of a car enjine coming above us on the road, the sound bouncing off the walls of the tube and drowning the higher frecuencies. we felt a little dumb for thinking that something was there. but deep down we knew, we were never coming back there, even if all of us wanted to go _just one last time_ thanks for reading, this stuff actually happened just like i told you, it was really fun at the time and i just felt like it fit the video edit: grammar

[@Mateo-fo5xd]

thank you so much jacob!

[@skylarwalls3227]

I did the same thing with a couple of my friends but we ended up just surfacing behind a mercedes dealership, nothing exciting

[@MaggieJaneSimpson]

no way i would go there with you XDDD (yes, i am a chicken and a proud one XDD )

[@mateo.mauro_xd]

Hey, I finally found someone else named Mateo :)

[@Mateo-fo5xd]

@@mateo.mauro_xd good to meet you man, we Mateos should stand together

[@tristanneal9552]

The anime “Made in Abyss” is one of the only shows that I’ve found perfectly captures the call of the depths, probably because that’s its very central theme. Despite the darkness and dangers below the earth, the abyss calls to adventurers and they continue to throw their lives to it generation after generation simply to have the chance to explore it.

[@LTGSStrophox]

Exactly what I thought of as well!

[@GeronimouxIII]

bruh, that broke me

[@snowboundwhale6860]

There's of course also the factor that in Made in Abyss, those humans who descend into the abyss become "sick" if they try to climb back out, with the effects of that "sickness" growing exponentially the further down they'd gone, which itself can be seen as a parallel to the way things that live or are acclimated to "the deep", such as the sea creatures in the ocean depths, literally can't survive outside of those depths, or how we get altitude sickness if we try to climb too high without waiting to adjust to the thinner air.

[@radikaldesignz]

@ get back? She never intends to, nor could she. They call it a "last dive" for a reason.

@@radikaldesignz Well, they did, but nobody above ground was able to evade the curse until Nanachi explained it was possible. There's a way around the curse, even given his special circumstances, he still actively avoids and skirts around the curse. Theoretically, with his assistance, they'd be able to, very slowly, ascend the Abyss. That's not even considering that nobody has reached the bottom, and the whole thing is still ongoing research overall.

[@tatertot6212]

I’ve shown everyone I know this video, friends, family and coworkers; they all say the same thing “this is amazing” “this is literally a Harvard essay” and it’s so true. It’s not often I find things on KZbin that really galvanize me but your intellect and creativity really shine here on your channel and all I can say is please don’t ever stop!

[@ieatmice751]

Imagine how Gollum felt, literally stuck down there in the crushing, blinding darkness for centuries

[@atlantethan]

"And we wept, Precious, we wept to be so alone. And we forgot the taste of bread, and the sound of trees, the softness of the wind. We even forgot our own name."

[@gokhandemir7917]

Cringe

[@coito5307]

Oh my god i was thinking exactly that lol, everyone in these conditions would turn into a Gollum

[@Rynewulf]

@@gokhandemir7917 oh f off

[@Fleurig-xr5mm]

Gökhan Demir You must be very sensitive

[@SlunkyBoi]

"We can't resist it" Uh speak for yourself fam, I find it absurdly easy to resist the urge to go underground ahahah, another masterpiece though, great work.

[@sosig9254]

It's either you're dying to go explore it. Or you're dying for someone else to go explore it and tell you about it.

[@brandonclarke436]

@@sosig9254 well said

[@uncomfortablyclose8481]

Sosig I just don’t really relate to that personally. I’ve always preferred the ocean as that sort of deep unfeeling mysterious cavern. But I do see why people are interested in them and I respect that, I wouldn’t have watched this video if I didn’t respect it.

[@t0ri178]

Bruhh ocean is wayyy wayyyy worse than caves in my opinion

[@DoselH]

Really I feel what I would like the most is explore like an old abandoned soviet factory or somewhere with a lot of abandoned Busses,cars etc

[@lurkingmoth]

You know, Subnautica really plays on this fascination and fear. It's a game set almost entirely underwater, and you spend a lot of time in underwater caves. Sometimes, you'll be in a place where you can't see the bottom and you have to decide whether to turn back or keep going down.

[@puckmanstudios2172]

And the fact you never know what's around the corner, a wonderful ecosystem of fish and plants, or an eldritch abomination

[@Johnnymagnet92]

Great game

[@Dingghis_Khaan]

When he brought up the creatures living in the deep ocean, I was really hoping he'd cover that game.

[@Wimpiethe3]

I get really on edge with that game. Quite fantastic. My friend is always amused when we play it and I inevitably give myself a jumpscare, jerking the mouse about. Good times.

[@Khymeira]

That game makes my nips hard. Best game I've played in a long time.

[@benjinaraa]

I don't know why but that last song really struck a chord with me. I cannot find words to say how melancholy it sounded. It just felt so... sad. And ever so relevant to the topic of the video.

[@jacoblynam923]

:)

[@jimmybean420]

that's most of kentucky route zero's ost. recommend listening to it. so good.

[@kwissy9806]

play Kentucky Route Zero. you won't regret it

[@Highmelon]

Underground miner here! Though it's not a cave, the deepest I've been underground is 9900 feet, Almost 3 km.

[@lowprofbeats5280]

What.. is it hard to breath that far down?

[@firepingun1236]

@@lowprofbeats5280 Well what ever the material he mines is hes probably used to having a lack of oxygen like if he mines coal.

[@lowprofbeats5280]

@@firepingun1236 thats true.

[@Highmelon]

@@lowprofbeats5280 everything is ventilated, but if you run a lot of machinery on the level, it can get hard to breath with all the heat and fumes in the air. the hardest thing to deal with is usually the heat.

[@Highmelon]

@@firepingun1236 we mine copper/zinc

[@LEdungeonmaster]

Did anyone else stop and read the articles on screen? One said: "Mother earth after clinging grimly, in life and in death, to Floyd Collins for more than 17 days, finally surrendered and, without warning, opened a tiny hole between a rescue shaft and the natural tomb of the cave explorer." This reads like the opening to a fucking horror story...

[@MontySlython]

Reminds me of Lovecrafts writing style

[@artillery8188]

people always had a way with words in those days that you just cant see anymore.

[@jollystrangers]

if you back and read obituaries in the early 1900's, you will be quite surprised how frank or poetic they will be.

[@jollystrangers]

@@mustapleko to be fair, i think people might be saying that about our news in 100 years

[@Belenus3080]

People were so well spoken back then. They’re busy teaching us useless shit nowadays.

[@zartheitalian5376]

"Why does it feel like its made for me" - Sir you just triggered my Enigma of Amigara Fault PTSD

[@daisychainsaw]

JFBSBFD EXACTLY

[@snickle1980]

I'm about to copy paste "Enigma of Amigara Fault" into youtube. Am i going to hate you later?

[@martinsmartini44]

@@snickle1980 Both. Happy reading

[@phantomeggs4315]

Why did you have to remind me of that.

[@ebrahimnaeem757]

First of all, I really just want to talk about media and content like this. The production quality, the research, the analysis, and the smithing of words in a string that truly touched some deep part of me, all of it, was fantastic. I never know if it is the chills that I feel when I watch something like this. My body seems lighter, but I feel more aware of every bone and muscle that makes up who I am. I can hardly critique anything because in the face of something like this I feel like I am surrendering myself to the journey. That the person who made this media, whether book, video, or movie, knows more about the subject matter and I could not possibly hope to contest their delivery in any meaningful way. I don't often feel that but I love when it happens, I don't feel afraid anymore, I'm just giddy, with excitement, anxiously holding on to my seat as I plunge into the depths that they are so fervently talking about. Secondly, speaking about the depths themselves and those tight, narrow, passageways has such an intense fear for me. I am by no means claustrophobic. But when I imagine myself trapped like Collins was, I can hardly breathe. I can see the darkness, the empty void, I can feel the desperation, the heavy breathing, I can sense the rage, the inability of anyone to save him, but more than that I feel terrified that it was all my fault. That it was me, knowingly, who fell into this trap laid out by the Earth. Almost as if some sadistic siren has entranced me into following her down into the waters, and now as I tried desperately to swim back to the lifeboat, she was holding on to me, unwilling to let go. I've felt this feeling before, and it was when I played Bloodborne. This amazing Fromsoftware game is a brother to the Dark Souls series. There are numerous sections where we explore dark dense castle superstructures, but also times where we go deeper and deeper into caves. The depths, the pull of the darkness, and the eventual greeting of an eldritch horror at the end. It resonates with me and I can't help but be enamored by it. Thirdly, something that stuck with me that Jacob discussed in the video was the burying of radioactive waste. Deep so many thousands of feet below the ground, with jagged structures that warned of what was contained within, and writing that told of the horrors that we conjured. It reminds me of a very popular trope in video games, perhaps it is popular in books as well - you would be able to tell me if it is since you read way more than me - but the trope is of the lost civilization and the secrets they buried deep underground. They set up traps and so many obstacles in your way to dissuade you. They are screaming, begging, pleading, please don't come any forward. This is not where we left our power, this is where we left our demise. This is where we died. And yet, almost unflinchingly, not dissuaded at all, we rush forward. And overcome every single challenge. And at the apex of the discovery, we usually even in those games find out demise. I remember the Assassins Creed games were one of the first that introduced me to these types of stories, and as a teenager, I was so utterly engulfed in them. I desperately wanted to know more, about the civilization that never was, their wisdom, and their demise. Ultimately, I shudder to think of a time when hundreds of thousands of years later. Strange alien future civilizations will find the remains of us. You and me, and the waste of our civilizations and the power we once wielded. They will not be deterred and will go deeper and into more dark places. The same ones we locked our mistakes behind. And they will find, the horrors we could not defeat. I wonder if they'll be stronger than us, or if we'll be the downfall of a people that breathe so long into the future.

[@aisha3517]

I genuinely hope you’re a writer otherwise seeing this gem in a KZbin comment sections feels like getting to see a glimpse of someone potential and then watching them let it go to waste, I usually pirate for all pieces of entertainment but I would be willing to pay for any piece of literature you’d put out. not everyone can write like this.

[@ebrahimnaeem757]

@@aisha3517, This is such a massive compliment. Thank you very much for saying this to me. I, unfortunately, am not a writer, but I am tremendously grateful for you saying this. Honestly, these were just thoughts that were evoked by Jacob's spectacular video. So he's the real writer here.

[@555diggs]

“I can hardly critique anything because in the face of something like this I feel like I am surrendering myself to the journey.” You’ve written such a beautiful statement that it made me reread this sentence multiple times. Love this response

[@LuperisNone]

I know this comment is a year old, but I just wanted to say that, personally, I do not fear for the alien civilizations - from other planets - that may find our remains and this waste, they will have figured out space travel. I fear for the ones that come after us, from earth, wether they be humans, insect people or octopeds or whatever because in a way they are also our descendants, as they will receive our legacy, our planet, how we left it and all the dangers that come with it.

[@aperture102]

you've done it again mr geller. keep killing it

[@zentrocs]

What about Aperture Laboratories. When i first fell through the floor the sheer size of the facility gave me CHILLS

[@abdulrafaykhan5582]

Why has it been just a day

[@ChrisJones-rd4wb]

I remember when I went caving, held everyone up cause I got stuck in "anal virginity", a notorious part of the cave that only small-boned people can fit through. It restricts your breathing going through so you have too take shallow breaths.

[@Dirtnap12]

I've had a fear of the depths pretty much since childhood, underground, underwater, whichever. But the thing that really set it in as a phobia was when I found out just how many *bones* that can be found in the abyss. Caves with sudden dead drops for entrances or a littles ways in are a treasure trove for paleontology, filled with the fossils of animals that fell into the abyss. The lucky ones died on impact, but there are many cases of remains being found in positions indicating they miraculously survived the bone-shattering drop. Gouges in cave walls as larger creatures desperately tried to claw their way back to freedom before their deaths, and remains found in deeper caverns as some wandered the caves seeking a way back to the surface before finally dying alone in the cold dark. Not a death I'd wish on anyone.

[@kaylabarbosa7605]

This is crazy! Do you have any articles/videos you could link? I'd love to learn more about this (though I will regret it come night when my subconscious takes me into those caves for a nice dream)

[@phylippezimmermannpaquin2062]

I went in such a cave and there were lots of bones. Including moose bones. It was pitch black and moist just like he described in the video. Also crawled in some small safe surface caves. Surprisingly fun

[@beastboy2099]

Your post will haunt my dreams for a couple decades

[@arcticsaxifrage1000]

Kayla CB I don’t have sources to back up these articles, but if you’re looking for nightmare fuel you should check them out. nationalpost.com/news/perfectly-preserved-13000-year-old-skeleton-of-girl-discovered-deep-in-underwater-cavern-hints-how-humans-came-to-the-America’s This is about Naia, a Native American girl who went looking for water and broke her pelvis after falling into a cave. First one I’ve read so far, terrifying. The cave is named Black Hole and I just... don’t know how to cope with that. www.businessinsider.com/childs-skeleton-found-buried-in-cave-with-birds-skull-in-its-mouth-2018-12?r=AU&IR=T The article is vague, but from what I can gather, this kid was buried in a cave and they don’t know if someone buried him or if it was accidental. Either way, the poor guy was malnutritioned and tried to eat a bird’s skull. If I find anymore articles I’ll add them to the list.

[@darkshadows6328]

Entering a cave is like being inside a vagina you’ll never find a way out 😂🍑

[@kiah9085]

I love videos like this, it really summarizes the difference between terror and horror. Terror is realizing that you’re lost, or that your stuck. Horror is the feeling of being haunted, of when you realize that you aren’t going to get out, and this is all that’s left. Terror is the panicked feeling that first hits you, horror is the deep, unavoidable realization of what it actually means, of the implications.

[@funkypenguin3000]

yes! i've once heard it described as "terror is seeing a wolf charge at you, horror is realizing your feet are glued to the ground"

[@moesalamander7012]

Horror is when something scares you. Terror is when you scare yourself

[@MrCmon113]

Terror is when a car explodes, horror is seeing a ghost.

[@moonjui]

horror is more like the initial shock at something gory or sickening. I think terror is more psychological

[@starrry.nightt]

I grew up with my father and brother, my father owns an old gold and silver mine. He used to take us there every weekend. At first, I was scared shitless, he used to prank us by switching off every light, and letting the silence fill the stone walls. It was terrifying. After I grew up with the cold and wetness of those caves and hallways, I found comfort in the stilness and darkness. There was something in knowing that I could always just walk in, and never walk out. It was more then once when my father told me about cave ins. I still love the place, I love to visit and take care of it. We even got a small railway working with a small train. Even if the most popular trails are well taken care of, I still come to the parts that are off limits for visitors and take care of the buckets and buckets of stone that needs to get carried out. There are multiple pools of water they are small ponds I think. I come to them often. They are beautiful, still, silent and so beautiful. Most of them are clear, if no one would throw rocks into them, they all would be. We even found multiple old wooden pillars from medival times. It's so strange running your hand across something centuries old. I swear it never cesease to scare me thinking of falling into some of those water pools and wondering how deep they go, how long would I stay under there until someone found me. It could be hundreds of year's. I m still not sure if im scared of fascinated by it. I still love the place, but I hold deep respect for it. It could kill anyone who doesn't know how to play by the rules.

[@fourleafclover2064]

Thank you for sharing

[@CellaBoxCrew]

When you said "It felt made for me" and you showed pictures from *that* manga i got literal chills all over my body

[@krismae7068]

Can you tell me the manga name plis?

[@CellaBoxCrew]

The Enigma of Amigara Fault by Junji Ito, all of his work is horrifying and I recommend it

[@sgbench]

"Layers of Fear" is another good short story of his

[@daisychainsaw]

uzumaki is terrifyingly awesome too

[@krismae7068]

@@CellaBoxCrew thanks ( just now i realize you answered)

[@mootroidXproductions]

I never had the right language to describe that wonder and horror I feel from things like Hollow Knight and Metroid and Bionicle and Minecraft. But it's the depths. The idea that it just keeps going, and going, and going, and there must be something connecting it all together, there *must* be, and if I just go a little deeper, maybe I'll find it. Endless staircases, inverted towers, branching tunnels, underground voids, walls and floors that seemingly grew themselves with no clear design. I have yet to find a book or film or game that hits that spot perfectly, but some have come close. I'll have to look into NaissancE and Subnautica. Thank you for this. Little inspires me more than the depths. EDIT: My short film inspired by the depths is up, as well as the beginning of the behind-the-scenes project, in which I specifically namedrop this video!

[@mootroidXproductions]

I have a stop motion film coming up that I made while chasing that feeling. It's called The Sky Below. Maybe keep an eye out for that.

[@virtualcynical8515]

@@mootroidXproductions Will do Friend!

[@NOITY35]

Subnautica is great fun. It always gives me the sense that the ocean truly is endless, and that I can't hope to comprehend the whole of it.

[@robertgim8230]

hidden depths is a nice game or barotrauma perhaps.

[@SoupSackHandle]

You’re scared of Bionicle? Edit: also, a really neat game series to look at are the Deep Sleep flash games. There’s no caves, but the atmosphere and scenery are all nearly pitch black, and the soundtrack is claustrophobic. Loved playing it as a kid, I highly recommend it.

[@SrSeed]

Just install the brightness mod on Optifine

[@allgodsnomasters2822]

lol haha

[@001Brunix]

Gamma 100

[@nindy4368]

Seems the right time to rewatch this video

[@ieatatsonic]

Idunno why specifically, but I feel like one of your strengths is conveying the emotional impact of games. I love the way you describe feelings from specific scenes. Also I know you touched on House of leaves in your haunted house video, but that call of the void is, in my opinion, very well-illustrated in Navidson's final expedition into the House.

[@kaladin7487]

I never made the connection between the call of the void and navidsons expedition but it definitely is a good example now that I think about it

[@TheSporewow]

You are on point, emotions is what Jacob is good at and that's fantastic!

[@7tonytenzou7]

I was looking for this comment. Though I never finished the book I can clearly recall feeling as the video describes while reading the expeditions parts.

[@blinkfilms1]

this is the kind of thing that helps me fight my anxiety. my heart is still beating quickly, but now it has a reason. thank you.

[@briannawarren4174]

I do that too. It's so hard to cope with anxiety if you don't even know what you're worried about, I listen to scary stories sometimes to help me pin it down

[@meerchlocxk]

Bless this thing

[@NestorCustodio]

I would imagine a tight corridor in the middle of a pitch-black cave is the one place where Claustrophobia and Kenophobia weirdly meet, with walls pushing against your chest, a constant dripping whose distance you can't quite pinpoint, and a darkness that goes on forever. ... I guess also a leaky coffin. Okay, TWO places.

[@chihabk1172]

An anus ?

[@zoe_astra]

One of my earliest memories is watching 2001: A Space Odyssey when I was about 5 or 6 years old and experiencing this intense mixture of claustrophobia and kenophobia. Ever since then I get very uncomfortable or even anxious watching films set in space.

[@NestorCustodio]

@@zoe_astra Curious if you've seen Jacob's video on Universal Paperclips, and (if so) did that bring up any anxiety?

[@redl0ydd752]

I got quite a bit of anxiety from that paper clip video as well

[@zoe_astra]

Nestor Custodio I did see that one, and yes it did bring up quite a bit of anxiety.

[@4foot11rat2]

i really like how you added hollow night into this video even if it was only for a single second the feel of the game is just like a big open cave. one the creepyist things i know

[@thebighurt2495]

It *is* a big, open cave.

[@somedragonbastard]

Except for deepnest, which is mostly a rather cramped cave

[@diegowushu]

Just watching "The Descent" almost made me sick, I can't imagine willingly getting in a cave that far.

[@kateelson991]

The Descent was great (but very scary)! I’m surprised there aren’t more cave-themed horror films.

[@adame2986]

As above so below is a movie which has a similar vibe to the descent and this yt vid

[@johndef5075]

I cant watch it. I already know what happens and its too overwhelming....

[@lizabee484]

SPOILERS FOR THE DESCENT AHEAD: One of my favorite college courses was called Women and Gender in Horror Media. And one of the most fascinating discussions we had as a class was about The Descent. Nearly the entire class of 30 students came to the conclusion, fairly quickly mind you, that the creatures in film are not the true monsters of it. It’s the cave itself. The fact that there are (d)evolved human-like things that live in and upon the cave like some sort of enormous parasite was just a side plot, practically inconsequential when compared to the yawning, impossibly black abysses and suffocating, strangling, endless tunnels that make up the true main character and monster of the film- the unnamed cave. It’s the only one who wins in the end. The only character succeeds in its goal, which seems to be to sate itself by swallowing yet more people down into its blackness.

[@kestral63]

The Descent is also a way better Silent Hill movie in every way without trying to be. It just showed up the year prior and styled on it from across time. If anything the SH movie should have left a more bitter aftertaste, but it's like the Descent ate all its reasons for ever existing to make it fade faster.

[@Mae_Dastardly]

"A man in central kentuky is stuck in a cave!" "HEY!!"

[@Brain-washed2]

Wurm LOL

[@Thomasscnz]

BUILD THE NEW RESCUE TUNNEL !

[@alessandromangaXD]

HEY he fucking dead lmao :(

[@andrewmiller8456]

And off to the rescue!

[@helper_bot]

this is bad but i absolutely love it

[@caudi8216]

I went caving with my class when I was 17. It wasn't the first time I'd been in a cave but it was the last (for now). It started out really well. Very nice guide, beginner-level drops and corridors, even a few chambers large enough for all of us to fit. At some point, the guide told us to turn our lights off and be quiet. It's really something to sit on a damp rock in total darkness, back leaning against a muddy wall, listening and trying to identify the weird sounds around you while he tells a scary story. The story itself wasn't the scary part (I don't even remember what it was). Before we turned our lights off, he stood at the opposite end of the chamber. And when we turned them back on, he was almost right up in our faces. I didn't even notice him creeping closer to us while he was talking because I was so distracted by my surroundings. Caves are strange places, and really effective as horror settings. Stories like The Enigma of Amigara Fault and Ted's Caving Page get under my skin in a really unpleasant way. (I got stuck in an upwards passage on that trip for probably like 15 minutes, but that's another story, this comment is already too long)

[@lucasfc4587]

Caudi I legitimately got scared the second you pointed it out. Good narration!

[@axse996]

When you started speaking about "the call of the void" and how the fact the caverns feel just made for someone to walk through, it starkly reminded me of my own "calls" of random pathways. My friends and I joke about a saying in our language that roughly translates to "dont lose your way for a pathway" and how I would absolutely literally do that (the saying itself is symbolic). I feel like these two things are quite connected and I feel like the answer is just behind a few more doors of knowledge that I've yet to open for myself

[@Lily-ge4tm]

Why is it that some of us just have this... Urge to wander? My dad and I have this urge too. My dad loves to go wandering in the woods. I love to explore urban places, finding nooks and alleys and little shops that only the locals frequent. Or accompany my dad.

[@oxilef8471]

Being somebody with Thalassophobia, i don't especially find "solid" depth this much scary, but the ocean/water depth is what trully scares me. It's a mix of the infinite space, the ocean literally spread throughout the entire planet, and the fact that you just can't see the end. These two things make for me any body of water where the bottom can't be seen a true nightmare. Add an unhealty amount of creepy imagination and my brain is going off, seing an "infinite" space that could be filled with anything, anything that can't be seen and that may never be seen. It gives me nausea, it make me feel anxious. I also guess that, the fact that in the water, you don't have any footing. Yes, you're "floating", but if somebody or *something* is a better swimmer than you, it could just grab you and pull you wherever they want. For me, Thalassophobia isn't the fear of body of waters, it's the fear of the seemingly infinite possibilities that lay there, untouched, ungazable.

[@uncomfortablyclose8481]

Yeah I feel like you’re either an ocean type or a cave type when it comes to this stuff. Unless you like underwater caverns.

[@lukasi.v4269]

When I see the shit they pull out from the abyss of the oceans I get what you're saying. Creatures so alien that might freak out even the most brave humans. Can't even imagine what is yet to be discovered.

[@Can-uj5pv]

@@uncomfortablyclose8481 I like the idea of both, caves seem like they can be nice and cozy while water always has this calming, serene feel about it to me when I don't need to worry about drowning, but I would preferably not have to crawl through tight spaces, that seems like a disaster waiting to happen. And I haven't had the chance to explore neither the underground nor the underwater yet because even simple camping and caving gear costs a lot of money, let alone scuba diving gear and permits, so my preferences maybe yet to change if/when I get actual 1st hand experience.

[@uncomfortablyclose8481]

I meant in terms of fears but It’s cool that you’re open to both. Personally I was forced to go caving in school trips and absolutely hate it.

[@uncomfortablyclose8481]

Honestly my prediction for whats at the bottom of the ocean is either a really deformed looking thing that makes you pity it’s existence or Cthulu. Probably the first one but I have hope.

[@NiftySenpai]

some of my favorite childhood memories are from caving. i loved reaching a room and lighting a few candles while eating lunch.. something about the atmosphere is very peaceful and connects you to human roots in a way. never feared the darkness for some reason.

[@spate7207]

Wow, the last person I'd expected to be in this comment section :O

[@churmmmcuz2823]

The cold air and pitch blackness of a cave is really something special

[@dingfeldersmurfalot4560]

It sounds like he's a guy coming from above and eating a sandwich. He isn't coming from above. And it's not a sandwich he is eating.

[@aaronbalchand5475]

Ive never gone cave exploring. The deepest ive gone is in a road tunnel.now, ive gone gliding because i was in canadian air cadets for a few months before i felt i didnt fit in (this was like 2 years ago).

[@user-xp9zm9wu9k]

What happened to you

[@sorenthekirin3921]

This whole video hits so hard and makes me feel so many emotions, especially with the thoughts of future people going digging for what we buried and tried to warm everyone to stay away from. It’s bound to happen.

[@TheeKittyPie]

Or even a familiar passage can become dangerous. One day and earthquake may occur, or the walls just get weak and no one can see it coming

[@Stonecargo21]

*country roads intensifies*

[@AL-ey9fx]

I love that all of what you describe, Jules Verne wrote of in “Journey to the center of the Earth” without leaving his house in France with the same detail. Your video made me feel the same as when I first read it. It’s just… fascinating.

[@Iserlohn.Republican.Government]

21:44 “Wow guys, the counter is clicking so fast, this must be where Geiger buried his treasure”

[@GamingWithHajimemes]

10000 year old radiation is the most expensive thing I could think of in the future.

[@abandonedaccountlel7605]

Oh my god, i spent forever looking for this video. My dyslexic, tired ass read the title as "fear of deaths" so i spent forever just scrolling through thousands of videos. All I remembered was the end song. Glad to know all the trouble was worth it!

[@SpudKai]

welcome back!

[@PataPannu]

Here in Finland, they're building a nuclear tomb and the messaging for the future people not to disturb it came under talk, from writter text to picture sign. In the end settling with just, not having any sign underground or above that the tomb exists, the location choosed to be one of nonzeismic baserock with not minerals in it to deter any future mining, and after the tomb is filled the whole complex is burried and hidden out of sight.

[@SD1Airsoft]

This is the best option. Any warning is enticement. In Vagabond, Musashi draws a circle telling opponents that entering it will mean certain death. Not a single person walks away. They have to enter the circle just to see. Musashi genuinely believes he is warning his opponents, but in reality, as explained to him later, he was begging them to die by his hand.

[@anushshah21]

@@SD1Airsoft damn. What an analogy

[@atashgallagher5139]

I have been a GM long enough with enough people in my D&D groups that no amount of planning will keep people out of a place, especially if they aren't supposed to go in somewhere or even aren't supposed to be able to do something period. They will find a way to do it and the only way around that is to not let them know it exists.

[@David9413]

Let's hope the odds are with them that no stray mining operation runs into it, despite the odds.

[@rue6914]

I think ultimately that's the best option. I sometimes wonder about the primordiality of creation myths. Eve and Adam, Pandora's Box. Our culture's oldest anecdotes of calamity, destruction and blight all derive from that one fundamental desire that us and our ancestors were doomed toward: the desire for knowledge. In simpler terms, curiosity killed the cat, except the cat has existed for as long as humans have existed and will never die so long as there's just one of us left.

[@c0smic_ca5h]

That was one of the best video essays I’ve heard in a LONG time and that is saying something. Well freaking done sir. 👏

[@theamaranthineman574]

"We just can't resist it." Uuuh, yes we can. I'm doing it right now. It's not even that hard.

[@Red_Eyed]

I'm fucking chillin. Miss me with that bullshit.

[@aussieseal9979]

What??

[@pissapocalypse]

It's actually extremely easy to not go exploring a cave lol

[@MrCmon113]

I don't even have anything against caves frequently hike and I never thought about exploring caves.

[@Kikiapina]

You don't know it then, you don't truly realize what the void is and in your ignorance you think you've conquered it.

[@KittenPinkamations]

Went “caving” with two of my classmates during a school camping trip about two years ago. It wasn’t an actual cave; just a closed, pitch-black box with tight spaces and obstacles to crawl through, with absolutely no light except for the tiny red flashlights the Teachers gave us and the reflections from the lens of some safety cameras here and there. 10/10 bonding experience, had a lot of fun, but I don’t think I’d want to do something like it again. All three of us coincidentally being * cough* * cough * _overweight,_ it was difficult to squeeze through the spaces, and standing straight up on the cold floor when we neared the end was so oddly freeing and so oddly _weird._ Like we were in another dimension. I felt like it was night, like it had been night for hours and hours, but in reality when we came out, only 17 minutes had passed and the sun was out bright. If a fake cave designed for 14 year old kids had felt so surreal to me, then I cannot imagine how alien a real cave would feel like. On a funny note, another group of students bragged that they’d get out in quicker time, but ended up taking the longest of all the groups to complete the fake cave.

[@Tondadrd]

This "feeling it was night, and the night was for hours" is what I feel when leaving the darkness of cinema into the bright day.

[@KittenPinkamations]

@@Tondadrd pffffff lmao

[@elijahnakumura4375]

@@Tondadrd I’ve felt that. You might know, but you’re subconscious doesn’t know that you will eventually leave. So it adapts, when you walk out you’re brains like “oh we can go back to normal?”

[@blackmambo8702]

@@elijahnakumura4375 Lol fr, thats why I like to going to the movies at night. Its not as jarring.

[@dashiellgillingham4579]

Try squeezing through a two-foot-wide hole in pitch blackness, with no idea how small the space actually is until you all come out the other side, and are allowed to turn on your lights.

[@xillion2751]

This guy sounds like he writes A++ essays

[@malink2658]

Can’t say the same

[@ScabbyCrab]

I dunno man I think he sounds like he thinks he writes A++ essays.

[@esmeraldagarcia1583]

Lol

[@louisb.6149]

Your voice is the most important tool you have in life, honestly. Learn to use it, to convey what you need, or to help people. Never neglect your vocabulary, and it will carry you anywhere. Or write dank papers

[@breadbeard9728]

Trust me, if you’re writing an academic paper, sadly, most English teachers don’t appreciate feelings or personality

[@DaNooch669]

I came here because of the Inside thumbnail. Didn't expect how great the video was gonna be

[@SwitchFeathers]

Two of my favorite quotes from two of my favorite sources: “Some humans would do anything to see if it was possible to do it. If you put a large switch in some cave somewhere, with a sign on it saying 'End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH', the paint wouldn't even have time to dry.” _- Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time._ "I've seen your kind, time and time again. Every fleeing man must be caught. Every secret must be unearthed. Such is the conceit of the self-proclaimed seeker of truth. But in the end, you lack the stomach. For the agony you'll bring upon yourself..." _- Sir Vilhelm, Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariendel_

[@orangeman3220]

Humans will always be the perpetual idiots until the end of time

[@nowhereman6019]

That's our nature. You resent it? So do I sometimes.

[@rohankishibe6433]

We do it so we can give ourselves character development

[@rafaelmaleakhilumbanbatu9873]

um ok

[@carthag1574]

@@orangeman3220 Why do quotes from fantastic themed books seems to annoy you so much ? It's thanks to that curiosity you watched this video, in all senses of the term, from the creation of your computer, to you looking for the abyss, speleology is funnier in real life, as well as the narrator of the video told, permit to see things under a new angle. What do you mean by ideology, i don't see in why these quotes constitute one.

[@tayzatun6351]

I actually cannot put my words into explaining the immersion I felt watching this video. It has put me through a rollercoaster of emotions. You're a great filmmaker. Your channel deserves the utmost amount of attention and respect.

[@bagel9110]

yes

[@cannedjeans]

i teared up at the end

[@Cruxador]

@@cannedjeans Same. After the entire journey, the wrap up and even just coming into something like the credits music was at once powerful and a release.

[@replikat4314]

I remember going snorkeling with my dad once. We started in a very shallow little bay just about two meters deep. The water was warm and the floor colourful with all sorts of marine life fish and snails and all kinds of stuff. I was fascinated and kinda forgot to look where I'm swimming. As I was looking at the fish swimming by I was hit with a wave of cold water. I looked forward and saw the colourful floor of the lagoon drop in a vertical stone wall downwards. There was no floor, no fish only a gigantic dark void. Only the blackness of thousands of meters of water, so much not even the light could penetrate it. I still think about that experience today.

[@cirlu_bd]

that's so haunting

[@chefhumpty6126]

How did you get out after

[@Companion92]

big noop

[@replikat4314]

@@chefhumpty6126 i mean I was on the surface so i just got my head above the water and swam back into the lagoon fast as fuck lol

[@nejsonsvejson9861]

People with thalasaphobia would literally die

[@eternia1229]

As someone who used to be a cave tour guide, you captured the feeling of being in a cave perfectly. There is something so uniquely unnerving yet mezmerizing about the way sound works in a place like that.

[@birdmooon]

I was literally just replaying Kentucky Route Zero and I thought "oh, I wonder what Jacob Geller thinks about this game" so I checked youtube and lo and behold... This makes me very happy :)

[@Cardinalbins]

One of those god given coincidences you only find in the deepest depths of the universes mystery.. Or, YOU FUCKIN LYYYYYIN. But seriously tho thats dope

[@jasonjason6584]

Hey is it worth it buying the game?

[@birdmooon]

@Jason Jason in my opinion it is absolutely worth it! If you like slow-ish games with a lot of text to read and a gorgeous art style then it is the type of game for you :) its like magic realism in the video game genre, and it touches on some pretty heavy themes while staying consistent with its surreal style

[@alessandromangaXD]

One of the best written games out there, if not THE best. The style is absolutely outstanding, i really think it's one of the most overlooked games ever. If you really get it, it might represent one of gaming's most important gems, and it really shows how far the medium can be pushed even with limited resources. Trurly a work of love. also shannon is waifu ig.

[@jasonjason6584]

Thanks guys , I will definitely buy it!

[@rev_dude]

I have no idea how many times ive watched this, but we are definitely well into double digits now, and i still love it. this is a truly incredible essay, well done Jacob.

[@henryordish]

i watch it every couple of weeks

[@Caspianm2]

Aperture science, specifically as it was falling apart towards the end of the 2nd game, definitely gave me the feeling of overwhelming depth. Same with Black Mesa.

[@shadeloudermilk4467]

When you fall into the enrichment shafts and look up, only to see an endless void of old ape rather equipment, you realize just how big that place is.

[@concept5631]

@@shadeloudermilk4467 No wonder Aperture went bankrupt at the end.

[@Sigma-xb6kn]

The weirdest feeling for me wasn't seeing old aperture, but instead the gigantic foundation new aperture is standing on, just after riding the elevator upwards while escaping old aperture. These enormous springs that hold up incredibly heavy structures always give me chills. To wander, just for a moment, where the two worlds meet, in an empty, forgotten space, is a feeling I haven't experienced in any other game.

[@Lainyofthewires]

The Enigma of Amigara Fault by Junji Ito deserved a whole section for me, especially compared to some of this media and especially with the references to the "pull" and or "draw" of the earth's hollow bodies. With some of these works it's subtext or no small amount of projection. But in Ito's The Enigma of Amigara Fault it is the defining narrative and explored to a degree some of these pieces only scratch the surface of. Beautiful video tho

[@funobot7344]

The thought of someone digging up the nuclear waste site, unknowing of the danger or actively dismissing the threat as a hoax, terrifies me like nothing else can. It is the closest we can get to a near lovecraftian horror in real life. Maybe fascination would be a parasite, something rooting for our demise. The opening of the waste containers being something planed all along. As if an outside force made us dig. And the radiation seeps through the country. It makes me think, what if those curses were real? What if we've already submitted ourselves to doom?

[@justinchalifoux4424]

Don’t worry man, if we live that long enough, the internet will still be around. Our manmade eighth wonder will be our saviour to make sure that NEVER happens

[@Julio-it1pl]

I'd submit myself to doom, especially if it's doom eternal

[@JohnYoo39]

I thought of the horror of imagining a future where humans rebuilt civilization after some catastrophe and the archeologists discovering the majestic civilization of America. Specifically Atlanta. Specifically the Center for Disease Control. Them marveling at the crafted metal and plastic tools and silicon semiconductor technology that this civilization relief upon. And stumbling upon the store of viruses and bacteria.

[@spoogerification]

Getting trapped in a cave is the most terrifying thing I can imagine

[@zigguratdemetrius5984]

Na… trapped in an underwater cave

[@MM-qj8ys]

@@zigguratdemetrius5984 that’s... still getting trapped in a cave but yeah lol

[@zigguratdemetrius5984]

@@MM-qj8ys yeah but... in water...

[@CC-ok2kt]

@@zigguratdemetrius5984 but it’s still a cave…

[@zigguratdemetrius5984]

@@CC-ok2kt but, with water...

[@averynelson1186]

It took two months to recover Floyd Collin's body. There are many who have died in caves, and their bodies have been irretreavable.

[@SASKIYEAAAAAH]

Irretrievable

[@azertycraftgaming]

so what?

[@averynelson1186]

@@azertycraftgaming SPOOKY

[@azertycraftgaming]

@@averynelson1186 s p o o k

[@guilhermebrasil5023]

How can 30 minutes on Instagram go by so fast, but watching a masterpiece like this takes so long ?

[@TheAmazingHerosquad]

"Bro it's easy not to get stuck in a cave just break the stone with your fist and put the torches on one side of the wall."

[@UhKimboze]

No replies to this comment, I'll be the first.

[@megumiseyelashes6706]

I'll be second

[@bill8383]

I will also.. comment

[@sleepycoffinraido8169]

me to

[@nick12_29]

I'll drop one as well...

[@ThreeProphets]

In Minecraft I recently went exploring with a singular goal in mind: Find cows to breed them for leather. After about a day of walking and the worst luck imaginable, I stumbled upon a sheer vertical chasm in the center of an abandoned village. There were other caves in the area that I hadn't yet explored, more accessible ones, closer to home. There was a straight offshoot tunnel from our stone quarry that I had only gone about 100 meters down before deciding to save it for later. But this one was *interesting.* Why was it so unusually steep? Had it killed all the villagers who wandered into it? And most importantly... what lay at the bottom? The next thing I knew I was cautiously throwing down ladders, slowly working my way down the 50 meter drop. It turned out to be one of the most expansive, lucrative cave networks I'd ever seen. I lost track of time a while ago, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's been about a week and a half. I've long since forgotten my original objective. I have a chest of valuables I've excavated down here in my camp at the end of a tunnel I thought I'd memorized the layout of, but now I can't find it for the life of me. At this level, there are lava beds around every corner, and I know I can hear monster spawners I haven't yet destroyed in the adjacent tunnels. I need to return to the surface and bring everything I can carry back home, but I don't think I've explore even a fraction of this maze, and I want to go deeper. I know I'll run out of food eventually. But those depths just keep calling me...

[@thenarder]

you haven't forgotten your original objective... it was to breed cows for leather

[@nemo9864]

Eat the creepers.

[@aletec96]

You know, I played Minecraft for a few months when I was 13, during the free beta period. One of the first things I did as soon as I got a pickaxe was to just dig down, down into a deep and vertical shaft, looking for minerals for crafting. And then I found some dark empty space. It was one of those underground cave networks. I still hadn't learnt how to craft torches so I was just there, in the dark, with my last torch shining a few blocks over me in my mining shaft. I don't know precisely why, but the experience scared child me so much that I ran back up and I never got back into the pit until much much later. And in the meantime it always stayed there, in the back of my mind, with it's neat little entrance, a cabin, some torches and a ladder going down. Thank you for bringing this memory back with your comment, I really appreciated it!

[@darya4512]

Reminds me of when I first played minecraft Java Edition. I was really young and didn't know how to build anything or basically do anything other than place dirt blocks. I got trapped in a cave under my dirt hut and at that time I was trully scared. Were there mobs going to kill me? How to I get out? I know these things now and every minecraft cave is basically the same to me. Its just that minecraft caves held so much more wonder and fear when I had no idea how to play the game.

[@slappy8941]

How about you grow the fuck up and be a man you fucking pathetic soy boy.

[@fobo3361]

When he said "there's always a way to move forward, but not always a way back" really hit different given the place im at in life right now

[@jeremyj.5687]

Hey my dude, I hope you are doing better now. Don't stop caring for yourself - best regards, Jeremy UwU

[@fobo3361]

@@jeremyj.5687 hey Jeremy :] Im actually happy and suprised to say i am doing better, not by much i will admit, i still think its gonna be another couple years if not more till i genuinely feel happy again, alotta the issues i had back then are still here only dulled by time really, but yeah, i am doin better, even if its just by that little bit Thank you

[@jeremyj.5687]

@@fobo3361 Happy to hear that bro, keep on shining, you crazy diamond.

[@MrCmon113]

That's not remotely true though. You can usually always go back and frequently not forwards. That's part of the reason why cave exploring is actually pretty save and people get stuck rarely.

[@cos0]

Hey man, good to hear from you 👍 I hope you're doing well and are better. I was once in the same situation about 10 years ago. It gets better, trust me. You're not alone and I wish you all the best :)

[@mikearrani3299]

Came back to rewatch this masterpiece after Internet Historian's video on Floyd Collins.

[@austinwakeman89]

I'll never be able to shake the absolutely uncanny feeling of when I visited Mammoth Caves and they turned the lights off for a good 30 seconds. True darkness that can only be found underground still haunts me to this day. I'm very glad they only left the lights off for that amount of time because there's no way I could last even a couple minutes without having some sort of panic attack. It's dark that's suffocating, it makes you feel totally and utter lost.

[@mikethegoo]

And yet, I bet there is also something beautiful about it

[@ManiacalBlueberry]

@@mikethegoo Nah I cant even sleep in the dark. All i feel is fear

[@Coffeeandacigarette]

That's what hell feels like

[@BoringTroublemaker]

I sing with a professional chamber choir and we are frequently hired by a local outdoor tour company to put on private concerts out in nature for their tour groups. We have shoeshoed out to a clearing in a mountain wilderness area, hiked to a remote lake, but we’ve also performed several times in a cave. We always perform our last song, Ubi Caritas by Ola Gjeilo, in total darkness. It’s both eerie and beautiful.

[@mikethegoo]

@@BoringTroublemaker That sounds SO cool!

[@drdurry7536]

10:38 When he showed the Junji Ito drawing I literally said out loud, Oh my god don't even fucking start'

[@Lukston]

dude same, i just skipped right ahead in the video just to be safe

[@Crowborn]

@@Lukston why did you skip? That part of the video was made for you ;)

[@paulagodebrito]

@@Crowborn _smooth_

[@oyasumilunlun]

made me remember that one comic so well i became horrified of the thought that it might come true.

[@Greippi10]

D: I wasn't looking but got ptsd just from hearing that. drrrrrrrr drrrrrrrr drrrrrr.......

[@ash-ne6zs]

one of the scariest moments of my life was when i went caving. i was 10, there with my scouts troop. standing at the mouth of the cave, something just felt... profoundly wrong. it had a gate on it, one with a passcode, because the rich teenagers that lived in the area liked to throw beer bottles down there. that's not what felt like the reason though - it felt like the gate, and the padlock, wasn't meant to contain others but to contain it. it felt like without those measures in place, the cave would just swallow up everything. in the first room, which still had the tiniest bit of light in it, was a small vertical passageway we were meant to shimmy down. i was terrified of it. everyone else was willing to crawl deeper into the cave, but i just couldn't do it. i voiced this fear to one of the chaperones, and they were willing to sit with me and talk through my fear. i wasn't able to get the words out. it turned out the layout of the cave was in kind of a roundabout manner: the first room connected to that tiny passageway and to more chambers underneath it, but it also connected to other rooms, ones which connected to those deeper chambers. it wasn't that i didn't want to be in the cave. i did, just not that too-tight space. the chaperone convinced me to go with her to the other chambers, with another kid, and we did. and we met with the rest of the group, and everything was okay for a while. and, then on the way out, my light went out. i got another battery for it, but for a few seconds i genuinely worried that i would die. sitting on a slick, wet rock, in a chamber far too deep yet far too large to feel real. with my light on, i could see every one of its corners, smoothened over time from the constant drip of water, but with that light gone, it was just black. when i got out of that place i breathed a sigh of relief, both at escaping what felt like the scariest place i had ever been and at finally being able to change out of my mud-covered clothes. but on the long car ride back i couldn't help but regret not going deeper. i wanted to go back, to see that tight passageway and what lies beneath it - the other kids called it the "root room", with tree roots coming in through the ceiling. in other words, this video was sick as hell and thank you for putting a voice to my weird personal feelings about caves.

[@BakaTaco]

Thanks for such an interesting story. I've been in a few caves before, but only as a tourist and I felt very safe. There was the opportunity to go on a cave river ride and I wanted to do that, but we didn't have the time on our holiday (Western Australia, if I recall). That also seemed very safe. However, I would never want to explore a cave that is not explored normally. It's both terrifying and a feeling of curiousity... What does it look like? Will I survive? This could be amazing... This could be dangerous... The bottom line is, I would not at all reccomend that anyone goes into a cave that they don't know things about, unless they are an expert and even then... You MUST be safe, prepared and think things through. Man, this video has me talking all deep... Haha.

[@ChrisJones-rd4wb]

Bro this reminds me of when I was a little kid, I went to an extreme Adventure Camp. And at that camp they had one program, for two weeks out of the year, which was supposed to be the Pinnacle of outdoor exploration. They didn't even stay at Camp, they drove around Colorado too all the most challenging locations, physically and mentally. Everybody there had to trust their partner with their life, there was only two counselors for 20 kids, we had to belay each other. Anyways, we went too a little known cave way high up in the mountains, and when I mean little known I mean little known. (After I left Camp I tried searching it up on the internet but I couldn't find anything but a single news article from 1962.) I remember feeling a sense of awe as we walked into a giant hole in the side of this mountain, it went up 30 feet and continued back hundreds of feet. My counselor and guide then pointed too the walls that were littered with so many black inky tunnels that it was almost tripaphoboc and said "ten feet up too the left, thats where we are going" we had to scale a wall then slide ourselves down a tunnel barely wider than a belly crawl 5 ft down into a chasim where we waded, squeezed, and reppeld half a mile into the depths before we finally got too the "main room" where we ate lunch. This is where one of the counselors got volenteers for the real caving. We hit place called "popcorn ally" named this because of the incredibly sharp rocks on the wall - we had too shimmy 20 ft up a crack just wide enough too fit sideways, then move from slippey wet foothold too slippery wet foothold, all while the rocks tore our clothing too shreds. We had to do this because at the bottom it was too small for a human to fit, and as I was climbing along up there I couldn't help but think that if I fell there was no way I was coming back out, it was below me like a gaping Maw, waiting too swallow my up and trap me, digging into me with its razor sharp teeth. After this is just a couple hundred feet of crawling, squeezing, and climbing and we reached the end. There was nothing really special, there was a pile in the corner where people leave things for the next person too make it here, kinda like those geocash things, we dropped one of our extra Firestarters in there and began too make our way out. I distinctly remember when I broke out into a large open section and thought we were lost before my counselor told me we were in the main room where we ate lunch earlier. This adventure was 2 years ago, it has stuck with me, I do climbing, cliff diving, and a whole plethora of extreme sports, yet nothing is ever given me the same feeling as a cave. I want too go back.

[@AverageAlien]

Sounds like horsecrap its just a hole in the ground lmfao

[@trees60]

Chris Jones could you tell how to get to this cave? Is there a lesser known trail or something leading to it?

[@ash-ne6zs]

@@trees60 i geniunely have no clue where it was. pennsylvania/maryland/virginia definitely. i've done a lot of digging around to find anything like it, but i've never actually managed to track down that specific cave.

[@kibbleofdoom]

This topic resonates. I did a few deployments on a submarine and that environment is definitely claustrophobia inducing. The worst part though, was having to clean up around the vessel. You crawl into impossibly tight spaces looking for dust and grease, looking to hide from your supervisors and catch a few minutes rest. Sometimes you get stuck and there are horrible moments of frantic scrabbling, looking to clear your shoulders so you can breathe, begging for help from friends who are often times just feet away. Those couple feet might as well be miles if you've gotten yourself well and truly stuck

[@teejaykaye]

Me, an intense claustrophobe: "this seems like the perfect video to watch"

[@barkingdoggo3331]

I wasn't claustrophobic until I watched this

[@NoSubsWithContent]

Everybody gangsta till they get stuck under billions of tons of rock in a 2 foot hole with mini knives everywhere

[@Companion92]

I personaly feel like the wide underwater place was even scarier

[@sorcierenoire8651]

@@ns-f2z waa that a fucking Junji Ito reference?

[@laniakeas92]

Um fear of depths it's a bit different thing

[@victorscarpes]

I can't not respect someone who, to make an analysis, goes on to experience the subject. Props to you, Jacob. You truly are one of the best youtubers I've ever found.

[@Silver-lu1dt]

Did you just used a double negation?

[@davidbergaragonzalez5653]

@@Silver-lu1dt Yes, and it bothers me greatly.

[@Grimguapo]

@@Silver-lu1dt he confused me too bro lmao

[@paulovinicius9940]

@@davidbergaragonzalez5653 It took me 7 years understand this comment, but i finally did.

[@Max-qz1jt]

Godzilla had a stroke while reading this and fucking died

[@KazLordOfLightWarriors]

I would never consider myself one with Claustrophobia, but I would never in my life go into a place that I cannot turn around in. I had that thought in my childhood when my friend wanted me to explore his ventilation system, since there was a very large opening in his playroom, with only a toy lightsaber as a light source. I had that thought when watching Ghost Adventures, and there was a room in a basement that you could only get to in by crawling through a small opening in a wall. And I have now had that thought ring more than ever when looking at the photos of the Wake of the Dream.

[@thepinkestpigglet7529]

Been thinking about this with that whole submarine thing

[@Karpata1]

A game that I think is worth mentioning here is Subnautica. Specifically the "Dead Zone" at the edge of the crater. The first time a player encounters this biome will for sure be a memorable one every time.

[@killcharge4338]

Fuck dude i went and looked off the edge and said "hell no" and then went forward anyway because i wanted to face my fear of depth and then it happened

[@TheShadow7771]

"Are you sure what you're doing is worth it?"

[@ultmateragnarok8376]

As deep as the game goes for the storyline, it will never compare to the place beyond the crater's edge. There's nothing out there for you - no resources, no exploration, no new sights you'll ever reach, not even any background music or similar. Nothing you can harness can find the full extent of the depths, or see what else is down below you or out there with you, and chances are, it won't ever bother to see you either. The name 'dead zone' is fitting, because while it may not be devoid of life, it _is_ devoid of a purpose or place in it for you.

[@m0nstr0cityy]

@@ultmateragnarok8376 damn, this gem of a comment is buried quite deep in the comment section.

[@YouveBeenMegged]

“Entering ecological dead zone. Adding report to databank.” Is still one of the scariest things you will ever hear the PDA utter. That and “This ecological biome contains 7 of the 9 preconditions for stimulating terror in humans.”

[@blackosprey2219]

While the idea to dissuade people from uncovering waste sounds cool, intentionally making a place foreboding and saying DANGER DO NOT TOUCH would just make us wanna do it more.

[@helper_bot]

good thing you're still alive, i guess?

[@TetrologyGamingBattlefield]

In the UK or some place there they have the same issue with waste but are just going to cover it up the best they can then make it look like nothing was there, so no one can be curious of whats underneath.

[@necrobynerton7384]

What if we also put pictures so they can also see what we mean? ...Egyptians did this a long time ago didn't they?

[@joannomos6620]

@@necrobynerton7384 Imagine future generations climbing back up the ladder of civilization long after this one passes. They discover these waste plants, and interpret our warnings the same way we treated the countless warnings before us. They brush past our pleas to turn back and ignore the promises of death and suffering as myths and primitive religions from an inferior age. And when they bring in the heavy machinery to drill and drill and drill out that layers of granite and salt and concrete, their finest team of engineers, archeologists, and scientists all drop dead. Radiation sickness cuts through the team like a scythe, and within months the work crew perishes entirely, their skins melting and bodies withering away. What would they do? What would we have done if Carter's team all dropped dead the instant they opened up Tutankhamun's tomb? Our messages have been in vain, and our demons we crammed in the darkest confines of the Earth are unleashed once more upon our descendants. The ancient Egyptians would get the last laugh in the Duat. "Not so easy now, is it?"

[@epion660]

If you try to hide it, you'll kill innocent people some day because they're digging to expand their home. If you put warnings up, at most you'll kill idiots who signed up for the risk.

[@ghostpatrol8702]

“Darkness is impossible to remember. Consequently, cavers desire to return to those unseen depths where they have just been. It is an addiction. No one is ever satisfied. Darkness never satisfies. Especially if it takes something away- which it almost always invariably does.” - House of Leaves, by Mark Z. Danielewski. If you enjoyed the topic of this video, you gotta check it out. One of the core themes of the story is exploring terrifying depth on both a physical and psychological level.

[@borretniw7603]

There is no House on Ash Tree Lane.

[@heptonaut]

i just started reading this, it's incredible

[@schnoz2372]

Couldn’t stop thinking about that the whole time

[@willmiester4051]

Hey actually did talk about it during his video on haunted houses.

[@harrisonfackrell]

Jacob talks about House of Leaves in his video _Anatomy, Control, and the Legacy of the Haunted House._ It also shows up in-frame on his bookshelf in a few other videos.