CHATHAM COUNTY, N.C. — The ground is barren in the center. Even the crabgrass struggles to grow. Legend says nothing can thrive on this patch in the woods of Chatham County. It’s been this way for generations. For hundreds of years. Forever, they say.

This is the Devil’s Tramping Ground. It sits about 10 miles south of Siler City in a swath of forest surrounded by farm fields. The clearing is about 40 feet wide. A circular path surrounds the bare soil. Satan himself, the tale goes, visits this spot regularly during his nightly walks. He paces the circle, considering the evils of the world.

What You Need To Know

  • The Devil's Tramping Ground has long been part of North Carolina lore, a place where nothing will grow

  • Legend says Satan will visit the spot, walking in a circle as he considers the evil in the world

  • Other theories about the spot say it could be an alien landing zone. Or perhaps there's too much salt in the soil

  • The mysterious spot is in Chatham County, south of Siler City

“Locals have been unsuccessful in trying to transplant the wiry grass to other soils,” according to the Encyclopedia of North Carolina. “Visitors have attempted to anchor sticks and other obstacles in the barren area, but morning always finds these obstacles cleared away.”

The spot sits on a quiet country road in Chatham County, appropriately named Devil's Tramping Ground Road. (Charles Duncan/Spectrum News 1)

A recent visit to the spot found it protected behind a gate, with game cameras in the woods to keep an eye on any visitors. A local man walking his dog nearby laughed when he spoke with a reporter there to check out the Devil’s Tramping Ground.

But still, nothing grows on the spot.

There are other theories, too. It could have been a sacred site for indigenous people. Perhaps it was an alien landing zone. Maybe there’s another supernatural energy affecting the place. Maybe it was just a popular party spot for generations for Chatham County teenagers who built bonfires and trampled the earth bare.

What once may have been a place of suspicion has since been embraced. The spot sits along the aptly named Devil’s Tramping Ground Road.

The spot is a barren circle of earth in an otherwise healthy patch of forest. (Charles Duncan/Spectrum News 1)

 

Tommy Edwards & The Bluegrass Experience have a song about the site: “Some say they hear the Devil laugh as he walks around. So don’t go near that evil spot where Satan can be found.”

The barren patch remains a mystery. Soil samples taken by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture show increased salt levels in the area, according to a 2006 article in the N.C. Encyclopedia and NCpedia.

But, according to UNC-TV, more recent soil testing shows the salt content in the soil is not high enough to make it so nothing can grow.

For now, the place will remain a mystery, down a lonely road in rural Chatham County.