 Chair balances off wall. Wonder Spot, Wisconsin Dells, Lake Delton, Wisconsin. List O' MysterySome of the more public and accessible vortices, gravity hills, and spook lights:
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Mysterious spots pockmark the tourist landscape, promising to show Nature and Physics gone berserk. Mystery Spots offer an amazingly similar menu of wall-walking, seat-balancing, body-shrinking and -growing tricks; most are placed suspiciously near interstate interchanges and bloated tourist meccas.
The drama of the unexplained is best conveyed by an old codger, wise to government coverups and the shifty vagaries of science. Listening to the ravings of the expert at the Mystery Spot Santa Cruz, California, is half the fun. Unfortunately, many mystery spots fail this crucial test, employing 14-year-olds to convince skeptical summer visitors of their spot's veracity. "Scientists think it's caused by the 'igmmeous' rock in the hill, I think. . . " offered one bored, gum-clicking expert.
For our money, America's premier mystery spot is the Oregon Vortex near Gold Hill, Oregon, open to the public since 1930. Tennis balls really do seem to roll uphill here, brooms really do stand on end.
After subjecting many spots to rigorous, very scientific tests, our Mystery Spot Test Kit ™ indicates that the Oregon Vortex is the most disturbed.
What causes the mysterious goings-on here? No one knows.
One theory is
that a great beam of "high velocity soft electrons" exits the earth
through the vortex. Another claims that a giant underground device produces
the weird effects.
Skeptics usually write off the effects observed in Mystery Spots as nothing more than optical illusions manipulated to mysteriously lighten the wallets of tourists. But when was the last time you enjoyed a vacation accompanied by a skeptic?
For the true believers, there's always a new scientific theory on the gift shop shelves, explaining how TIME speeds up and S-S-L-L-O-W-W-W-W-S-S-S down in a vortex, depending on where you stand and when.
 A broom stands on end at the Mystery Spot in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. |
One man who apparently knew the secret of the Oregon Vortex -- John Litster -- studied its effects first-hand for more than forty years. He even corresponded with Einstein on the subject. What he uncovered no one will ever know, for he burned all his notes before his death.
"The world isn't yet ready for what goes on here," he warned.
Address: 465 Mystery Spot Rd, Santa Cruz, CA [Show Map]
Directions: East of Hwy 17, off Branciforte Drive.
Hours: Summer 9 am - 7 pm, Winter 9 am - 5 pm. (Call to verify)
Phone: 831-423-8897
Address: 150 Martin Lake Rd, St. Ignace, MI [Show Map]
Directions: Mackinac Bridge (I-75) exit 344, onto US 2 West for a couple of miles, north side of road.
Hours: Daily 5/15 - 6/15 9 am - 8 pm, 6/16-Sept. 8am - 9 pm, Sept-Oct. 9 am - 7 pm. (Call to verify)
Phone: 906-643-8322
Address: 4303 Sardine Creek Rd., Gold Hill, OR [Show Map]
Directions: I-5 exit 40, right at end of ramp then left on Hwy 99. Go through town, then right onto Sardine Creek Rd. 3 miles, left at the fork, then another mile to the Vortex.
Hours: Open daily: Jun-Aug 9-5:15; Mar-May Sep-Oct 9-4:15 (Call to verify)
Phone: 541-855-1543
Address: Ansted, WV [Show Map]
Directions: West of town. On US 60 at mile marker 44, just west of Hawks Nest State Park.
Hours: W-M 10:30-6 (summer); reduced hours and days off-season; closed Nov-Mar. (Call to verify)
Phone: 304-658-9101
Address: 8232 East Harbor Rd, Marblehead, OH [Show Map]
Directions: Hwy 2 north to Hwy 269 (Bridge Rd). Hwy 269 north to Hwy 163 (E. Harbor Rd). East on Hwy 163 around two miles.
Phone: 419-798-5230
Address: 24040 Cosmos Rd, Rapid City, SD [Show Map]
Directions: North of Keystone two miles on US 16, then east one mile on US 16 toward Rapid City. Or from Rapid City, go South on Hwy 16 past Rockerville until you see the blue entrance sign for the Cosmos before US 16A.
Hours: Closed in Winter. (Call to verify)
Phone: 605-343-9802
