Recently it was suggested to me that I do a Skeptoid episode on the Devil’s Tramping Ground, a patch of bare ground in the middle of nowhere in North Carolina. It’s a roughly circular patch in the woods “where nothing grows” — according to legend.
But if you look at pictures, that’s obviously untrue at a glance. It has plenty of grass and low weeds covering it, all except for a fire pit area in the center where countless campfires and feet have worn it down to bare dirt. But still, is it actually mysterious that no trees or saplings or shrubs are growing in this spot?
I was reminded right away of Skeptoid #520 on the Haunted Forest of Hoia-Baciu in Romania. Its star feature is the Poiana Rotunda, a similar circle but much larger, about half an acre. It’s said nothing grows there either, and this is also trivially disproven by any photo — it’s covered in lush green growth. But no trees. Why not? It’s a meadow.
I did a ton of research for that episode, learning about how and why which trees grow where in that area of the country, and how and why meadows are caused, both in general and there specifically. Meadows are not just accidents. They are devoid of trees, and there can be any of a number of reasons for this. There may be insufficient groundwater right there. Bedrock might be shallow enough that roots can’t grow. Hydrology or soil conditions might simply favor herbaceous growth over wooded growth. There is no need to introduce an explanation such as the devil tramps there.
I watched one short news clip where a botanist went to the Devil’s Tramping Ground to grab some soil samples. His first observation was the fire pit, and all the crap that drunk townies probably burn in it, like tires and plastic trash. That plays hell with soil chemistry. So he was not at all surprised at the circle of bare dirt around the fire pit.
Will I do an episode on the Devil’s Tramping Ground? Sometimes I wonder who has the energy for this. But then again, it’s what I do, so yeah, I’ll probably do it.
And I promise not to cut & paste from the Hoia-Baciu transcript like I did for this post. 😉