The Oregon Vortex

http://www.oregonvortex.com/photographs/houseofmystery.jpg

The Oregon Vortex, first an old mining property and later opened as a public attraction, is perhaps one of the most mystifying plots of land in Southern Oregon. The vortex is located in Gold Hill, Oregon, just a 20 or so minute drive south from Medford. The land is home to strange optical illusions, such as someone appearing to grow taller or shorter depending on where they’re standing or balls being able to roll up hill within the House of Mystery.

The property belonged first to the Old Grey Eagle Mining Company and the House of Mystery, which still stands today, and was built in 1904. John Lister began conducting experiments on the property and within the House of Mystery in the early 1920’s. He wasn’t the first to discover the lands unique properties though. Native Americans from the area refused to set foot on the land. They stated that since no animal would enter the space, then it must be “forbidden ground” and should not be disturbed.

I’ve been to the Oregon Vortex, and although it’s been years since the trip, I do remember the sense of peace I got when I entered that piece of land. (Although, quite honestly, that peace might have just come from getting a reprieve from sitting in the backseat of a car with my brother on our family vacation) I’d love to travel there again and view the place and experience it with the mindset of actually trying to understand it, rather than just experience it as an attraction.

Now, the House of Mystery is not the only paranormal tale from Gold Hill, Oregon. It’s been rumored that the ghost of John Lister, the founder of the Oregon Vortex, haunts the land, still looking for an answer as to the properties of the land itself. Several other ghosts are said to haunt the nearby Gold Hill cemetery also, such as a dark hooded figure, yet it seems to me like there’s always a dark hooded figure haunting every cemetery. I mean, they really wouldn’t be cemeteries if they weren’t haunted, right? But then again, maybe this is just a super charged piece of land and we have yet to understand or appreciate its greatness. For the moment though, it seems all that anyone can do is pay admittance and enjoy the guided tour.