Infinite Cave in Vietnam -- Photo by Carsten Peter at National Geographic

Today my head is full of caves.

I’ve never been terribly interested in going spelunking. Tight spaces make me a bit nervous, though I wouldn’t say I’m claustrophobic, exactly. I’ve been in small spots before and didn’t freak out. But anytime a character in a book or movie can’t breath, I can’t breath. I can’t keep my head under the covers for very long because I think I’m going to run out of air. Being too close to someone else’s face gets me twitchy, too. If we’re breathing the same oxygen back and forth, we’re turning it all to carbon dioxide, and there won’t be any left.

A little science is dangerous to the mind. Total ignorance or complete understanding is safer.

Anyway. Caves. A few days ago, I saw this picture of a cave in Vietnam. It’s so enormous, there’s a forest inside. Seriously. Totally unexplored forest inside an underground cavern. What sorts of creatures might be living in there? I’m going with dinosaurs on this one. Dinosaurs, people. If Nessie’s out there in the semi-open after all this time, why couldn’t a herd of brachiosaurs be lumbering about in all that greenery?

Might be djinn. Might be a map to the Well of Souls. Photo by Oman Touristry

And what about the Majlis Al Jinn cave in Oman? It’s a single chamber, five stories high, and accessible only by three holes in the ceiling. Translated, it means “Meeting Place of the Jinn.”

I have a book I bought for research about djinn. In it, the author talks about this cave, and how very dangerous it is, due to the angry spirits residing inside. She tells a story of getting halfway down, only to be engulfed by green mist, and hearing a deep, threatening voice warning her to leave. She says in the book that the cave was closed by the Oman government shortly after that, and no one is allowed inside.

I love this story. So I was a little resentful when I found out it was an American couple who named it back in the ’80s. Locals call it “Khoshilat Maqandeli” which has something to do with being a goat refuge. Sure, they believe djinn live in the caverns within the caves, but they don’t seem to be freaked out about it. And to complete the total let down, the Ministry of Tourism in Oman has opened it up as a show cave to attract visitors.

Photo Credit: © Speleoresearch & Films/ Oscar Necoechea

Still, I like to imagine the mystery of the whole thing anyway.

And last, I will leave you with this picture of the Lost Crystal Caves in Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico. In this case, it’s not about what might be lurking inside, it’s about what might have built it.

Sure, I get it. Science, blablahblah. But aliens? That’s far more interesting.