Demonic Dwarves of the Copper Mine

Duane Berger kicked back and stared into the gently cracking flames of the campfire burning in the November desert air. The aforementioned twenty-two-year old outdoorsman and his friend Mark (younger by two years) had decided to go out camping close to an abandoned Arizona copper mine, and had just enjoyed a busy day of wandering around the locale and taking photographs of the intriguing scenery. They had even braved a brief foray into the mine itself in search of more photographs. Now, however, they were just drinking happily after having finished their dinner of steak and beans. Their cowboy-esque sense of calm would soon be shattered, however, as screams suddenly emanated from the dark tunnel. Realising that they had to do something, the boys picked up what little weaponry they had, and headed into the mouth of madness.

## Subterranean Savages and Satanic Sacrifices

The year was 1997, and Duane and his friend were '*feeling pretty good about life in general*' after a tiring day before the aforementioned screams suddenly penetrated the nighttime peace. The men had apparently never even discussed the paranormal - and so the possibility that the frightful moans and shrieks could be the product of banshee-like spirits was the farthest thing from their minds at the time. They just sounded '*too real*' - and seemed to suggest that there were multiple women in the mines '*being tortured or something*', with multiple voices sometimes being audible as they cried out in unison.

Likely somewhat paralysed with fear, the petrified pair simply remained sat where they were - completely at a loss for how to proceed. Eventually, they decided that they would have to save the victims of the horrific torture which must surely have been taking place within the nightmarish confines of the tunnels. They noted that there were no fresh tire tracks or remains of recently-used campfires around the area to suggest that anyone else had visited the site within recent memory, and so Duane and his companion decided that the only logical explanation for the event must be that '*someone was living deeper in the mine and that someone, whoever it might be, was terribly mistreating whatever women were with them*'.

Displaying a sense of manly bravado that would put even the most-likely-to-die slasher film characters to shame, the men grabbed some nearby steak-knives and a tire iron to use as weapons, as well as a torch to light the way before bravely entering the gaping mouth of the long-deserted tunnel. They had barely made it a dozen yards before they noticed that there was a 'greenish glow' emanating from ahead of them. They also soon noticed the silhouetted figures of two men in dark robes, who seemed to be attempting to block the men's entrance into the mine. Duane and Mark whispered nervously amongst themselves, now growing more convinced that they had stumbled upon one of the nefarious ceremonies of a Satanic cult - the kind which presumably practiced human sacrifice. Nervous but evidently not frightened enough to retreat just yet, the men continued to approach and soon realised that the entities before them were actually only barely 5ft in height - and that the two men were over 6ft, meaning that they should've been able to hold their own against the '*midget cultists*'.

Once again demonstrating their brave (or very stupid) behaviour throughout this event, the witnesses commanded the beings to release the women in the caves. This prompted the diminutive devils to reply in total unison, speaking with bizarre mechanical voices and announcing '*the women are beyond your help! Leave at once or perish! Leave at once; or join them in the caves*'. Undeterred, Duane (likely emboldened by the beers he and his friend had that night) shone his flashlight into the faces of one of the entities - to reveal that it appeared to be wearing a red harlequin-like mask over the top half of its face. The bottom half of it was described as being '*sickly grey*'. The creature clearly didn't respond well to having the bright light in its eyes, and yelled what Duane assumed must have been a curse-word in some obscure language, before both the creatures produced wand-like objects that spewed yellow light at the witnesses - rendering them both immobile.

Changing the focus of their beam weapons, they shone a greenish beam of light against the wall of the mine - melting away the solid rock and revealing a doorway or opening. The two creatures quickly scurried into this aperture and promptly vanished into the darkness, and within seconds the doorway was once again sealed off by solid rock. The paralysing effects of the creatures' ray-guns (as Duane later described the objects) quickly wore off, lasting less than minute overall - but leaving the two men '*tingling*' as if they had just hit the funny-bones in their elbows. Now that they were once again able to move, they quickly decided that they were totally out of their depth - having temporarily entered a world of '*some incredible supernatural beings or aliens from another world or demons from hell*'. They quickly kicked out their campfire and grabbed their supplies before leaving the scene with as much haste as they could muster.

In the years since then, Duane has claimed to be haunted by the screaming sounds that he and his friend heard on that fateful night. He says that he regrets not being able to help the desperate-sounding women, but also laments how hopeless the plight of his foolhardy younger self really was - attempting to use steak-knives against '*ray guns that could paralyse you and then open and close holes in stone walls*'. Eventually, Duane has come to the conclusion that he and Mark might've actually heard the sounds of souls being tormented in hell. He sometimes finds himself wondering if they hadn't stumbled on '*some ungodly, cursed opening that actually went from Hell directly to Earth*'.

## Source

'The Inhumanoids: Real Encounters with Beings that Can't Exist' by Barton M. Nunnelly