Halloween is the perfect time of year to share the story of Marion Cemetery’s strange phenomenon; one of the monuments moves! I’m not making this up. It was first documented in the 1929 edition of Ripley’s Believe it or Not and is also acknowledged in Ohio Oddities, by Neil Zurcher.For more than 100 years, this 5,200 pound granite ball has slowly rotated on its pedestal. It’s movement in not detectable by the naked eye. How then, do we know it moves? When the monument was first set in 1896, the bottom of the sphere was not polished. Within two years, this unpolished spot was visible. The family had the stone reset, but again it rotated and the unpolished spot is visible. It moves approximately 2 inches a year.
Although there are many speculations, there is no definitive theory as to why the ball moves. It weighs too much for a person to move, and there are no scrapes on the ball indicating a group of people have moved it.
Some theorize there is an air or water pocket below the sphere, allowing it to move freely. Others believe the movement is the result of seismic activity, and still others think the ball is heated unevenly causing it to expand and contract unevenly as well. There are also those who believe the movement is due to paranormal activity.*
Many believe touching the ball will bring you luck.
What do you think? Is the movement the result of seismic activity, construction defect, or is it haunted?
*www.waymarking.com
I'm linking to Story Tellers and Outdoor Wednesdays.
How spooky!!! Jackie in Surrey , UK.
ReplyDeleteThat is down-right scary-spooky! I grew up in Ohio & have lived in this state for all but 9 yr.s (in FL) This is news to me! I've GOT to tell my grandkids about this one.
ReplyDeleteLa,
ReplyDeleteThat was a great post. I wonder what it is? We have tremors here. We have them here and years ago I was in my bed and felt a tremor. never having felt one with my wild imagination I thought oh, is this paranormal? Now, two years ago we had several tremors felt by the entire tri-state and there I was in my bed and it was obvious that is what I felt. But, you never know.... Spooky!
Sherry
Very interesting! I am always fascinated by mysteries like this...Christine
ReplyDeleteSpooky, La!! I'm sure some expert will eventually debunk the haunted myth, but I think I'll take the paranormal explanation for now! Much more fun!
ReplyDeleteThat's crazy!! I'd like to think that it's not haunted...too spooky for me!
ReplyDelete:) T
Great story, thanks for sharing:))
ReplyDeleteHugs, Biljana
Well, since i'm afraid of my shadow...i'll go with the non-paranormal theories :D
ReplyDeleteThanx for stopping by and visiting me & the Bear :D
~victoria~
How weird is that? We had a strange experience here, when we had only been here a couple of weeks, when a small window started to crack for no reason at all. We could hear it and when we traced the sound, it had cracked in several places from right to left, spooky!
ReplyDeleteLa...Your Auntie Mare thinks its haunted. I have been in the cemetary many times and stopped and looked at it and wondered how in the world could that rotate? Have they actually cemented it to the base and it breaks loose? It's just a Marion, Ohio mystery. Makes you say "hmmmmmm"!!
ReplyDeleteThat is a good Halloween story. I think there is an answer but I'll never know it.
ReplyDeleteThis has always been one of my favorite halloween stories:) I can't remember how long ago but one year they had a tour of all the haunted places in town...I regret now not having gone to it:(
ReplyDeleteVery strange!
ReplyDeleteA good creepy spooky story for Halloween, La!
ReplyDeleteI think there is a logical explanation and that it probably has something to do with the earth's rotation and natural phenomena. But it's a fascinating story!
ReplyDeleteHappy Outdoor Wed.!
XO,
Sheila :-)
Well it's in a cemetery, so the only answer would be the ghosts move it at night! That is spooky though. I grew up 3 houses down from an old cemetery. Have fond memories of playing hide and seek in between the tombstones.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun post!
ReplyDeleteHappy Outdoor Wednesday!
hugs from Savannah, Cherry
I am ascared but I guess as long as it does not fly around all is good!
ReplyDeleteI so used to love Ripleys Believe it or not, how interesting, I would probably side with the opinion of the air pocket....like I know anything, just sounds plausible. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteCreepy! One of those unsolved mysteries!! Perfect for Halloween time!!
ReplyDeleteHmmmm...very interesting. Perfect Halloween story!:-O
ReplyDeleteoh that is so cool ... and either one of those theories works ... but i tend to think its all seismic ...
ReplyDelete