This case is one that we, at Middle Georgia Haunted History, have heard for many years, but we finally found it written in a book.  Could the ghost of a witch, long dead and forgotten, be pushing people’s vehicles up a hill?  More specifically, Gravity Hill (Ghost Hill), in Bonaire, is described as a place where you can put your vehicle in neutral, at the bottom of a hill, and start moving forward and up, defying physics and logic.

According to Sherman Carmichael, in the book “Mysterious Georgia,” it’s said that a witch is buried within 300 yards of the hill. We’ve heard this same detail over and over again throughout the years.  In fact, legend states that her grave is unnamed but covered by no less than three feet of rock stacked on top of one another.  So, is there any truth to it?  Not exactly.  Let’s unpack it.

The first problem with this story is that the area it’s located in is actually in Twiggs County, not Bonaire.  Carmichael is very specific about the location of the hill, and he lists the same spot we’ve all been aware of for decades.  It’s a main highway, not just a road.

The next issue that we have is that there is absolutely zero record of any human being having been buried around this area.  That, coupled with searching through satellite pictures for a cemetery (when the woods weren’t so thick), show nothing.  A rock formation like that has not been spotted or documented anywhere in any literature that we have found.  There is, however, a small private cemetery in front of a home on a nearby road, but there’s nothing out of the ordinary about it.  We’re not saying it’s 100 percent false; we’re just saying it’s highly unlikely to be true.

Lastly, before we give you the reason we covered this, the biggest problem is that the “hill” is not a hill at all.  It’s an optical illusion that makes it appear like you are going uphill, but a trusty level said otherwise.  The landscape of the trees and depths of the shoulders change just enough to put off the image that you have begun going uphill when, in fact, you’re still going downhill.  This entire story does appear to be completely fabricated and most likely embellished more and more every time it’s been told.

Here’s where we have a problem with this tale, and you should too.  Remember, this area is a main highway with a speed limit of 55 mph.  The story encourages you to go at night and stop your car at the bottom of a hill, meaning out of sight of other vehicles heading your way.  That’s absolutely dangerous and should never be done. 

Next, it must be understood that every piece of property around this hill is privately owned and most likely used as hunting grounds or housing (its deeply wooded).  It’s definitely not a place where you need to be searching for a mysterious grave.  It’s trespassing and flat out reckless to explore there.  We always condemn trespassing of any kind for any reason, so keep that in mind when you hear similar tales.

Also, we must always remain true to what we do and what our goal is.  Safety, legality, and truth are among many of our core principles here, and this story threatens all three to an extent.  Which brings up an important point.  Please, when you’re doing research and looking places up that you find in books or online, exercise your best judgment and common sense when reading them.

We hope you enjoyed this story at least!  We know it was a “debunk” type of post, but we wanted to cover some ground and pressing issues with it.  Also, check out the book “Mysterious Georgia” by Sherman Carmichael for more locations and stories in Georgia.

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