When a real-life doomsday cult built a cave in Philadelphia

The (mostly) true ghost story of a dank cave and an earnest monk who brought the nation's first doomsday cult right here to Philadelphia.

Air Date: October 31, 2019
Listen 14:06
  • A bust of Johannes Kelpius is among the artifacts used by Kris Soffa to tell the story of the 17th century mystic, who brought his doomsday cult to the wilderness of the Wissahickon to await the apocalypse. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

    A bust of Johannes Kelpius is among the artifacts used by Kris Soffa to tell the story of the 17th century mystic, who brought his doomsday cult to the wilderness of the Wissahickon to await the apocalypse. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

  • Kris Soffa holds a rustic box that represents the box that Kelpius told his disciples to throw into the Schuylkill shortly before his death. According to legend, the box exploded and burned when it went into the river. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

    Kris Soffa holds a rustic box that represents the box that Kelpius told his disciples to throw into the Schuylkill shortly before his death. According to legend, the box exploded and burned when it went into the river. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

  • File photo: A trail marker points in the direction of the Hermit's Cave, believed to have been used by Johannes Kelpius and his followers while they awaited the end of days in the wilderness. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

    File photo: A trail marker points in the direction of the Hermit's Cave, believed to have been used by Johannes Kelpius and his followers while they awaited the end of days in the wilderness. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

  • Shai Ben-Yaacov and Kelsey Hanson approach the mouth of the Cave of Kelpius. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

    Shai Ben-Yaacov and Kelsey Hanson approach the mouth of the Cave of Kelpius. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

  • Kris Soffa, Shai Ben-Yaacov and Kelsey Hanson look out on the woods of the Wissahickon from the Cave of Kelpius. It is believed that Kelpius and his followers used the cave to store books and scientific equipment. (Emma Lee/WHYY

    Kris Soffa, Shai Ben-Yaacov and Kelsey Hanson look out on the woods of the Wissahickon from the Cave of Kelpius. It is believed that Kelpius and his followers used the cave to store books and scientific equipment. (Emma Lee/WHYY

  • Kris Soffa, a trail ambassador for the Friends of the Wissahickon, stands in the entrance to the Cave of Kelpius, located on the trails near the southern end of the 1,800-acre Wissahickon Valley Park, a section of Fairmount Park in Northwest Philadelphia. . (Emma Lee/WHYY)

    Kris Soffa, a trail ambassador for the Friends of the Wissahickon, stands in the entrance to the Cave of Kelpius, located on the trails near the southern end of the 1,800-acre Wissahickon Valley Park, a section of Fairmount Park in Northwest Philadelphia. . (Emma Lee/WHYY)

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Just in time for Halloween, we bring you the (mostly) true ghost story of a dank cave and an earnest monk who brought the nation’s first doomsday cult to Philadelphia. Join The Why’s Shai-Ben Yaacov and Kelsey Hanson on a journey through Wissahickon Park to the Cave of Kelpius.

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