DRIVERS travel onto a road allegedly haunted by children and cars climb a hill without driver intervention – the scene was shown on TV.
Some have even reported hearing disembodied screams after seeing “childish” apparitions on the side of the road.
The Southern California road, Sylmar’s Gravity Hill, is nationally known as one of the most “haunted” stretches of road in the country, where drivers say their cars have started climbing the hill on their own.
The road was featured in an episode of Paranormal Caught on Camera, where drivers recounted their experiences in the driver’s seat.
The urban legends surrounding the road revolve around a school bus full of children who died many years ago, and the ghosts of the children drive the cars away from danger.
The road where drivers test drive their cars and supposedly see apparitions and hear voices is next to a cemetery.
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The legend was even mentioned by comedian Saud Bekissel in the Paranornal episode Caught on Camera when it aired in 2019.
He said the ghosts may be helping drivers avoid danger, but they are also helping drivers avoid a trip to the gas station.
“Apparently a bunch of ghost kids pushed his car up the hill,” he said.
“[That’s] the coolest thing a ghost could do… Saves gas, really helps you.”
Susan Slaughter, a paranormal investigator on the show, explained why drivers believe the road is haunted.
“Your eyes tell you one thing, but the way the environment reacts is another – and that is a very, very astute thing to note when it comes to paranormal phenomena,” he said, quoted by the newspaper. Daily Mail.
“Because what your eyes translate doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what’s actually happening.”
Several accidents have happened on the road several decades ago, but there is a very real explanation for why people see objects rolling up hills.
The road is a gravitational hill, which is an optical illusion caused by an obstruction of the horizon line.
When the horizon line is blocked by trees, like the famous gravity hill in Pennsylvania, objects like balls, spilled water, and in this case cars, appear to roll upwards.
Luigi Garlaschelli, a scientist, explained how hills, also known as anti-gravity or magnetic hills, deceive the untrained eye.
“There are a lot of pseudoscientific explanations because the illusion is really convincing… of course, there are no magnetic effects because the thing happens even if you use a plastic ball or if you spill water on the floor,” he said during an interview. with Northwest Public Broadcasting.
What is a gravity hill?
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The University of California, Riverside, explained the phenomenon known as “gravitational hill,
A gravity hill, also known as a magnetic hill or antigravity hill, occurs when the horizon line in the distance becomes obscured. This often happens when trees, buildings, or other large structures block the ability to see into the distance.
The result is the illusion that objects, such as balls, spilled water, or even cars, appear to be moving up a hill.
“It is typically a stretch of road in a mountainous area where the flat horizon is obscured,” the university explained.
“Objects such as trees and walls, which normally provide visual clues about true vertical, may be tilted slightly. This creates an optical illusion, making a slight descent appear like an ascent. Objects may then appear to roll upward. Sometimes Even rivers seem to flow against gravity.”
“The effect is that your perception of what is horizontal is deceived by the presence of the steeper downhill road…so that the entire landscape is slightly tilted in your perception. And the slightly downhill road appears to be slightly uphill.”
Garlaschelli noted that many drivers, like those in Southern California, often fall into the phenomenon because they are in a natural environment.
“Usually when you think of an optical illusion, you think you know those weird drawings with lines or something moving on the screen,” he continued.
“But in a natural setting, I can only think of this and probably the Moon illusion. When you feel that the Moon is much larger when it is low on the horizon than when it is high up, sky.”
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