Hollow Earth

A cross-sectional drawing of the planet Earth showing the "Interior World" of Atvatabar, from William R. Bradshaw's 1892 science-fiction novel The Goddess of Atvatabar

Edmond Halley with a diagram showing the multiple shells of his hollow Earth theory.

The Hollow Earth theory proposed that Earth is entirely or partially hollow.

Edmond Halley first suggested the theory in the late 17th century. By around 1774, Charles Hutton had proven the theory false in his Schiehallion experiment.

Still, the theory was occasionally defended through the mid-19th century, notably by John Cleves Symmes Jr. and Jeremiah N. Reynolds. However, by that time, it was part of popular pseudoscience and no longer a scientifically viable hypothesis.

The concept of a hollow Earth still recurs in folklore and as the premise for subterranean fiction, and a subgenre of adventure fiction (Journey to the Center of the Earth, At the Earth's Core).

Hollow Earth is also used in Godzilla vs. Kong as a major plot point.

Hollow Earth Media

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  A cross-sectional drawing of the planet Earth showing the "Interior World" of Atvatabar, from William R. Bradshaw's 1892 science-fiction novel, The Goddess of Atvatabar

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  Chapel, bell tower and penitential beds on Station Island. The bell tower stands on a mound that is the site of a cave which, according to various myths, is an entrance to a place of purgatory inside the Earth. The cave has been closed since October 25, 1632.

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  Diagram of Edmond Halley's hypothesis

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  An example of a concave hollow Earth. Humans live on the interior, with the universe in the center.