The Oregon Vortex a Natrually Occurring Electromagnetic Vortex

Story By: Cow Flipper

In the area of Western Southern Oregon a strange field of force exists just outside the small town of Gold Hill. This field of force is magnetic in nature and creates a naturally occurring spherical vortex. The phenomena that is created has to do with the fact that no matter where you stand within this naturally occurring magnetic vortex you can't stand erect. Visitors to the vortex try to stand erect only to lean to northward or towards the corona of the vortex. There are smaller vortices in the area as well. Some of the other phenomena demonstrated by staff using guests to the vortex happen when you have two people stand on a level platform north and south the person to the south end of the platform stands taller than the person standing towards the vortex northward corona and as the person standing at the south-end of the platform moves to the north end they become shorter. This defies the laws of perspective and plays with your head when you witness the effect.

The House of Mystery itself was originally an assay office and later used for tool storage, built by the Old Grey Eagle Mining Company in 1904. The House slid down the hill and rested in such a way that it creates some very unusual visual phenomenon as brooms stand on end and bottles seem to roll uphill. This phenomena has nothing to do with the vortex existing in the same area though. But the history of the surrounding area, The Oregon Vortex, goes way back to the time of the Native Americans. Their horses would not come into the affected area, so they wouldn't. The Native Americans called the area the ""Forbidden Ground"", a place to be shunned. Many years before The House of Mystery was built it was noted that unusual conditions existed there. But it was not until well into the 20th century that any effort was made toward a scientific analysis of the disturbance. John Lister a geologist, physicist, and mining engineer developed the area and a theory in 1920 about how the phenomena took place and conducted thousands of experiments in the vortex until he finally died in 1959.