Sheppton has been described as a “continuous, collective hallucination,” an out-of-body experience, a miracle by Pope John XXIII, and proof of life after death. Fate Magazine pronounced Sheppton as “unmatched in the annals of psychic research.” The Associated Press called Sheppton “one of the most significant” news stories of the year. The Sheppton Mythology remains Pennsylvania’s forbidden Urban Legend and the Coal Region’s final mystery.

In 1963, three miners were entombed more than 300 feet underground near remote Sheppton, Pennsylvania. Although two were eventually rescued, the other simply disappeared.

Something fantastic happened in that soulless place devoid of forgiveness and light. It was a black hell, a total darkness where the ability to see depth or movement was eradicated. Vision was painfully ripped away by powerful forces and yet, even without the gift of sight, the trapped men were somehow able to see.

While confined, the miners saw bizarre humanoid creatures and stairwells leading to a Golden City. They claimed to have been in the presence of his Holiness Pope John XXIII.

Scholars, scientists and Vatican academics, all reached the same conclusion: the survivors were telling the truth about their ordeal.

Some researchers have suggested that Sheppton is entwined with the controversial “Hollow Earth Theory,” while others claim it provides proof of life after death. “Timothy,” recorded by The Buoys, eerily paralleled Sheppton as it introduced allegations of cannibalism.

Steeped in the miraculous, the supernatural and the dreadful, Sheppton has become greater than the sum of its parts.