Americana Through the Years: Mystery Spots

by Michelle Enemark April 18, 2007

Americana Through the Years is a series of archival photographs, snapshots, slides and postcards from classic American roadside attractions.

Wonder spots, mystery shacks, vortexes, confusion hills; all are places where gravity just doesn’t act right. Liquids pour at odd angles, balls roll uphill, your little sister is suddenly the same height as you, Native American chiefs can’t stand up straight.

Mystery Spots can be found dotted all over the US, some dating to the early 1930s. These slanted houses or shacks create the delightful optical illusion of anti-gravity, and a perfect stopover for a charming roadside photo opportunity. Many claim to be areas where extra-terrestrial activity once occured, thus creating a zone in which the laws of nature have gone haywire; they suggest that simply being in the zone can cause disorientation and nausea. Surely the suggestion itself wouldn’t lead to such feelings.