My Uncle was a tour guide at Moaning Cavern and that is where I first heard the story of the giant rock monster. The story I heard was of a monster called Yayali. He was a rock giant that lived deep in the cavern. When hungry he would try to entice the local native peoples to the cave where he would pull them down with his massive hand. In the mid 80's I also became a tour guide/climbing instructor at Moaning Cavern. When I would guide walking tours I would wait till we we were at the lowest point of the tour, then the base of the large spiral stair case, and tell the tail. For just the right mood I would turn off the main lights, and with the dim light of my flashlight, tell the story. I would show the passage beneath where the rock beast would emerge. I would point to outcropping's and formations that would be used as handholds in the climb. The beam of my flashlight casting a shadow of my hand and arm to directly delineate each and every place along the cavern wall. Then, next to the ceiling of the cavern I would show the spot where he would sit and wait; patiently wait, until his victim came close to the entrance. With light of the flashlight and shadow of my hand, now enormous as it was cast over one hundred feet to the ceiling, I would quickly bring my hand closer, and closer, to the light making it appear as if a giant hand was coming down upon the entire tour group, while in a strong voice I would say "and he pulled them deep into the earth." Just as my hand reached the flashlight rim I would turn off the light and we would be plunged into total darkness. This usual elicited gasps or an occasional timid scream. I would then ask people to raise there hand if they wanted me to turn on the light and after a slight interval I would switch on the main lights. Smiling, people would chuckle to see the most frightened with their hands in the air. The irony being that there was no way that even I, a seasoned guide, could see their hands in the total darkness. I find it sad that the cavern is more commercialized today than it was when I worked there. Still it is an amazing place of adventure, natural beauty, history and legend.
@@craigsawyer6453 yes! Yayali is another one associated with this cave! But that story was super long! But I have put a link to that legend in my info box too! Thank you for writing everything out here! Appreciate it!
My Uncle was a tour guide at Moaning Cavern and that is where I first heard the story of the giant rock monster. The story I heard was of a monster called Yayali. He was a rock giant that lived deep in the cavern. When hungry he would try to entice the local native peoples to the cave where he would pull them down with his massive hand. In the mid 80's I also became a tour guide/climbing instructor at Moaning Cavern. When I would guide walking tours I would wait till we we were at the lowest point of the tour, then the base of the large spiral stair case, and tell the tail. For just the right mood I would turn off the main lights, and with the dim light of my flashlight, tell the story. I would show the passage beneath where the rock beast would emerge. I would point to outcropping's and formations that would be used as handholds in the climb. The beam of my flashlight casting a shadow of my hand and arm to directly delineate each and every place along the cavern wall. Then, next to the ceiling of the cavern I would show the spot where he would sit and wait; patiently wait, until his victim came close to the entrance. With light of the flashlight and shadow of my hand, now enormous as it was cast over one hundred feet to the ceiling, I would quickly bring my hand closer, and closer, to the light making it appear as if a giant hand was coming down upon the entire tour group, while in a strong voice I would say "and he pulled them deep into the earth." Just as my hand reached the flashlight rim I would turn off the light and we would be plunged into total darkness. This usual elicited gasps or an occasional timid scream. I would then ask people to raise there hand if they wanted me to turn on the light and after a slight interval I would switch on the main lights. Smiling, people would chuckle to see the most frightened with their hands in the air. The irony being that there was no way that even I, a seasoned guide, could see their hands in the total darkness.
I find it sad that the cavern is more commercialized today than it was when I worked there. Still it is an amazing place of adventure, natural beauty, history and legend.
@@craigsawyer6453 yes! Yayali is another one associated with this cave! But that story was super long! But I have put a link to that legend in my info box too! Thank you for writing everything out here! Appreciate it!