On this road it is said that if you leave a car out of gear at the ‘bottom’ of the hill that it will appear to roll up hill.
Folklore states that many years ago a Hangman lost control of his senses and embarked on a gruesome killing spree. He would bring his victims to the bottom of a hill in Epping Forest late at night and tie a rope around their necks. He would then drag them to the top of the hill by the rope. If they survived the journey he would chop off their heads and bury them at the top of the hill. Many people still believe the Hangman can be seen after dark carrying out his ‘duties’.
Or maybe you will like… the story is that is a group of three men had committed a terrible crime in the 1800s, but the government ended up accusing the wrong three men. These three innocent men were hung at the top of this hill, and the ropes and brackets are still there to this day.
Another story states that there was an old highwayman who used a noose, dropped from a tree to stop passing coaches. As the car reaches the top and you look over the brow, you'll come face to face with a bare field with a tree in it. This tree is apparently where a man was hung. Legend has it that you're being pulled up the road by the hangman.
Apparently lots of people believe all sorts of spooky goings on in the area and it is popular for ghost walks. We saw what looked like some kind of weird spooky ceremonial site in the middle of the triangular island.
Now for the science…
A magnetic hill or gravity hill is a place where the layout of the surrounding land produces the optical illusion that a very slight downhill slope appears to be an uphill slope. Thus, a car left out of gear will appear to be rolling uphill.
I will let you make your own mind up……
If you do fancy trying out the hill with your car please take care especially at night if you are planning on a cache find in the dark. The safest place is to park where I have indicated on the map (red dot) which is a little muddy unfortunately. To try out the hill, it is best approached ‘down’ the hill to the junction. The car will then reverse ‘up’ the slope (in the direction of the arrow) once you take the brake off (out of gear).
There are lots of videos with people testing the myth on You Tube
Click here to see for yourself.