Deep Inside Devil Country

The Duke Blue Devils aren't the only underworld figures that inhabit the heart of North Carolina. Buried deep in a remote section of Chatham County, located about an hour southwest of Durham, is an area feared by many due to its... unusual inhabitant.

Welcome to the Devil's Tramping Ground. Located along one of North Carolina's Scenic Byways-about 10 miles outside of Siler City-there's a curious patch of land that has as many legends and tall tales as Chatham County has residents. Every child in North Carolina is terrified by the legend of the Tramping Ground-arguably the state's most famous ghost story-thanks to books and articles about the mysterious circle that appear each year at Halloween. To this day, however, few plausible explanations exist for the mysteries of the Tramping Ground.

White settlers who came to the rich farm country during the late 1700s were puzzled by it: the only bare patch of land for miles. It was especially curious because of its shape-a ring of infertile soil with grass and trees growing abundantly both inside and out. Residents tried to plant grass and other plants in the path, but nothing worked. People placed sticks and stones in the path, often secured with string, but all of the items were gone by the next morning. Stories began to circulate about the origins of the circle, and about why it had endured for so long.

One legend postulates that the circle was the site of ancient Native American tribal dances. Before white settlers came to Chatham County, Native Americans roamed the area, known to them as the Great Flats. The worn-down circle was an important meeting place where thousands of tribesmen danced around a fire to call the Great Spirit to protect them. Why is it still there today, then? The legend hypothesizes that the Great Spirit himself keeps the path clear to honor the moccasin-clad feet that made the path in the first place.

Another Tramping Ground legend theorizes that the circle was the site of an epic battle between rival Native American tribes. After a short but bitter conflict, the warriors stained the area with the blood of fallen comrades and buried their leader, Chief Croatan, at the exact center of the circle. The survivors named the spot in honor of their fallen hero and fled to the Eastern Coast to avoid further conflict with their enemies. The spot in Chatham County may have been where Sir Walter Raleigh's Lost Colony fled when they carved the ever-mysterious "Croatan" into a tree trunk before disappearing from Roanoke Island forever.

Still another legend contends that the circle is impressed into the ground because of the relentless treading of horses' hooves as they circled to provide power for a ancient molasses mill. The vegetation never has returned because the hooves made such a pronounced tread. Other such circles, however, have demonstrated the ability to grow vegetation after some time-a feat that makes the Tramping Ground so baffling.

But one can glean from the name the most popular and enduring legend: the Devil's nightly walk. Rumor has it that the Devil goes to the circle every night to pace around as he thinks of troubling new schemes for humanity. His constant pacing keeps the circle free from any plant life; the sticks and stones that disappear from the path are kicked away as the Prince of Darkness treads the familiar walk.

Dogs shy away from the site as well, beating a hasty retreat with their tails between their legs. There is no hunting game to be found near the site, not even the birds that can be heard singing a quarter of a mile down the road. Travelers stay away from the site after nightfall, and daring campers who have tried to spend the night always are spooked away before morning.

The people visiting the site must have a knack for finding spooky places: Despite the Tramping Ground's notoriety, the unmarked site is located on private property along the aptly-named Devil's Tramping Ground Road, about a mile from the nearest intersection. There's not much on Devil's Tramping Ground Road, save for a few houses and one of about a hundred cattle farms in Chatham County.

A small clearing on the left side of the road along with some trash strewn along the pull-off are the only things identifying the site. Three radiators, countless cans of Budweiser, a tin of Bush's Baked Beans and several cartons of cigarettes lay along the 75-foot trek from the road to the clearing in the woods.

The trucker was right: There are more signs of humans than spirits at the Tramping Ground nowadays. Indeed, reality doesn't come close to living up to legend. The reputed 30- to 40-foot circle actually is about 20-25 feet in diameter and is littered with more trash than the Bryan Center walkway on a Friday afternoon. The circular path itself was clear of trash, but the trail's borders have been blurred with the passage of time and sightseers.

There is evidence of fire in the center of the circle, probably left behind by daring campers trying to stay warm during the night. The right side of the circle is marked by a charred tree stump about three feet high. It's true that trees and grass grow in abundance right up to the edge of the circle and that vegetation long since has stopped growing in the center-but it's probably due to the fires.

Disappointed, I followed a few small trails deeper into the woods hoping for something more dramatic, or at least bigger. Finding nothing, I trudged back to the mini-circle and tramped around a bit myself, daring the Devil himself to make an appearance. He must have been busy during my odious visit, however, as he failed to show his horns and tail.

Okay, so the circle itself was a disappointment. Maybe the businesses on the next corner would be hawking "I Survived Devil's Tramping Ground" T-shirts and shot glasses. Surely there would be someone to talk up the legend and the stories surrounding the Tramping Ground.

Alas, Chatham County residents, who have grown up with and are accustomed to the site, are pretty tight-lipped and unimpressed by the legends and tall tales that surround the Tramping Ground. The counter clerk at the nearby Corner Grill-where everybody except me was a regular-giggled at the inquiry and solicited a customer's help in answering Tramping Ground questions.

"You wanna hear some tall tales?" she asked. "I tell you what-go ask that gentleman right there. I'm sure Terry's got a story or two."

But Terry-who, in typical small-town fashion, declined to give his full name to a stranger-said he knew no more about the site than what the typical tales offered.

"I don't know anything really except where it's at," he said, rolling up his shirt sleeves as he prepared to delve into the day's blue-plate special. "I've heard about people camping out and gettin' stuff missin', but I don't know if it's really true."

With the rest of the patrons glaring as if they were going to sic the Devil himself on me if I interrupted their meal again, I quit the joint and headed out of town.

Despite the legends, there is a sturdy scientific explanation for the Tramping Ground's barrenness: a lack of plant-supporting minerals in the soil. Scientists have found the remains of salt licks once used by buffalo and deer that roamed the county long ago. In addition, they have found evidence of vegetation that thrives on brackish water usually found only near the coast. The scientists postulated, therefore, that the Tramping Ground simply is an area of land with an excessive salt content that cannot support plant growth.

Years ago, scientists from the Soil Testing Division of North Carolina's Department of Agriculture took a soil sample from the center of the path. The tests found that the soil is too sterile and acidic to support any sort of plant life. Although that explanation is good enough to explain the path itself, how does one explain the trees and grasses that grow right up to the edge of the Tramping Ground? Soil rebuilds itself over time, using nutrients from decomposed tree leaves and grasses to restore its growing power. But this land has remained barren for at least 200 years, which means that the residents of Chatham County, along with the rest of the world, are no closer to solving the mystery of the Tramping Ground than the 18th-century farmers who settled the land.