The Silent Mine
This is a story of courage and determination. But it begins with a little history. In the Forest of Dean, in the county of Gloucestershire, lies Deanwell Mine. Opened in the mid-19th century and closed in 1957, it was re-opened as a tourist attraction in 1972. The mine was constructed inside a series of naturally forming caves and tunnels, where strong winds moved around the tunnels in a way that produced some eerie sounds, almost sounding like human wails and howls. Many miners over the years had believed the mines to be haunted, and were only willing to work in them during the day and in groups of four or more.
In the 1920s, the Hatfield Mining Company created a competition to find brave men to work in their mine. It was simple: any man who could sleep from sunset to sunrise in the deepest section of the mine, alone and without light, would receive a significant cash prize. Many men attempted to win that prize, but all left the caves before sunrise, seemingly unable to conquer their fears.
Every five years since the mine re-opened as a tourist attraction, the owners of the Deanwell Mine Museum had organised their own version of that competition. In the month of September, any adult could apply for a one night stay – alone – inside the mine. Anyone who managed to stay there until the morning won £250. Out of the 300+ people to attempt the challenge, only 12 had succeeded. Now, in 2022, on the 50th anniversary of the mine’s reopening, the museum owners had decided to make one key change to the entry criteria: this year children (from 12 years old and upwards) would be allowed to apply. The prize had also been increased to £500. Lilly Velasquez (who turned 12 in August), knew she could win this competition.
Lilly lived in Gloucester, about a half hour drive away from the mine. She had visited it the previous year for a school trip and liked it a lot, so still checked in on its website from time to time. For the last eight years she had been living in an apartment with just her mother, who needed to do two jobs (full-time café barista, part-time Spanish / English translator) to support them both. Her mother had never failed to pay their rent on time… but sometimes it had been close. An extra £500 would really help her – maybe Lilly’s mum could even take a few days off work to have a little holiday with her? That would be a first.
Whilst on her school trip, many of her classmates had been creeped out by the sounds in the mines. Two boys and one girl had even started crying and needed to be escorted out. But Lilly hadn’t been bothered in the slightest. You see, Lilly had been deaf since she was three years old. To her, the mine was just a beautiful and mysterious place.
It was not easy to convince her mother to let her enter the competition, but she did. It was not easy to get through the competition’s selection process, but she did. And so it was that at 7pm, on Saturday the 24th of September, Lilly was guided into the depths of the mines by a nice lady named Sue. They got to an area about the size of Lilly’s living room, where a sleeping bag and torch had been laid out for her. She was also provided with a walkie talkie, in case she wanted to leave early. Lilly… had not actually mentioned in her application that she was deaf, as it would most likely have prevented her from being chosen. Lilly had learned to speak clearly and could lip-read extremely well, so it wasn’t too hard for her to hide her advantage.
Once Sue left her, Lilly got as comfy as she could inside the sleeping bag, then began to read a new book she had brought with her. It was a little creepy being all alone like this of course, but Lilly just kept reminding herself that there was nothing to fear but fear itself. She would soon find out how wrong she was.
Who or what does Lilly encounter in the mine?
Are they friendly or bad?
Will being deaf be more of an advantage or disadvantage to Lilly in this story? Or will it make little to no difference?