Kelpius Cave

POE'S FINAL JOURNEY - PART 4 September 30, 1849 Poe departs Baltimore for Philadelphia aboard the Philadelphia, Wilmington, & Baltimore Railroad. He disembarks ...at the Gray’s Ferry Station where his trunk has been held for him. Taking only a small valise from the trunk, Poe travels northwest on foot through Fairmount Park, arriving at Laurel Hill Cemetery in the late afternoon where he acquires a spade from a willing sexton. Poe continues on foot to the Wissahickon Valley and winds his way to the Kelpius Cave. In the waning light of the day, he lights a lantern and inspects the interior of the small enclosure. It is empty with no sign of habitation. Poe takes the spade in one hand and his valise in the other. He travels further into the valley in the growing dark. HISTORICAL LEGEND: The Cave of Kelpius is believed to have been a place of meditation for Johannes Kelpius a scholar and mystic who helmed the Society of the Woman of the Wilderness. The society came to believe that the world would end in 1694, earning them the rather odious honor of being the first Doomsday Cult. One account claims that Kelpius traveled with a mysterious box that contained the legendary Philosopher’s Stone, long sought after by alchemists for its ability to change base metals to gold and prolong life. The same account has it that Kelpius ordered this box thrown into the Schuylkill River shortly before his death in 1708.

Here's a video on the Kelpius story. Each video highlights different aspects on the fascinating history! https://youtu.be/AzvXMF4p1n0

This is a documentary film on the history of Roxborough, Manayunk & the Wissahickon Valley. There is a segment about Kelpius and his group in this film. Nik Stamps, who created the film plans to produce a new series of short films which will begin with Kelpius Cave and later include other historical site in Philadelphia. Thanks for being a fan! https://youtu.be/D5hM-Cvi9no

We have a NEW Instagram for Kelpius Cave! Please follow as many new Kelpius related things will be coming soon, including a new film on Kelpius and the site within the Wissahickon park! https://www.instagram.com/kelpius_cave/

We can announce that a NEW Kelpius film by Nik Stamps will be coming soon!

"An Abandoned Roman Sarcophagus By the Wissahickon"

Here's a good article about our beloved mystical cave! https://hiddencityphila.org//doomsday-cult-on-the-wissahi/

Join our Quest for Kelpius! A talk and hike to this mysterious place!

Thank you all so much for your support of Kelpius Cave! The history of it is amazing & gets weirder the deeper you go!Thank you all so much for your support of Kelpius Cave! The history of it is amazing & gets weirder the deeper you go!

Great video recently created on Kelpius!

Curious about the lore surrounding Kelpius and Hermit's Cave? Check out FOW Trail Ambassador Kris Soffa's interview with 6abc: http://6abc.com//historic-mystical-cave-tucked-aw/3795210/ #wissahickon #kelpius #doomsday

Hail, Dial of Achaz! On Thee the true Sun Told backward the course Which from old He had run; And, that man might be rais’d,... Submitting to shame, A little more low Than the Angels became. Thou, wrapt in the blaze Of His infinite Light, Dost shine as the morn On the confines of night; As the Moon on the lost Through obscurity dawns; The Serpent’s Destroyer! A Lily ‘mid thorns! Words: Little Office of the Immaculate Conception, 15th C.; tr. Fr. Edward Caswall, 1849. Here is the original Latin text of this hymn: Salve horologium, Quo retrogradiatur Sol in decem lineis Verbum incarnatur. Homo ut ab inferis Ad summa attollatur, Immensus ab Angelis Paulo minoratur. Solis huius radiis Maria coruscat; Consurgens aurora In conceptu micat. Lilium inter spinas, Quæ serpentis conterat Caput; pulchra ut luna Errantes collustrat. Amen.

Kelpius & his group named "Society of the Woman in the Wilderness" is fascinating, mysterious true history. This small segment barely covers the amazing history about this group of 40 mystics who lived in the Wissahickon Valley to await the end of the worl in 1700. This is a segment from the documentary Nik Stamps made on Roxborough & Manayunk.