In early July, 1955, George di Peso of Downey, California, was understandably flummoxed after discovering that his garden hose had begun to burrow deep under his lawn. This inexplicable event was widely reported in the press, stimulating other people to come forth with tales of their own experiences with chthonic hoses.
This “silly season” story was the basis for “Where the Hose Goes---" (Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #25, July 1961). In this comic book story, the obsessed owner of the disappearing hose digs a hole in his lawn 80 feet deep, then vanishes in it, only to reappear later with the cryptic warning: “If you have a garden hose that’s crawling into the ground, let it go! Let them have it, they need it down there!”
“Reverse Rope Trick | Garden Hose Won’t Act Right,” Riverside [CA] Daily Press, 2 July 1955, p. 2.
“Sinking Garden Hose Malady Spreads --- Halted by Surgery,” San Francisco Chronicle, 5 July 1955.
“Where the Hose Goes---" Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #25, July 1961.
“Mysteries of the
Ages,” House of Mystery #147, National Periodical Publications, Dec.
1964. I had no success in finding another report of this supposed event involving Edna Howell.
