A dark hole in a mountain or hillside. Is the opening large or a crevice you have to
squeeze through. Does it smell dry and dusty or humid and moldy? Do you hear
water dripping? Does it have some sort of luminous lichen that gives the walls an
eerie glow? Are there bats or bat droppings (guano). What about formations,
stalactites or stalagmites? Are there bones of small animals scattered about? What
about an echo? Do the rocks feel rough or smooth. Is the inside comparable to a
geode?
A dark and dreary place where the only sound that can be heard is the drip, drip,
drip of water from the stalactites. The air is thick with humidity, and it's difficult to
breathe. The darkness is so thick that it's impossible to see more than a few feet in
front of you.
Twigs
Animal scat
Clumps of fur
Scattered bits of an old nest
Chewed bones
Tracks in the dirt
Claw marks on stone
Stalactites hanging from the ceiling
Bats roosting
Stalagmites protruding from the floor
Water dripping from cracks and tree roots in the ceiling
Pools and puddles
Passageways leading to other caves or to underground rivers
Spiders and other bugs
Broken spider webs hanging from the ceiling
Bright sunlight at the entrance that diminishes as one moves
deeper into the cave
A flashlight beam illuminating the darkness
Hieroglyphs or cave paintings