ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

The Hole (Scientology)

Okay kiddo, so imagine you have a game, and you really love playing it. You play every day, and you feel really happy when you're playing it. But then one day, somebody tells you that your game is actually bad and that you need to stop playing it.

That's what happened to some people who were part of a group called Scientology. They were told that some things they were doing were wrong, and they needed to stop. But instead of just stopping, they were taken to a place called "the hole."

Now, the hole is not a real hole in the ground, but it's a place where people who were part of Scientology were forced to go if they did something wrong or if they were considered a threat. It was a really bad place, where people were kept for weeks or even months. They had to live in dirty and cramped conditions, and they were punished if they tried to leave or if they didn't do what they were told.

Some people who were in the hole have said that they were physically and emotionally abused, and they were treated like prisoners. They were not allowed to talk to anyone outside of the hole, and they had no access to the internet or even a phone.

Some people who managed to escape from the hole have talked about it, but Scientology denies that it exists. They say that it's just a made-up story by people who want to hurt the organization.

So, to sum it up, the hole is a place where people in Scientology were kept if they were considered a threat or if they did something wrong. It was a really bad place where people were treated badly and were not allowed to leave.