Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Slovenia mushroom foraging
Slovenia • 6 days, 5 nights
Forest to Table in Alpine Slovenia
from
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The exterior of STRAAT.
STRAAT
The front of the St. Charles’ Church
St. Charles’ Church
The miniature theatre’s 200-seat capacity is slowly being filled with tiny figurines of beloved film characters, from classic movie stars to Muppets. Statler and Waldorf are perched in their usual spot at the front-right balcony. There’s even an ongoing call for visitors and locals to add their own favorite characters to the growing crowd.
East Van Vodville Cinema
Gombe mountains seen from Lake Tanganyika.
Gombe National Park
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Cacio e pepe lasagna combines two classics.
C'è pasta... E pasta!
Spaghetto taratatà is named for the sound of rattling sabers.
Giano Restaurant
The gnocchi here get blanketed in a sugo with braised oxtail.
Cesare al Pellegrino
Romans insist you should feel the cracked peppercorns and cheese grains on your tongue.
Flavio al Velavevodetto
Tripe is fried to a crisp.
L’Osteria della Trippa
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
The rocky Revere Beach coast in Revere, Massachusetts, just outside Boston.
Which Places With Bad Raps Are Actually Worth Visiting?
about 16 hours ago
A dugong displays the telltale “smile.”
Saving the Sea Cows of Vanuatu
about 16 hours ago
The first photo of the “woolly devil” made a stir among botanists when Deb Manley uploaded it to iNaturalist in March 2024.
How the Woolly Devil, Member of a New Plant Genus, Was Discovered on a Hike in Big Bend
1 day ago
You don’t need to go to Turkey to see hundreds of hot air balloons rising.
Dear Atlas: Where Can I Find the Most Unusual Festivals in the U.S.?
3 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States South Dakota Rapid City Cosmos Mystery Area

Cosmos Mystery Area

A place where the laws of nature seem to have gone completely berserk... but of course haven't.

Rapid City, South Dakota

Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/contusion/376...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/contusion/376...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/cryptozoologi...
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/cryptozoologi...
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

"Have you ever experienced a place where the laws of nature seem to have gone completely berserk? Have you ever stood on the wall or felt an unexplainable force?"

So reads the promotional information on the Cosmos Mystery Spot, where they offer a 30 minute long tour of these "berserk" natural forces. Of course, the secret to the dozens of mystery areas, magnetic hills, and "gravity-vortexes," around the world lies not in any paranormal force, but in the peculiarities of our own minds. As our brains attempt to orient themselves, we use horizontal and vertical cues around us to establish up and down.

Deprived of a horizon line, and given misleading cues -- like a cabin built on a 20 degree tilt -- our brains can make some surprising mistakes. Even more curiously, when our bodies are put at an angle, as happens when standing inside the Cosmos Mystery Spot's slanted identical cabins, the perceptual distortion doubles, increasing these odd illusions even more.

The perceived distortions are due to a forced perspective which makes shapes appear larger or smaller due to a distorted background. A classic example of this is an Ames room in which people appear to grow in size as they walk across it.

To make a mystery spot of your own it is surprisingly simple. Build a small room and lift one side of the house until the room tilts about twenty five degrees. Second, disguise the fact that the house is tilted by giving visitors incorrect cues. Build the house on a slope. Make it difficult to see a horizon line, and place altered objects and furniture to make everything appear normal. Invite people to experience the gravity-vortex for themselves.

Related Tags

Mystery Spots And Gravity Hills

Community Contributors

Edited By

Martin, mbison

  • Martin
  • mbison

Published

July 12, 2009

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Cosmos Mystery Area
24040 Cosmos Rd
Rapid City, South Dakota, 57702
United States
43.923183, -103.420406
Get Directions

Nearby Places

World's Largest Bigfoot

Keystone, South Dakota

miles away

Hall of Records in Mount Rushmore

Keystone, South Dakota

miles away

Black Elk Peak

Keystone, South Dakota

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Rapid City

Rapid City

South Dakota

Places 9

Nearby Places

World's Largest Bigfoot

Keystone, South Dakota

miles away

Hall of Records in Mount Rushmore

Keystone, South Dakota

miles away

Black Elk Peak

Keystone, South Dakota

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Rapid City

Rapid City

South Dakota

Places 9

Related Stories and Lists

12 Bewildering Hills Where Gravity Seems to Work in Reverse

List

By Molly McBride Jacobson

Essential Guide to Defying Gravity

essential guide

By Jeff Wagg

Related Places

  • Montana Vortex and House of Mystery

    Columbia Falls, Montana

    Montana Vortex and House of Mystery

    A classic mystery spot complete with spots that are said to make you shrink or grow when you stand on them.

  • Trollvägen Magic Hill.

    Älvdalen N, Sweden

    Trollvägen Magic Hill

    Gravity seems to fail at this intriguing Swedish attraction.

  • The “hill.”

    Karpacz, Poland

    Karpacz's Gravitational Anomaly

    On this Polish road, an optical illusion makes cars seem to roll uphill.

  • The gravity hill.

    Comuna Budești, Romania

    Cavnic Gravity Hill

    A spooky spot along the road where things mysteriously seem to move uphill by themselves.

  • Stone House - South wall looking towards doorway

    Halifax, Nova Scotia

    Bayers Lake Mystery Walls

    No one knows the origins of the mysterious stone ruins discovered on a hillside in Halifax.

  • Cima del Sol.

    León, Mexico

    Colina Gravitacional (Gravity Hill)

    Things roll uphill on this Mexican street that seems to defy gravity.

  • Water appears to run uphill on the magnetic hill.

    Moncton, New Brunswick

    Moncton Magnetic Hill

    A mysterious spot where the laws of gravity seem not to apply.

  • Gravity Hill starting line.

    Prosser, Washington

    Gravity Hill

    The strange phenomenon causing gravity to "work backwards" on this hill has been blamed on the paranormal.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.