Imagine riding your motorcycle down a scenic highway, taking in the area’s beautiful sights while enjoying the fresh air. Calm, relaxing rides like this make many riders appreciate the open road. Others, however, may want something more exciting.
El Paso’s haunted Gravity Hill on Thunderbird Rd. gives riders a different experience. According to urban legend, the ghosts of four small children and their mother haunt a section of the road. Due to their tragic deaths, they refuse to “cross over” and instead help drivers avoid a similar demise by preventing fatal accidents.
The Story Behind the Haunting
While you can find many retellings of this mother and her children perishing in a fatal accident, it is not the only version of the story.
In another version, the children who haunt El Paso’s haunted Gravity Hill on Thunderbird Rd. are victims of a tragic bus accident. Rather than pushing vehicles to safety, as the mother and her four children do, these children push cars with deadly intent.
What’s Happening on Gravity Hill?
Every haunted house has a story about visitors encountering ghosts. From doors slamming to hair pulling and strange sounds, people often claim to see or experience ghostly encounters on haunted sites. El Paso’s Gravity Hill is no different.
Riders can even follow instructions to experience the spooky phenomenon. According to locals, you must drive on the road going toward Mesa. By putting your vehicle in neutral between Twin Hills and Singing Hills, the children’s ghosts will push your car, forcing it up the hill.
While some believe that the ghost children intend to push you to safety, others believe they want you to suffer their same fate. Whether it’s a friendly haunting or not is up to you—and which story you believe.
Debunking the Ghost Story
Although we all love a good ghost story, Gravity Hill’s mysterious car-pushing has a scientific explanation.
Rather than the ghosts of dead children pushing your vehicle up the road, it’s actually an optical illusion. Scientists call this phenomenon a “gravity” or “magnetic hill,” hence the name of El Paso’s haunted Gravity Hill on Thunderbird Rd.
A magnetic hill, common in mountainous areas, creates the illusion that your vehicle is rolling up the hill even though it remains in place. According to experts, for this to occur, the roadway must slope downward and have no valley or dip. This, along with the inability to see the horizon line, creates the illusion that your vehicle is moving uphill.
Psychologists say that seeing the horizon is crucial for discerning distance and depth. Without this, our brains can mistake what we see.
Gravity or Ghosts?
Although scientists can explain the strange phenomenon, many still believe that ghosts haunt Gravity Hill. What else could explain the children’s supposed handprints? The legend states that if you cover your back bumper with baby powder, you can see the dead children’s handprints when the vehicle stops.
Some say that this proves dead children are pushing cars up the hill. Others say that the baby powder does little more than show where your hand was when you last closed the trunk of your car.
Call Law Tigers When for Legal Guidance
Whether ghosts or negligent drivers cause them, accidents can happen. As a motorcycle rider, you need to know where to go when you need legal guidance.
Our attorneys at Law Tigers are passionate about helping fellow riders navigate Texas’ legal structure. Although we can’t do anything about ghosts pushing cars on El Paso’s haunted Gravity Hill on Thunderbird Rd., we can help motorcyclists file claims and defend cases.
Call Law Tigers at 1-888-863-7216 to schedule a consultation with a motorcycle lawyer.