Post by Morgan Sierra on Nov 26, 2011 11:39:07 GMT -6
The Enchanted Rock
photos and text by Morgan Sierra
Enchanted Rock is definitely an enchanting place. The giant pink granite dome located in the Central Texas Hill Country just north of the town of Fredericksburg is a mecca for local tourists. At 425 feet high and covering 640 acres it is the largest pink granite monadnock, or isolated hill in the United States. It is also the second largest granite outcropping in the country. Just like everything else in Texas it is rich in tradition, but in this case the tradition also includes the paranormal.
The Native American tribes that lived in the area long ago considered the rock to be sacred. They attributed magical and spiritual powers to the location, and even believed that it was a portal to other worlds. Among the many names they gave to the rock were "Crying Rock" and "Spirit Song Rock." This is because as the rock heats and cools during the day it sometimes will produce moaning or rumbling sounds. Some believe the sounds come from ghosts of people who have died on the rock, but the indians believed it was the spirit of the rock itself that was making the sounds.
They also claim that sometimes these spirits can be seen as well as heard. Sometimes mysterious ghost lights will appear at the top of the rock at night, and others have reported seeing strange bluish balls of light floating through the air during the day. The "ghost lights" are similar to the Marfa Lights of west Texas, although not as common. In fact, there are three areas in Texas where mysterious lights appear on a regular basis and they all three just happen to line up in a perfectly straight horizontal line that stretches across the state. Enchanted rock is in the middle of the other two. This has caused some people to speculate that there may be a ley line running through the area which might explain some of the rock's mystical powers.
Other legends attributed to the rock are that it is haunted by the spirits of both white settlers and indians alike, some of whom may have been sacrificed by the Comanche and Tonkawa tribes in ceremonies allegedly held on top of the rock. Some people claim the rock is the location of a lost gold or silver mine, or that bandits and outlaws hid their stolen loot there. Still others claim that anybody who spends the night on top of the rock will become invisible!
One of the more fantastic claims about the rock is that it is a portal to another world. There is a legend about a Spanish priest who climbed the rock while fleeing from a band of marauding indians only to fall into a cavern and get swallowed up by the rock. He supposedly wandered through an underground tunnel for several days and encountered many spirits living withing the rock before finally finding his way out.
Whether any of these stories is true remains to be seen but the area nevertheless is a a wonderful place to visit. The beauty of the pink granite and green oak trees contrasted against a blue summer sky is an amazing sight to behold, and the sclupted rock formations give the place a fairy tale feel. It's no wonder they say the place is enchanted.
photos and text by Morgan Sierra
Enchanted Rock is definitely an enchanting place. The giant pink granite dome located in the Central Texas Hill Country just north of the town of Fredericksburg is a mecca for local tourists. At 425 feet high and covering 640 acres it is the largest pink granite monadnock, or isolated hill in the United States. It is also the second largest granite outcropping in the country. Just like everything else in Texas it is rich in tradition, but in this case the tradition also includes the paranormal.
The Native American tribes that lived in the area long ago considered the rock to be sacred. They attributed magical and spiritual powers to the location, and even believed that it was a portal to other worlds. Among the many names they gave to the rock were "Crying Rock" and "Spirit Song Rock." This is because as the rock heats and cools during the day it sometimes will produce moaning or rumbling sounds. Some believe the sounds come from ghosts of people who have died on the rock, but the indians believed it was the spirit of the rock itself that was making the sounds.
They also claim that sometimes these spirits can be seen as well as heard. Sometimes mysterious ghost lights will appear at the top of the rock at night, and others have reported seeing strange bluish balls of light floating through the air during the day. The "ghost lights" are similar to the Marfa Lights of west Texas, although not as common. In fact, there are three areas in Texas where mysterious lights appear on a regular basis and they all three just happen to line up in a perfectly straight horizontal line that stretches across the state. Enchanted rock is in the middle of the other two. This has caused some people to speculate that there may be a ley line running through the area which might explain some of the rock's mystical powers.
Other legends attributed to the rock are that it is haunted by the spirits of both white settlers and indians alike, some of whom may have been sacrificed by the Comanche and Tonkawa tribes in ceremonies allegedly held on top of the rock. Some people claim the rock is the location of a lost gold or silver mine, or that bandits and outlaws hid their stolen loot there. Still others claim that anybody who spends the night on top of the rock will become invisible!
One of the more fantastic claims about the rock is that it is a portal to another world. There is a legend about a Spanish priest who climbed the rock while fleeing from a band of marauding indians only to fall into a cavern and get swallowed up by the rock. He supposedly wandered through an underground tunnel for several days and encountered many spirits living withing the rock before finally finding his way out.
Whether any of these stories is true remains to be seen but the area nevertheless is a a wonderful place to visit. The beauty of the pink granite and green oak trees contrasted against a blue summer sky is an amazing sight to behold, and the sclupted rock formations give the place a fairy tale feel. It's no wonder they say the place is enchanted.