Mole people

This article is about homeless people. For the film, seeThe Mole People (film).For the science fiction characters, seeMole people (fiction).For other uses, seeMole Men (disambiguation).

Demolished shanty housing once used by the homeless in Manhattan'sFreedom Tunnel

In theUnited States,the termmole people(also calledtunnel peopleortunnel dwellers) is sometimes used to describehomelesspeople living under large cities in abandonedsubway,railroad,flood,sewage tunnels,and heating shafts.

In documentary film and non-fiction

Dark Days,a 2000 documentary feature film by British filmmakerMarc Singer,follows a group of people living in an abandoned section of theNew York City Subway,in the area calledFreedom Tunnel.AnthropologistTeun Voeten's bookTunnel Peopleis also about the inhabitants of the Freedom Tunnel, where Voeten lived for five months.

Jennifer Toth's 1993 bookThe Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City,written while she was an intern at theLos Angeles Times,was promoted as a true account of travels in the tunnels and interviews with tunnel dwellers. The book helped canonize the image of the mole people as an ordered society living literally under people's feet. However, few claims in her book have been verified, and it includes inaccurate geographical information, numerous factual errors, and an apparent reliance on largely unprovable statements. The strongest criticism came fromNew York City Subwayhistorian Joseph Brennan, who declared, "Every fact in this book that I can verify independently is wrong."Cecil Adams'sThe Straight Dopecontacted Toth in 2004,and noted the large amount of unverifiability in her stories, while declaring that the book's accounts seemed to be truthful. A later article, after contact with Brennan, was more skeptical of Toth's truthfulness.

Cities

See also:Storm drain § Residence

Entry into the Las Vegasflood controltunnels

Other journalists have focused on the underground homeless inNew York Cityas well. PhotographerMargaret Mortonmade the photo bookThe Tunnel.Filmmaker Marc Singer made the documentaryDark Daysin the year 2000, and a similar documentary,Voices in the Tunnels,was released in 2008. In 2010,Teun VoetenpublishedTunnel People.

Las Vegas

Media accounts have reported "mole people" living underneath other cities as well. In theLas Vegas Valley,it is estimated a thousand homeless people find shelter in the storm drains underneath the city for protection from extreme temperatures that exceed 115 °F (46 °C) while dropping below 30 °F (−1 °C) in winter.

According to media reports, the people living in the tunnels underneath Las Vegas have managed to furnish their "rooms". In one ABC News report from 2009,a couple, who had been living in the tunnels for five years, had furnished their home with a bed, bookcase and even a makeshift shower. The tunnels are prone to flooding, which can be extremely dangerous for the tunnel's residents. Most lose their belongings regularly, and there have been some reported deaths.

Many tunnel inhabitants have been turned away from the limited charities in Las Vegas. Matt O'Brien, a local author who spent nearly five years exploring life beneath the city to write the bookBeneath the Neon,founded theShine A Light Foundationto help the homeless people taking refuge in the tunnels. The charity helps tunnel residents by providing supplies, such as underwear, bottled water, and food.

According to the Clark County Regional Flood Control District, the valley has about 450 miles (720 km) of flood control channels and tunnels, and about 300 miles (480 km) of those are underground.

See also

• Avinguda de la Llum
• Sewer alligator
• Underground living
• Urban exploration,the exploration of man-made structures including tunnels as a hobby

Fiction

• K'n-yan,fictional subterranean land in works byH. P. Lovecraft
• Hans Moleman,a recurring character onThe Simpsons
• City of Ember,a 2008 film
• Neverwhere,a novel byNeil Gaimanbased on the concept
• The novelLa Promesse des ténèbresbyMaxime Chattamfeatures communities of people living underground in New York City, including the "mole people" who live in the lowest parts. Jennifer Toth's book is cited by the author.

Further reading

• Haughney, Christine (February 6, 2012)."The Fiery End of a Life Lived Beneath the City".The New York Times.
• Landowne, Youme; Horton, Anthony (2008).Pitch Black.El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press.ISBN978-1-933693-06-4.
• Morton, Margaret (1995).The Tunnel: The Underground Homeless of New York City.Yale University Press.

External links

• NYU Portfolio Review: The Mole People– Jennifer Toth, The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City – Chicago Review Press, 1993.
• Straight Dope article: Are there really "Mole People" living under the streets of New York City?
• Straight Dope article: The Mole People revisited
• Joseph Brennan – Fantasy inThe Mole People
• Teun Voeten – Tunnel People
• Narratively article