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Dear Weird US:
I just read your article on Gravity Road. Near Boonsboro, MD, there is a very similar place that is known locally as Ghost Hill. The story is that you're supposed to go there at night, turn off your engine, and put the car in neutral, and the ghost will push your car uphill. The legend even includes the part about sprinkling baby powder on the bumper.
This area is rich in Civil War history, and rumor has it that the ghost is the spirit of a Union soldier who was killed when he lost control of the cannon he was pushing, which rolled back down the hill and crushed him. Supposedly the ghost is trying to push his cannon back up the hill.
I went to Ghost Hill once when I was a teenager, and guess what--it worked! It's not really a hill, more of a sloped section of road, but the car definitely seemed to be defying gravity, and picked up considerable speed. My friend and I didn't try the baby powder, but we got the hell out of there pretty quickly.
Some have speculated that it's just an optical illusion, or that there are large concentrations of magnetic rock in the ground nearby (yeah, right). In any case I thought it deserved mention.
Boonsboro is in the western end of the state, in Washington County, near Hagerstown. It's a one-stoplight, county fair, good-ol’-boy kinda town. Ghost Hill is actually on a lonely back road outside of the town (appropriately enough). It's off of Routes 34 and 65, it might be called Gapland Road. Unfortunately I can't remember exactly how to get there, since it's been a long time and I was, um... pretty stoned when I was there.
If I ever find myself out that way I'll probably try to find it again and maybe take some measuring tools, since I'm of a scientific bent. Then again, a logical explanation might spoil the fun.
–Travis
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