MineArchiveThe Hanniger Mine Accident (My Bloody Valentine)
Fictional record. This page describes an incident from a fictional setting, not a real event. Information is based on the cited canon, with adaptations and interpretation distinguished where necessary. It is kept separate from the real MineArchive corpus — see Fictional.
| Date | Valentine's Day, twenty years before the film |
|---|---|
| Mine | Hanniger Mine |
| Primary type | Explosion |
| Associated types | Collapse / Roof Fall, Entrapment |
| Fatalities | 4 (Five buried; one survivor.) |
| Injuries | Harry Warden, the survivor, was committed to the state mental hospital. |
| Context | During active mining |
The accident at the Hanniger Mine on the night of the Valentine's dance, when two supervisors left before the men were out without checking the methane in the tunnels and five miners were buried alive; after six weeks of digging one man, Harry Warden, was found alive, having survived on the bodies of the others.
Cause
Unchecked methane in the tunnels while the men were still below; the dialogue says the men were 'buried alive', and Wikipedia reads the event as an explosion that caved in the tunnel.
Contributing factors
The two supervisors 'anxious to get to the party' left their posts before the men were safely out.
What happened
Told twice in the film, by the bartender Happy as a warning and by the mayor and police chief as memory: seven miners were out at the mine that night, five below, and the town went on dancing while they were buried. The rescue dug for six weeks. Warden was found alive among the dead, and it is later said that he had eaten them.
Real-world mining concepts used here: Firedamp
Rescue & recovery
Six weeks of round-the-clock digging; Happy was the one who found Warden.
Investigation & inquiry
None shown; the town's response was to suspend the dance for twenty years after Warden's revenge murders.
Aftermath
Warden was committed under court order after killing the two supervisors on the following Valentine's Day.
Consequences
None shown.
Memorials & commemoration
The suspended dance itself, and the town's legend of the Miner.
Canon & adaptations
The 2009 remake re-dates the accident to 1997, kills twenty-two, and has Warden murder the trapped men to save air.
Related fictional records
Recorded claims
Each claim is marked with its basis — explicit canon, MineArchive inference, adaptation only, or fandom interpretation — and attached to the source(s) below. Where tellings disagree, both are kept.
- The supervisors left before the men were out and failed to check the methane gas levels in the tunnels. (explicit canon) 1
- Five men were buried alive; after six weeks one, Harry Warden, was found alive. (explicit canon) 1
- The accident was an explosion that caved in the tunnel. (MineArchive inference) 2
Sources
- (primary canon) My Bloody Valentine (1981), English dialogue (subtitle file, uncut) — OpenSubtitles.org, English subtitles for the 1981 film, read in full
- (interpretation) My Bloody Valentine (film) — Wikipedia
Record created: 9 September 2026 · Last researched: 9 September 2026