DEVIL'S TRAMPING GROUND

There is no doubt about it...America is a strange and haunted place. The early explorers and Native Americans knew this and left behind evidence of it in the names they gave certain locations. As the explorers started to roam the vast reaches of the rugged land, they discovered areas that Native Americans had known for centuries and treated as sacred spots or terrifying places better left untouched. These mystery sites became the first 'haunted' places in America, where people witnessed unsettling sights and sounds, such as unexplained balls of light, apparitions, and screams in the night.

The first idea that crossed the minds of bible-reading, God-fearing folks was that the devil was involved, and they promtly gave these places names that would alert other visitors to the dangers. The peculiar American phenomenon of naming unusual or cursed places with devil names is apparent in Chatham County, North Carolina, where the Devil's Tramping Ground lies.

In the woods not far from the town of Siler City is a circular gap, forty feet in diameter, where the devil is said to have walked the earth. No plant or tree will grow inside this circle. The surrounding brush grows up to its edges and no farther. Animals do not come here, for no food grows, and they shy away from the area as though it were tainted. The only living thing within the mysterious cirlce is sparse growth of a variety of wire grass that residents say has not been successfully been transplanted elsewhere.

The first settlers who came to the area attributed the strange spot to the Indians who held their tribal ceremonies here. It is said that the tramping of the Native Americans' feet wore a circle into the ground. But, strangely, the circle has remained long after the Indians departed. Over the years, the Tramping Ground has become the stuff of legend. It is said that no birds will nest in the nearby trees, no wild game is ever found here, and for decades no traveler would pass this way after nightfall.

Indeed, modern experiments conducted to determine what caused the unusual circle have not yet succeeded. Perhaps the most logical solution came from Dr. J.L. Stuckey, a state geologist whose soil tests revealed a high level of salt. This could certainly cause the land to become barren—but why in such a perfectly circular pattern? Could the mysterious patch of earth once been a UFO landing site or an ancient crop circle? Who knows? This site, like so many other places throughout the country, will probably remain a mystery for the ages.