The Mystery Spot is a tourist attraction near Santa Cruz, California, opened in 1939 by George Prather. The name itself arouses suspense and anticipation, and it sufficiently does justice to the strange nature of the place.
It is a gravitational anomaly located in the redwood forests just outside of Santa Cruz, California. According to About Mystery Spot, It is a circular area of effect around 150 feet or 46 meters in diameter. The site is also known as a gravity hill and was the first of its kind to be built in California.
Within the Mystery Spot, one will be stunned as the perceptions of the laws of physics and gravity are questioned. This spot artificially creates a fantastic optical illusion, resulting in a place where the universal laws and forces of nature don’t seem to work.
History
The Mystery Spot was discovered in 1939 by a group of surveyors and opened to the public in 1940. The Mystery Spot has amazed and perplexed hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world, and many return time and time again to experience these puzzling variations of gravity, perspective, and height.
Some speculate that cones of metal were secretly brought here and buried in our earth as guidance systems for their spacecraft. Some think that it is in fact the spacecraft itself buried deep within the ground.
Other theories include carbon dioxide penetrating from the earth, a hole in the ozone layer, a magma vortex, the highest dielectric bio cosmic radiation known anywhere in the world, and radiesthesia. Whatever the cause is, it remains a mystery. To learn more about the history visit Mystery Spot History.
The Tour
The tour proceeds up the steep road until you make it to the slanted house and begin to see how weird this area is. The guide then takes you through a series of strange examples that mess with gravity and help to show off the phenomenon here.
The highlight of the trip is walking into the main house where the 17-degree angle starts to play with the brain. You can climb tables, hang from the wall, and walk up the stairs.
After that, you exit the house and have a few more examples of natural magic, including an explanation of how some of the trees are even growing at an angle near the house. For booking your tours Visit Mystery Spot.
Science Behind Mystery Spot
While visiting that mystery spot, you’d witness all sorts of scientifically impossible stuff, such as people standing absolutely erect on a tilted floor, people standing at impossible angles on perfectly flat ground, a ball rolling up a slanting plank, and other such inexplicable phenomena. To read more on scientific research on this place, visit Wikipedia.
The illusions you experience there result from your own misjudgments of the height and orientation of objects. First of all, the house or any place where you see such gravity-defying events is built on an inclination. This may seem weird, but think about it: wouldn’t standing up in a tilted house give the impression that everything else is wrong or tilted?
According to Scienceabc.com, the inclination of the house is not obvious to the visitor; in fact, it is remarkably hidden, making it look like a normal, upright house. The construction of such a house on a slope is an ideal step towards creating a mysterious place.
Part of the floor can be concealed by burying or covering it with regular objects in a household. Most things that give a vertical reference point are removed or placed at an angle.
To make the Mystery House seem even more convincing, they deliberately place physically distorted objects throughout the house to reinforce your perception of normality or make you believe you are standing on perfectly flat ground. The basic idea is to make landscape alterations with the help of architectural techniques to distort viewers’ perception of their own orientation.
Days and Timings
It is opened 365 days a year. For further details visit Timings.
To purchase tickets online visit this link.
Timings
Monday to Friday: 10:00AM-5:00PM (last tour at 5:05PM)
Saturday-Sunday: 10:00AM-8:00PM (last tour at 8:05PM)
Contact Details
Details
- We accept Visa, Master Card, or Discover card for online ticket purchases ONLY.
- The total charge per advance ticket is $8.00.
- Parking is $5.00 per vehicle and is payable upon arrival by cash or check only.
- If you choose to buy tickets and pay for parking at the door we ONLY accept CASH OR CHECK. Otherwise, debit cards are accepted for a $2 service fee. Credit cards are not accepted for these purchases at the door.
- You must arrive 30 minutes prior to your tour time or you will miss your tour. Please call us if you will be late, we will do our best to adjust your tour time.
Interested in the mystery behind other places in the USA, read our article on Death Valley National Park.
Other Things To Do At Mystery Spot
Go for Hiking Trail
If you’re waiting for your tour to start, or have just finished your tour but can’t get enough of the beautiful Redwoods, you can go for a beautiful hiking trail. It is a small trail that climbs up a hill in front of the Mystery Spot. At the top, you find yourself in front of a wonderful view through the Eucalyptus trees.
It takes about 15 minutes and is a very refreshing and adventurous experience. For learning more about it, visit Hiking Trail Page. They also have a huge Dahlia Garden. When you walk up to our hiking trail along the way you will pass the trail you will find rich flora and plant species including fresh dahlias.
Where to Eat?
The Mystery Spot Snack Shack offers a wide variety of delicious treats to enjoy in our picnic and garden area. They also can provide catering services for large groups that visit.
Although it’s a bit surprising to hear, there’s not actually a wizard at work behind The Mystery Spot. On second thought… there kind of is…. isn’t human intelligence and creativity rather magical in itself ?
Therefore, the Mystery Spot will surely captivate you with its magic spell and phenomenal experience. It is definitely worth an experience to witness the wonders of human intelligence and science.
