Devil's Tramping Ground
Like most people who live in and around Chatham County (Or for that matter, North Carolina), I know the legend of the Devils Tramping Ground very well. Hell, I've even been to the site more than once; but never by myself and never at night. I will say without hesitating that it is one of the creepiest places haunted in North Carolina. Well, maybe haunted isn't the right word. Possessed is more like it. If you don't know what the Devils Tramping Ground is, allow me to explain.
About 10 miles east of the town of Siler City, on a country road near Harpers Cross Roads is a wooded area. In those woods is a circle, perfectly round, 40 feet in diameter where nothing except a type of grass known as 'wire grass' grows. A path around the circle has no growth at all. It was given the name "Devil's Tramping Ground" because locals believe that the devil himself walks the path going around and around all the while thinking of ways to destroy mankind. In the morning, He turns himself into a crow or other animal and sets out on a mission to carry out whatever devious plan came to him in the night.
Throughout the years scientists have tried to explain away the circle. One theory is that the circle is the result of using horses in a mill many years ago. Another is that the spot was once a sacred place for native americans who used it to perform war dances and such which would explain why the circle is barren. The problem with both of these theories is that similar spots elsewhere are now overgrown with plant life. The NC State Department of Agriculture once took a sample of soil and determined that the area was completely sterile.
Going a step further on the creepy scale is the fact/belief that any object placed on the path surrounding the circle will be moved by morning. I never tried it myself but the residents of Chatham County swear that it's true. I've personally spoken to several people people, both old and young, who claim to have left items on the path only to come back the next day and see the item laying in the brush beside the path.
Whether you believe the area is a fluke of nature, or that the Devil comes every night to plot our destruction one thing you can not argue with is the mystique the place has. Throughout the years tales have been told of people attempting to stay the night at the circle, trying to catch a glimpse of who or what is moving the stuff off of the path. And although many have tried, As far as I know, no one has stayed the entire night. As of this writing we still don't know why the grass doesn't grow, why stuff is moved off of the circle, and why no one can stay an entire night at the grounds.
Below you'll find a few pictures taken of the tramping ground on Oct. 11, 2009. Judging from the smoke coming from the campfire maybe someone was able to stay the entire night. Although we saw no one so maybe the Devil got them? :) I must admit I was disappointed with the logs that filled the circle as well as the trash littering the place. Check out the picture of the tree as well. It looks like a cross to me, maybe someone was trying to rid the area of the devil once and for all?
The area didn't give off a creepy vibe at the time although that could be the fact we were there on a Sunday afternoon at 1pm. But it is still the tramping ground, if you get a chance, you've gotta see for yourself.
Comments
My uncle used to tell me about this place ALL the time. He said once he tried to stay the night but saw the shadow on something like a human, but with horns! He said it was the devil himself. I'm not saying it was the devil, but he believed it was until the day he died.
I really love the story of the tramping ground and your story tells the exact same story I have heard for years and years. I am the founder of a paranormal investigation team, East Koast Paranormal, and we have been asked many times to do the Devil's Tramping Ground. Although, we have not been able to to set a time and date to make this possible, I wanted to share a story that I have heard from this place.
I have read somewhere on the internet (I can't remember the website), that some people where able to stay the entire night at the tramping ground and they set up camp around the circle. It was stated that when they awoke the next morning and exited their tents, they were not where they feel asleep. It was said that they were a 1/2 mile to a mile away from their campsite. Is there any truth around this, I'm not sure, but I figured I would let you know the story I came across.
I'm a Chatham County local, and one who loves the paranormal at that. One day my friend Colin and I decided to go and try to stay the night at the tramping grounds. We got there around midnight, and we walked around the circle a few times, and found nothing really creepy about the place when it comes to it just being a circular path in the woods. However while I was there I got a sinking feeling that if we were to stay the night something terrible would happen. Before we left, we decided to walk once more around the trail, and see if we noticed anything out of place. About 1/2 of the way around the circle, the path in front of us seemed to have literally disappeared. We could not move forward because there was no longer a visible trail. We decided to turn back and go back the way we came. We got to a spot where we could see the night sky clearly, and in the light of the moon, I swear I saw a silhouette of a man with horns facing me, and I suddenly got the sinking feeling that I should leave immediately. I bolted for the car, and I haven't been back since.
I'm one of the guys with the Lakeview Phantoms Paranormal Investigators and we would like to investigate the stomping grounds but we need directions could you email me some directions at sweethomealabama_01@yahoo.com
I grew up right down the street from the site if you need directions just let me know
Hello,
I am a member of the Carolina Campers. We would like to camp sometime as a group at Devil's Tramping Ground. (I have wanted to since a kid.) I understand that the property belongs to Bob Dowd (and his family). Does anybody know his contact information (phone number, address, email) so that we can contact him? Also, does anybody know if he would let us camp there? (We would volunteer to pick up a lot of trash.)
Sincerely,
Walter F. Daniel, Jr.
1927 Kilborne Drive
Charlotte, N.C. 28205
wfdanieljr@hotmail.com
The devil's tramping ground is a joke. My best friends and I went there and stayed the whole night. The only creepy thing is that you're in the woods in the middle of no where. Other then that there's no satanic ritual or freak of nature all up in there. It's a myth. But it's fun, so if you have the gas, and the beer... Go for it.
... is upside-down, indicating mockery in the face of God. Probably just some kids thinking they could summon the Devil or some such crap.
The inverted cross, though frequently identified as a mockery, is a common symbol of humility. It is frequently linked to St. Peter, the apostle. It is said that felt himself unfit to be crucified in the manner of Christ, and so insisted that the cross on which he would be placed to die would be inverted.
I was wanting to pay a visit to the devil's tramping ground. Could anyone tell me if i need permission to stop and check it out or is that just for people who want to camp? Could I also get some more specific directions like an address maybe? Hopefully someone can answer these questions. Thanks. My contact info is as follows:
bmk0555@gmail.com
Heather Fox
615 Fox Valley Ct.
Taylorsville, NC 28681
No to my knowledge you do not need permission, just respect the area as its fallen victim to littering over the years ...
I've gone been here many times in the seventies. We would stop here and party. I never saw anything paranormal here.
Yeah man I grew up bear creek bennett area iv been ther had stuff moved from circle we had a fire going and rocks arond the fire in the center of yhe circle so we crashed that night and woke the next morning and the rocks where 25 to 30 feet frm the fire.....on a seperate vist me and a group of friends was meeting and the tramping ground to all go to a party I was ther with another friend and heard foot steps and scratching coming from the circle area..a few more friends showed up and when thier head lights hit the woods we all noticed an unusal creature about mid ways between us and the circle.....couldnt tell you what it was but being from that area I can safly say to this day I have yet to see anything else like tha
I spent the night there in 1975. 10 of us in tents and our cars parked in the circle. We woke up in the same place and our cars were still in the circle.
I have lived in NC for years and have heard about this story. Ive always wanted to go and visit. If anyone could give me directions please email me at southerbrothers01@yahoo.com. I promise to be very respectful of the property. It would be amazing to be able to see it for myself. Thank you
I just found this for you...........From Siler City, take State Road 1106 South for ten miles. At Harpers Crossroads turn right onto State Road 1100. Approximately two miles down this road, you will see a gravel parking area on the left and a little further back the Devil’s Tramping Ground. If in doubt ask any local resident…most likely they can point you right to it.
I hope it helps
hey guys, i was there earlier today. i found some campers tried to stay from hallows eve to Halloween but left in a hurry during the night and left their partially burnt tent.
when i stepped in to the circle i immediately felt intense physical pain and discomfort. my body also started shaking. i have an highly developed gift of discernment, which i use to find and exorcise demons. basically i feel spiritual things near by. actually, i found the grounds by feeling it while driving in my car. other ppl who go may feel these things as well. the woman above mentioned she felt fear. that's another one. some ppl feel depression, discomfort, strange pains, fatigue, demonic nightmares, or negative thoughts/impressions. ppl who are oppressed or possessed will have a number of the symptoms. you can see similar things in the bible when ppl encounter angles. they're filled with fear, trembling, etc.
(if you exude these symptoms. you're probably just oppressed and it wont have enough authority to manifest through you. find some Christians to pray over you and renounce the sins that its exploiting. these sins give it authority to stay. command it not to not manifest and leave. if it's stubborn "pray and fast". ask the Lord to come and pull it out of you.)
I've seen silhouettes of men made of shadows and glowing eyes from the direction I've felt things, herd audible voices, and been psychically attacked. similar things with the angels and God.
what is this place? there are portals or gateways between heaven and earth. that's how angels get here. there are also demonic portals from hell to earth. so thus, where ever there's a portal there's more activity. the devils tramping ground is the larges demonic portal in the country. that's why it's a circle. that's why things are removed that cover it. it's like a highway exit to earth.
don't get your Christian friends together and pray against it. you'll just piss them off. don't "put the Lord to the test" to save you. If the Lord wants to use you against it, He will let you know.
don't mess with this place, you will regret it.
you, sir, are a weirdo.
Did a story on my blog about it. It was a quick stop, but I do have pics to go along with the story. The tent is likely the one mentioned in the reply earlier...
http://billhowardoutdoors.blogspot.com/2011/10/devils-tramping-ground.html
Funny as it may sound, there are a few similar cirles around the world. In the Netherlands there's one near an old crossroads in Fryslân and in Germany somewhere in Schwarzwald. There's even one supposed to be in current Indonesia, near an old road from the days when Jakarta was still Batavia.
There are a few other explanations other than it beng a devil's place. The one in Fryslân is tied up with white women (kind of ghost), the one in Germany is the work of gnomes which take elements from that soil to make some rings or the other and the Indonesian one is the most gruesome: the grave of a Banaspati.
My grandfather took me and my dad to the circle when i was a boy. He told us an interesting story about an encounter he and others had at the circle. My grandfather and a group from the church he attended in rockingham,NC decided to have a pinic at the site and stay late. The pinoc went without incident, so everyone was enjoying the event. This all changed when a scream, much like a womans came from the south. Everyone looked nervous, but it was jokingly desmissed by some. Latter, another scream came from the east and then a scream from the north. Needless to say, all brave hearts fearfully began making thier way to the cars. MY grandfather said the last scream came from an adjacent pine tree. A small creature dropped from the tree and began dancing across a blazing 12' foot log, stomping the fire out as it made its way across the log. My grandfather Then made a quick exit for his car. My grandfather Was always honest . He could nevsr explain what he and others heard and saw.
I am a paranormal investigator, and my team and I have investigated the Devil's Tramping Ground on several occasions. We have never gathered any evidence to support the reports of a haunting. The last time we went, there were dead and mutilated animals in the area, leading me to believe that people are using the area for cult rituals or something along those lines. If you go at night, the shadows may play tricks on your eyes, but there is nothing there to support any of the claims people have made over the years about Devil's Tramping Ground.
i would like to go there behind my house about 400-550 yrds there is an old grave from around 1890-1920i left one of them track cams near there to see if deer was there but when i went to check on it the next moribg it was smashed as if someone had hit still tied to the tree the sd card was still intact and when i looked at it i seen blue a white orb like floatin around i seen eyes yet no face a the eyes wernt that of a deer but that of an blood red color but wat gets me why is there a grave yard in the middle of the woods a good distances fron and houses and the road i live on ws nothing but woods and feilds up intill the 1980s and the road on the other side of the woods was made in the 1970s ? and theres and old fallen cender block house that has a good portion gone and there is remisnts 60 yrds around it ? but like insaid its nothin but woods around it.
My son and I visited the Tramping Ground and we came to a clearing that was not very impressive. We kept going on the path that went beyond that clearing thinking we needed to walk further. We walked for several hundred yards until the path came to a dead-end. Let me also point out that there were several paths intersecting the one we were on. When we came to the dead-end we realized the unimpressive clearing not far off he road must have been the clearing I've read about since I was a kid. We noted nothing impressive about this site... just lots of broken glass and litter. There were charred logs and sticks in the middle of the circle. When we got back to our car, we had several ticks on us (we also passed a creek nearby with a sign naming it "Tick Creek"). When we got home... we discovered dozens of microscopic ticks on the insides of our socks (probably "baby" ticks). If anyone visits this place in the summer be forewarned. Do something (maybe rub your legs with Bounce sheets) to ward off the ticks!
Warning to all who want to go visit the devils tramping ground.My paranormal group and I visited and camped overnight on 9/1/12.
First of all the site is very dissapointing.It is only about 50 yards off the road.It looks nothing like it is described.There has been significant damage done to the site by kids on four wheelers doing doughnuts and also it appears some time ago when the area was logged they graded the site which has caused it to drain water run off which has distorted the circle.There are weeds and grass and mostly alot of ash from the fire spot that is all over the area.The barren path around the circle where supposedly nothing grows is not even visible.The area is also strewn with gravel.We had several visitors during the night ranging from courious tourist to high school kids looking to party. The site did not feel in the slightest bit spooky and wielded no evidence at all.This place is merely a high school kid hangout. And worst of all like mentioned in the above post,the place is infested with tiny deer ticks.After returning from my overnight stay I found hundreds of them all over my body.Deer ticks are small and carry lyme disease.There were many of them on me and hundreds of tiny (baby) deer ticks that are smaller than a freckle.I keep finding them on me even this morning which is over 24 hours since I left the site.I personally recommend not wasting your time.What ever this place once was it is no longer.All youll see are beer cans.
There is people that have stayed the whole night here. One of these people is my dad and uncle. When they arived there they set up camp then waited for night as they where waiting a big lightnig storm broke out. They waited it out til morning. When they got in there car it felt like something was holding on to the car and wouldn't let it go. Finally it broke loose and they went to the gas station down the road as they where putting gas in the car my dad looked at the top of the trunk and it was to apear that something with a set of claws had scratched across the top of the trunk.
Hi, my name is Keara and when I was about 14 or 15 my mother placed me in a group home. I was a very bad child to deal with but any whom. The group home I was in, we would trips on the weekend. So the people who worked with us took us to the devils tramping ground. We got their ok, no one felt any type of way. So as we are walking to get to the spot everyone an I mean everyone looks down, an ticks are crawling all over us. Their wore so many ticks we had to turn back. Everyone had over 20-30 ticks on them. Yes we did go in the summer time an also in the day time. But we never got to see the circle because of all the ticks
I have been to the Tramping Ground twice, once about six years ago and once about two years ago. Most everything above is correct, wrecked, trashed, nasty...etc.; however I noticed that no one mentioned things dying. I first took my son their, and after walking around for a few minutes we decided to go. He said to me "Let's see what happens if you put a bug on it", since there were no visible insects in the circle. He was about 12 years old. He rummaged around in the woods until he found a big, fat ant. He placed the ant on a leaf and brought it into the circle. He then released the ant in or near the center. The ant fell apart! Let me say that again. The ant fell apart. He then spent the next two hours killing every insect he found. Some would run a few feet and then fall over dead. Some fell to pieces. Some even seemed to disentegrate. I went a few years later with two old high school buddies. The same thing happened and we spent the day watching ants and beetles fall to pieces. Sounds gruesome I know, but we were blown away. Something kills things there on impact. Go try. You'll see.
me and my daddy and mommy went there one night and we just took a video and some pictures . We are planing to go back a build a campfire and sit out there and see if anything happens. so wish us good luck in find something scarey but just not to scarey !
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