The land that creates North Carolina existed long before European settlers took over. It's very old and very mysterious, with unexplained natural occurrences and legends that date back to the 1600's. Many legends began with the Native American people, to describe occurrences they could not explain -- and those strange, unexplained occurrences still happen even today. Here are five paranormal phenomenon that defy science that have been shaking the Carolinas since before your grandparents were born.
1. Seneca Guns - Statewide
The Seneca Guns are perhaps one of the most mysterious legends North Carolina has to offer. While the "North Carolina Booms" are often heard closer to the coast, the strange booms have been reported as far West as the mountain region. Even I've heard them, before I even knew what they were. I always assumed some weird kind of thunder, a loud jet, or perhaps a distant explosion. But according to one source "accounts of the rumbling date back to the days before airplanes." It's been going on a long time -- way before jets or exploding electrical plants.
There are several stories behind these echoing booms. The primary legend is they are ghostly remnants of the Seneca tribe of Native Americans, still fighting for their land and freedom from beyond the grave, and shaking our entire state along with it.
Scientists and seismologists have researched the origin of these booms, hoping to trace the sounds and shaking to seismic events or an unexplained phenomenon created by the ocean tides. So far, there's no conclusive answer.
2. Brown Mountain Lights - Brown Mountain, NC
The strange glowing orbs creating a paranormal light show on the nightly silhouette of Brown Mountain also date back to early settlers and even the indigenous people who lived here before that. In short, these odd apparitions have been occurring for as long as North Carolina can remember -- with no explanation.
I've sat atop Wiseman's View, wrapped in a blanket, watching the giant shadowy outline of Brown Mountain. Reddish orbs flashed across the dark silhouette. Cherokee believed the orbs were the souls of Cherokee women, who were searching for their beloved husbands who died in a bloody battle on that haunted ground. Later, American settlers told stories of a woman who was murdered by her husband, and reckon the lights are her angry spirit looking for revenge.
As with the Seneca Guns, scientists have explored this naturally-occurring, but mysterious and spooky phenomenon. The current theory: The lights are will-o-wisps, created by swamp gas, or a release of electricity caused by the slow movement of the nearby fault line. However, none of those have been confirmed.
3. Devil's Tramping Ground - Siler City, NC
Most people have heard of North Carolina's infamous Devil's Tramping Ground. It's a circular patch of gray land where nothing grows, and nothing living can thrive. Curious onlookers have attempted to plant seeds, but this 40-ft diameter of circle land refuses to sprout seed. Even animals dare not go near it.
Campers, however, love spending the night within the circle. Several have reported that their tent and items are moved outside the circle during the night. The most common legend is this ring of death is where the Devil himself paces while concocting his wicked schemes.
However, other sources have far more in-depth cultural explanations for the tramping ground. The "Devil," it argues, is a white Christian European symbol of fear, evil, and death. However, before colonists arrived, the Cherokee had their own vision of evil - a place where two tribes fought, and their blood soaked into the ground. The losing tribe eventually went on to become the Croatian tribe, infamously known in the legend of the Lost Colonists at Roanoke, which is yet another North Carolina mystery.
4. Fairy Crosses - Blue Ridge Mountains, NC
If you've always wanted to believe in fairies, this is the legend of a lifetime. Deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Cherokee believed nature spirits inhabited the woods. These little spirits crafted and left behind Fairy Crosses made of Staurolite. You can still find them today, sprinkled around in the mists of the Blue Ridge, often in the morning and around bodies of water.
European settlers later co-opted this magical legend to symbolize the power of Christ taking over the "pagan magic" of the indigenous tribes. They believed the fact that these magical stones appeared as crosses was a sign of Jesus' desire for them to preach Christianity to the Native Americans.
I still prefer to believe there is proof that, somewhere in those magical mountains, fairies still exist.
5. Gravity Hill - Salisbury, NC
Graffiti covers Richfield Road -- messages from today's youth to the long lost soul of a woman and her infant child, who tragically died when their car stalled at the bottom of the hill and was hit by a speeding truck. Legend has it that, ever since that day, any car who parks on this road will begin to defy the laws of physics -- rolling uphill with their car placed in neutral.
It's become a popular past time in Rowan County, and dozens of videos prove this eerie legend has some truth. Local teenagers love to go sit their car on Richfield Road, and many believe it's the ghost of the mother, trying to push their car to safety. This creepy-sweet ghost story seems to have been proven, as many cars have replicated the process of being "pushed uphill."
Helpful teenagers have even decorated the road with graffiti to give precision directions on where to park, where you'll roll, and how to cover your car with baby powder to find the mother's handprints on your car. However, there's another bit of scientific evidence that may explain this seemingly paranormal activity.
Richfield Road sits on a natural phenomena called a "Gravity Hill." These geological features create optical illusions of both rolling up and down hills, and can easily confuse drivers. While rare, Gravity Hills occur all over the United States. Perhaps it was the confusion of this particular optical illusion that caused the mother and infant's car to stall out and be hit by a passing truck.
