Aerial survey · USDA NAIP · public domainA roadside gravity hill on Gapland Road near Burkittsville where vehicles appear to roll uphill — attributed by local legend to the ghosts of Civil War soldiers pushing their cannon up the slope.
Gapland Road (near Mountain Church Road intersection), Burkittsville, MD 21718
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free; public road
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved public road; vehicle-based experience
Equipment
Photos OK
Adjacent to Battle of South Mountain battlefield corridor (September 14, 1862) · Burkittsville is a National Register Historic District (Frederick County, Maryland) · One of Maryland's most documented gravity hill / mystery road phenomena
Spook Hill is located on Gapland Road northwest of Burkittsville, Maryland, a small historic village of under 200 residents in Frederick County. The surrounding area was the site of significant Civil War action during the Battle of South Mountain on September 14, 1862 — the same engagement that preceded the Battle of Antietam — when Union and Confederate forces fought for control of the mountain passes.
The gravity hill phenomenon at this location has been documented in roadside attraction databases including Roadside America and Atlas Obscura, as well as in regional paranormal compilations. Motorists who stop at the base of the hill and place their vehicle in neutral observe it appearing to roll backward up the slope. Skeptics and optical illusion researchers attribute the effect to the surrounding topography creating a perceptual inversion: what appears to be a downhill slope is actually inclined slightly upward, producing the sensation of rolling 'uphill.' A GPS tracking experiment documented by one visitor confirmed the vehicle moved in the direction the terrain inclined.
Burkittsville is also nationally known as the fictional setting of the 1999 film The Blair Witch Project, which drew significant tourism attention to the Frederick County community and its surrounding mountain roads.
Sources
The paranormal explanation for Spook Hill's gravity-defying behavior, documented independently by Atlas Obscura, Roadside America, and the Maryland Haunted Houses registry, is consistent: the ghosts of Civil War soldiers who fell during the Battle of South Mountain are pushing your car up the hill. According to the legend, the spirits believe they are still moving their cannon and artillery pieces up the mountain pass. The sound of laughter and, at midnight specifically, the sound of footsteps accompanying the car's movement have both been reported by visitors.
The Shadowlands submission for this site describes Confederate ghosts pushing vehicles they mistake for cannons and hearing laughter from the woods — details that align precisely with the independently documented legend across at least three separate sources. Roadside America visitors have noted corroborating details: a magnet-based level in one motor home fell or was knocked off during the experience, and GPS data confirmed movement contrary to the expected direction.
Whether the phenomenon is a well-documented optical illusion or something more anomalous, Spook Hill has operated as a genuine roadside curiosity for decades and is mentioned across multiple independent regional publications.
Notable Entities
Drive northwest on Gapland Road past the red barn, crest the hill, and coast down the far side. Stop, put your car in neutral, and watch as it appears to roll backward up the incline. Then explore historic Burkittsville village.
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Aerial survey · USDA NAIPMount Hope, AL
Henry Hill on County Road 25 in Mount Hope, Alabama has accumulated multiple origin stories over generations. The most common modern version describes a man named Henry who died pushing his family's stalled car out of the path of an oncoming vehicle. Older community accounts predate this narrative, with elder residents recalling stories of a young enslaved person killed by a horse-drawn vehicle at the same spot long before the Civil War.
Aerial survey · USDA NAIPAltadena, CA
East Loma Alta Drive in Altadena is home to a well-documented gravity hill — an optical illusion that causes stopped vehicles to appear to roll uphill when placed in neutral. The phenomenon results from the road's curvature conflicting with the perceived horizontal baseline set by nearby trees and structures.
Aerial survey · USDA NAIPMoreno Valley, CA
The Nason Street bridge over Interstate 215 in Moreno Valley was constructed in the 1950s and has long been the center of a local gravity hill legend. A 1996 UC Riverside study on gravity hills determined that the perceived uphill roll of a vehicle placed in neutral on the approach is an optical illusion produced by the relative positions of trees and surrounding terrain. No bus accident involving children at this location has been verified in historical records.