Web posted Friday, January 17, 2003

Spook Hill: Legend or lie? television asks
Uphill illusion still draws stares

By WILLIAM BYGRAVE
ncpublw@earthlink.net

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LAKE WALES -- On any given day, Spook Hill will have its share of visitors who will roll oranges, balls, soda bottles -- as well as their cars -- along North Fifth Street to see if they really do roll uphill.

On any given Sunday afternoon, there may be 30 cars lined up at the white line stretched across the street to see for themselves if something can roll uphill on its own power.

That's what they say, anyway. And Turner Broadcasting was in town Thursday to see what audiences of a future edition of its "Liars and Legends" show will think about it.

The Spook Hill segment will air in the future, although a date wasn't announced Thursday. The show, hosted by Bubba Knight, airs in the southeastern U.S. on Turner at 7:30 p.m. on Sundays. "Liars and Legends" typically has three segments per show, and Spook Hill will be in one segment.

But what's true and what isn't true about the natural phenomena -- or maybe it's just an optical illusion -- depends on who you ask.

The TBS crew, headed by producer Corey Stienecker, came to town to see what the deal is with Spook Hill. After all, there are people from literally all over who have heard of Spook Hill, but may not have heard of Lake Wales.

Producer Stienecker said he found out about it in the Internet, along with the legend that surrounds it.

"I'm always attracted to little things like this in small towns and I like to go out and do the stories," he explained.

According to a roadside sign, an Indian village was harassed by a giant bull alligator. A warrior reached the point where he had enough of the alligator's antics. The brave decided to wrestle the reptile.

The warrior won -- just by a hair -- and blood flowed all over the area to prove the ferocity of the battle. According to the sign, the giant alligator was beaten to death. And he could be getting his revenge by making wheels -- or anything else that rolls -- appear to move nonchalantly uphill instead of down. Then again, maybe it's the warrior having a final say.

Martin Two-Feathers, a Native American re-enactor from south Florida who came to tell about the legends of Spook Hill for "Liars and Legends," nixed that whole theory. He said there is not an Indian alive who couldn't tame even the wiliest 'gator.

After all, the Seminoles did their stomp dances to calm alligators. As for war chants, they were merely used for battling humans -- not animals. That's because animals are considered sacred.

As for the Spook Hill legend, Two Feathers said it is "somebody's idea of keeping people away from the hill. For some reason, this place was very special and they made up some story to keep people away."

Mayor Alex Wheeler, who introduced the segment, doesn't know about that theory, however. He did recall Spook Hill was "a lot of fun to skateboard down. It was scary. You go fast."

A dozen kindergartners selected at random from their classes at the adjoining Spook Hill Elementary School showed the TV cameras how oranges and balls seemed to roll uphill.

They were at a loss to explain it.

"I think there's a ghost in it," said one youngster who was asked why Spook Hill is spooky.

The thing that isn't mysterious is the appeal of a natural attraction that can be enjoyed only for the price of gas to get there, and the fact it helps put Lake Wales on the map.

Spook Hill, marked by a white line across the lane, is at the base of Iron Mountain, which is topped by Bok Tower. In Indian lore, the mountain is a very sacred place, and once someone crosses the white line, there's the realization Iron Mountain really does mean business.