What recordings exist of genuine seismic or drilling sounds from the Kola Superdeep Borehole and how were they made?
Executive summary
The long-running “sounds from the Kola Superdeep Borehole” story splits into two streams: an internet hoax of bloodcurdling “screams” that circulated in the 1990s and later, and a much smaller, verifiable body of ambient and artistic recordings made at the abandoned Kola site and from other deep-borehole projects; mainstream scientific seismic recordings tied to the original Soviet drilling are not documented in the sources provided. The scream audio is demonstrably re-used sound effects and soundtrack material, while the genuine audio available to the public comes mainly from artists who recorded the site and, in some projects, lowered microphones into deep holes as part of sound art documentation [1] [2] [3] [4] [5].
1. The hoax: where the “screams” came from and how the story spread
The tale that Soviet scientists lowered a microphone into the Kola borehole and captured tortured human screams—often called the “Well to Hell” story—originated as an urban legend and was amplified by paranormal shows and tabloid outlets; investigative summaries and myth-debunking work show the scream audio was looped from movie soundtracks and other effects rather than recorded down the hole [1] [2]. Popular venues and sensation-driven outlets recycled the claim with little sourcing—examples include late-night radio and tabloid writeups that repeated a narrative of heat-resistant microphones, wailing, and supernatural interpretation despite no primary scientific evidence cited [6] [7] [8].
2. Forensics on the “sounds of Hell”: match to movie audio and looped edits
Audio forensics and skeptical investigators traced the infamous clip’s components to pre-existing horror-movie sound effects—Skeptoid and other defenders of the factual record noted that the recording uses looped sections of screams and likely borrows from the 1972 Italian horror film Baron Blood—evidence that the putative borehole origin is fabricated [2] [1]. Multiple myth-busting writeups also document how the narrative accreted additional fantastical claims (fountains of gas, winged beings) as the story circulated, a hallmark of urban legend evolution rather than a chain of verifiable scientific reports [2].
3. What genuine recordings actually exist: sound art and field documentation
There are publicly available, legitimate audio projects that document the Kola site and deep-borehole environments: sound artists and documentary-makers visited the abandoned Kola compound and produced field recordings and sound walks that include atmosphere around the shaft and, in at least one project, recordings presented as “inside the borehole” (Justin Bennett and related sound-art pieces) rather than sensational claims of voices from below [3] [4]. Wired and other cultural outlets describe artists researching super-deep holes and recording subterranean rumblings as part of creative projects, sometimes using abandoned or alternative deep wells when access to Kola itself was limited or the wellhead sealed [9] [3].
4. How those genuine recordings were made — and the limits of the public record
The available reporting identifies field-recording and sound-art practices—on-site ambient capture, interviews with former staff, and creative presentations of “listening inside” a borehole—but does not provide a detailed, technical chain of custody or instrumentation log that replicates a scientist-lowered, heat-resistant microphone recording from 12 km depth [3] [4] [9]. EarthDate and other summaries note that recordings from other deep-drilling programs have been incorporated into artistic projects, suggesting artists sometimes use contact mics, hydrophones, or recorded seismic data as source material, but the specific microphone types, deployment depths, and signal-processing steps for any “inside the borehole” audio are not documented in the sources provided [5] [3]. Therefore, while authentic-sounding borehole and site recordings exist in the public domain as art and documentary, the precise scientific provenance and in-situ technical methods for lowering microphones into Kola at working depth remain unsubstantiated in the supplied reporting.
5. What to believe and why: separating sensory art from scientific record
The balanced conclusion is that no reliable evidence supports the sensational claim that Soviet scientists recorded human screams from the Kola Superdeep Borehole—the scream clip is a demonstrated hoax—while there are genuine, non-paranormal recordings produced by sound artists and documentarians of the Kola site and other deep wells that capture ambient rumblings and the mood of the place [1] [2] [3] [4]. Readers should treat tabloid retellings and paranormal sites as having an incentive to amplify mystery for attention or traffic, and regard artist-produced “borehole sounds” as creative or documentary works rather than proof of supernatural phenomena unless accompanied by verifiable scientific metadata [6] [8] [5].