Devil's Tramping Ground
35°35′05″N 79°29′13″W / 35.584783°N 79.487017°WCoordinates: 35°35′05″N 79°29′13″W / 35.584783°N 79.487017°W
The Devil's Tramping Ground is a camping spot located in a forest near the Harper's Crossroads area near Bennett, North Carolina. It has been the subject of persistent local legends and lore, which frequently allege that the Devil "tramps" and haunts a barren circle of ground within which nothing is supposed to grow.
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[edit] The Legend
The Devil's Tramping Ground is the subject of some of North Carolina's oldest legends. It has been alleged that nothing has grown within the 40 foot ring for a hundred years. Stories about the ring are well known in local communities. These include the disappearance of objects left within the ring overnight, dogs yipping and howling not wanting to go near it, and strange events occurring to those brave enough to spend the night within its boundaries. Legend says that this is the very place the devil himself can rise from the depths of fiery hell, and come to earth. It's at this place that the devil is supposed to walk in circles on certain nights and bring his evil into this world.[1]
John William Harden (1903-1985) of Greensboro, N.C., journalist, newspaper editor, author, and advisor to North Carolina governors and textile executives, had this to say of the Devil's Tramping Ground:
- Chatham natives say... that the Devil goes there to walk in circles as he thinks up new means of causing trouble for humanity. There, sometimes during the dark of night, the Majesty of the Underworld of Evil silently tramps around that bare circle-- thinking, plotting, and planning against good, and in behalf of wrong. So far as is known, no person has ever spent the night there to disprove this is what happens... (Harden, 1949)
[edit] Skepticism
An epistemology class from nearby Elon University case-studied the Devil's Tramping Ground in the Fall of 2011.[2] Multiple groups of investigators camped overnight in the circle. Many objects were observed within the circle, such as logs and rocks for the fire circle, and other heavy "test objects" were left for five days and nights without being moved.[3] Grass was found growing within the circle, and packed gravel observed within a half-inch beneath the surface throughout the circle, enough to explain the lack of larger plant growth.[4] The site was also littered with broken glass and beer cans. Nothing untoward happened to campers within the circle. Early morning footsteps were heard by one group but attributed to nearby deer hunters.[5] The investigators concluded that
- no paranormal claim about the Devil’s Tramping Ground could be substantiated. Furthermore, no evidence was discovered to support the notion that a supernatural devil, let alone the Judeo-Christian Devil, was involved in any way. In short, we not only found no proof to support any extraordinary claims, we also directly disproved many of these, and so we find no compelling reason to take this legend seriously. It is our belief that when people go there they manage to "create their own devils" due to the long life of this story.[6]
[edit] Sources cited
- ^ Bledsoe, J. (1984) Carolina Curiosities. Charlotte, NC: Fast & Macmillan. p. 95
- ^ Wickel, Rebecca (7 December 2011). ""Philosophy Class Asks 'What Can We Know?'"". The Pendulum: p. 19. http://issuu.com/pendulum/docs/dec72011issue?mode=embed&layout=http%3A//skin.issuu.com/v/light/layout.xml.
- ^ ""Myth Two"". http://www.wix.com/mtuck2/devilstrampingground#!devils-tramping-ground/vstc2=myth-two.
- ^ ""Myth Three"". http://www.wix.com/mtuck2/devilstrampingground#!devils-tramping-ground/vstc2=myth-three.
- ^ ""Myth Five"". http://www.wix.com/mtuck2/devilstrampingground#!devils-tramping-ground/vstc2=myth-five.
- ^ [www.wix.com/mtuck2/devilstrampingground ""Devil's Tramping Ground""]. www.wix.com/mtuck2/devilstrampingground.
