CHATHAM COUNTY, N.C. -- Down a quiet, tree-lined path just off a main road in Chatham County lies one of North Carolina's most famous ghost stories and scientific mysteries -- the Devil's Tramping Ground.
Chatham County locals claim the 40-foot near-perfect circle in the woods along Devil's Tramping Ground Road has been barren for at least 300 years. They say anything planted in there quickly dies, and items left inside the circle overnight are found tossed outside the circle by morning.
Legend has it -- the circle is the Devil's playground. Believers say every night when the clock strikes 12, he comes up one path and stomps around in a circle -- killing all growth and life -- before going back down a second path.
Generations have passed down the story, and the unmarked circle has long been a ghost hunter's fantasy and popular tourist stop.
"It's like the hairs of your arm stand up or something. I guess cause you thinking what the saying is," said 45-year Chatham County native Reece Maness.
"Ever since we was little boys, we always heard about the Devil's Tramping Ground. But until I was 16 years old, my momma and daddy and them didn't want to talk about it, wouldn't go to it, had nothing to do with it.That was something we didn't talk about," remembered Robbins resident Tommy Hussey.
Hussey recalled the time he was 16 and went with a bunch of friends "to investigate" the Devil's Tramping Ground.
"We was gonna spend the night. We started getting this edgy feeling, so we all left!" he exclaimed. "I've never been back to it since, really."
But, clearly plenty of people have been back. Empty beer bottles, camp fire ash and other litter show evidence of recent trespassing. The famous land is technically private property and has been in Bob Dowd's family's name for more than 100 years.
"People will stop by and say we're looking for the Devil's Tramping Ground, and where's it located? The big thing is people going where do you live?" said Dowd's daughter, Tamara Dowd Owens.
The people who do stop by have plenty of theories for why the mysterious land exists. But from the Devil to a UFO to a sacred burial ground, none of the theories has been backed by historical accounts.
That's why 30-year North Carolina soil scientist Richard Hayes first tested this circle of nothing almost a decade ago with a scientific hypothesis.
"One of the theories I had when I came out was -- there was something in the soil inhibiting plant growth. One of the natural things we find in Chatham County is copper."
But, those results showed no copper. Nor did they prove another one of Hayes' theories -- high salt concentration. Hayes said nothing in those results was in high enough quantity to explain the inhibiting of growth.
Hayes added, "I've mapped a lot of soils in five different counties in North Carolina for the soil survey. Didn't run across stuff like this," he said.
With the Dowd family's permission, 2 Wants 2 Know asked Hayes to re-test the soil in Sept. 2015. Those results immediately went to the state lab for new analysis.
They came back with eye-opening observations. Did they finally solve this centuries-old mystery?
SOIL FINDINGS
The new soil sample results add only another layer of complexity to this scientific anomaly. The findings suggest vegetation should be growing in the Devil's Tramping Ground. Even stranger? The barren soil inside the circle is now more fertile than the tree-lined area outside the circle.
Hayes explained the bonfires made by trespassers caused that to happen. He said hardwood ashes have made the soil's potassium level peak off the chart. But, he noted the level is still not high enough to be toxic to plants.
As for the 5 pH reading inside the circle, Hayes explained it is only slightly below the optimum range of 5.6 to 6.5.
Hayes said, "I'm stumped. There's nothing in there that prevents plants from growing there. The higher numbers we're seeing inside the circle from a lot of the different elements are all higher because of the fires."
He concluded, "There's a reason other than soil fertility for why nothing's growing there."
But, if it's not soil, not salt and not metal, what is the practical explanation for this centuries-old phenomenon? Perhaps it doesn't need one.
THE LEGEND LIVES
"I don't think anybody will ever figure it out," said Maness.
Hussey laughed, "All I know is it's a circle. And I just ride by and say!"
The Dowds said they hope to clean up the trash at the site and possibly offer tours and camping in the near future. They said they want to share their famous land with visitors but ask a courtesy.
"We'd like for people to come out and see it, but to take care of it would be the most important thing," Bob Dowd said.
Tamara Dowd Owens added, "We really want to clean it up and make it look presentable again but not take away the historical value."
And, though the Dowds admit they are curious about the science behind their mystery, they're content with the unknown.
"I think the mystery adds to the legend for sure," Dowd Owens said. "It's been around for so long, and I think it's something that we can pass down to the kids. And they'll carry it forward."
And, they'll continue to do so, as long as the land with no life has a legend that lives.
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