Local Myths

Story by Paije Maas | Design & Illustration by Makayla Zayic

Washington State is known to most as the “Starbucks state” full of caffeine addicts, or the “Evergreen State” full of trees as far as the eye can see in specific vampire movies.

What some may not know is Washington State is also home to a few urban legends aside from the iconic Bigfoot.

MALTBY’S 13 STEPS TO HELL

Located in Bothell is a cemetery of secrets. It is said that within this cemetery sits a set of stairs leading to an underground tomb home to a very wealthy family. These stairs became labeled as the “13 Steps To Hell” after many teenagers dared each other to walk down them until they caught a glimpse of what lies beneath. It has been passed along that if you were to walk down those stairs and back up, you would catch a glimpse of the depths of hell and its fire chambers.. although unfortunately you cannot see this now as it has been completely closed off.

Perhaps it was for the best.

SOURCE: Only In Your State website

DRYDEN HALL

Old buildings always have an urban legend or a story that has been passed around about it. The Cecil Dryden Hall located at Eastern Washington University is no different. This building was first opened in 1965 and is a co-ed dorm. It is said that on the “outer-wall of the north wing” a screaming face can be seen. The maintenance workers have tried to debunk this by changing the

“...after his dear dog friend had passed and he released him into the hole as a burial, he did not stay down there.”

lights position in hopes of diminishing the shadow, but it still remains. hole. When Waters was on the radio show he mentioned how in some cases, if you dropped something into the depths of the hole, it would not stay down there. It was mentioned that when Waters spoke with a neighbor, he was told that after his dear dog friend had passed and he released him into the hole as a burial, he did not stay down there. In fact, Waters’ friend said the dog returned, looking brand new.

While some may not believe this magical fortress exists, most find it odd that the Federal government seized the land and forced Waters to lease his land to the government.

Something is down there.

SOURCE: Spokane Historical website

GRAVITY HILL

This mysterious road is located 15 miles north of Prosser Washington on North Crosby Road and is near another haunted location, the grain elevator. This spot is hard to find but to help you out, there is a “START” line drawn in chalk. The reason this road is so mysterious is because if you were to drive up to the start line and put your car in neutral, it would begin to roll up the hill. While this may not seem that wild, if you look at the road, it does not appear to be a hill at all. It looks like a continuous straight stretch of road. If that still isn’t enough of a spook for you, it is also said if you were to put powder on the back of your car, you will later see small hand prints of the children that pushed your car along the road.

SOURCE: Atlas Obscura website

MEL’S HOLE

One story that is popularly known to many CWU students is the bizarre tale of Mel’s Hole.

This story began when the owner of this mysterious hole, Mel Waters, contacted Coast to Coast AM which is a late night radio show that discusses anything and everything paranormal. So, why would anyone want to listen to a man talk about a random hole in his backyard? Well, this hole was not just a few feet deep. Instead, Waters had mentioned the hole was at least 80,000 feet deep and even then, he was sure the number could continue. Aside from figuring out the depths of the hole, Waters also conducted more visual research like the fact that dogs absolutely hated the hole and would not go within two feet of it. “They wouldn’t go anywhere near the damn thing. If I try to bring them there on a leash, they just dig their feet in and won’t want to go anywhere near the hole,” says Waters in the Coast to Coast interview.

If you have seen Pet Sematary, then you know the properties of the burial ground outside of the Creed family home. Once something that had passed was buried in the soil, it would return. The same has been said about Mel’s

SOURCE: Mel’s hole UW Youtube Video