Defying Gravity at Prosser Gravity Hill

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Defying Gravity at Prosser Gravity Hill

In Washington, drivers have experienced an odd phenomenon.  Known as Gravity Hill, drivers stop their cars at a certain point on a hill, seeming to extend up into the horizon.  After putting the car in neutral, and letting off the break, the car is pulled or pushed uphill.  Even more creepy, some drivers have found odd markings on their cars after making it up Prosser Gravity Hill.

(images:magnetbox/flickr)

(images:magnetbox/flickr)

One curious driver studied the hill at great length.  He noted that he traveled about eleven miles per hour for the first 200 feet.  The car seemed to slow as the hill got steeper.  Even after slowing, he noted speeds of eight miles per hour for about 300 feet.  He slowed even more after coming to the final steep hill for about five feet.  Finally, he noted only about five miles per hour for the last stretch of road before coming to a stop.

Locals have tried to explain the phenomenon with a variety of stories.  One story says that a bus filled with children was traveling along the stretch of road when it experienced an engine malfunction.  Before the children could exit the bus safely, the bus was struck by an oncoming truck and flipped over into the ditch.  The children on the bus were killed and the kids standing in the ditch were crushed.  These rumors caused locals to speculate that cars are pushed by the children, trying to keep drivers from their same fate.  People even swear that after placing talcum powder or baby powder on the rear of their cars, after successfully completing Prosser Hill, they see tiny hand prints left in the powder.

(images:117151966@N08/flickr)

(images:117151966@N08/flickr)

Other locals are adamant that the local mountains in Prosser are filled with ore.  The ore can become magnetized and and pull anything metal up the hill.  Still others argue that the whole Gravity Hill phenomenon is nothing but an optical illusion.  They suggest that the surrounding landscape tilts in one direction and the road tilts another.  Based on the multiple angles, the eye is fooled into thinking that the road tilts uphill.

The creepiest explanation yet is regarding a woman who drowned in a nearby irrigation ditch.  Some say it is she who pushes the car.  The Gravity Hill is located about ten miles out of Prosser, Washington.  It is just down the street from what locals claim is a haunted grain elevator.  The road seems to pull cars toward the elevator.  It is rumored to have been the site of multiple rapes and murders of local women.  Drivers have experienced the face of a girl in their window while traveling the road.  They see long black hair draped over her face, appearing to be wet, but with no water to be seen.  She is rumored to be a woman found in the irrigation ditch, her body left.  Others have seen her climbing to the top of the elevator, only to jump off and disappear before hitting the ground.  Some say it is her pushing cars to leave- urging them to get away.  Some have even seen her pointing to leave or heard footsteps running alongside their cars.

Megan Borchert
Megan Borchert
Lover of all things unusual, Megan is a staff attorney for the state of South Dakota. When she's not stuffed in an office writing case synopses, you can find her at home with her army of Schnauzers, snuggled up with some strong wine and a good book.

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