Urban Myths. I’ve always been fascinated by them. You know the ones- the ghostly hitchhikers, the Doberman/finger story. Where do these stories originate and why do people love to tell them? I’m particularly fascinated by the ones that play out here in West Georgia. Here are my top four.
THE CARROLLTON VORTEX:
Extensive research (a Google search) came up dry. There was no Wikipedia article or Facebook page, so I have to say, our local Myth-storians might be falling down on the job. I did put a call out on Facebook, asking people if they knew anything about it. Results varied.
“It’s a giant, unknowable something that keeps people who have ever lived in this area coming BACK to this area. Or some of us never leaving. For some of us, this is a blessing. For some of us, it’s a curse.”
“It is what brings all the cool people here.”
“It has to do with the geology of our area. I’ve been told that the granite and/or quartz channels spiritual energy.”
“It’s a large quartz vein that runs through the center of Carrollton and south to Tyus and Roopvile.”
“If you get a map of Carrollton and plot the addresses of the psychics and palm readers you should have a good idea of the location of the vortex.”
There doesn’t seem to be any particular demographic of people who know about this phenomenon. Where I see a pattern developing is in the place where I’ve heard the story. I’ve always heard it when I was hanging around on the square, so that location might have something to do with the propagation of this myth.
THE SMOKING EL CAMINO
Sometimes we hear things that we think are myths, but they turn out to be truth. This past Thanksgiving, I was chewing the fat with my nephew Chad- telling him about the old days when I had to walk three miles to get to school and for fun, ride bikes and chase the mosquito/DDT trucks that smoked our Mississippi town. He said, “That’s like that El Camino.” At first I didn’t believe him. First of all, the El Camino is like the Elvis of cars – super cool and a little wild. No way the City of Carrollton used that for a bug truck. But Chad assured me that there was one and he had even seen it. I still didn’t believe him (he’s notorious a leg-puller, so it’s best to be cautious).
I asked my friend Andrew Stephens, who is well respected west Georgia myth-storian who officially interviewed Carrollton natives about their sightings. “This enigmatic figure used to putter around town with a most peculiar spray coming from the inside of his car. Part exterminator and part Man in Black, the Man in the El Camino was a popular topic of conversation amongst my friends at West Georgia back in the early 90s. I remember seeing this strange character all the time. I’m not sure when I first began to notice him but I think it may have been as early as high school, which would place it before 1990. Whenever my college friends and I would discuss the Man in the El Camino, there was always a sense of uneasiness that pervaded the story. I think what made everyone feel so uncomfortable was the fact that there was never any sort of identification on the side of his vehicle. I had a very faint recollection of someone from our group of friends at one point going to City Hall and dispelling the myth of the Man in the El Camino by determining that he was actually commissioned by the city to spray for mosquitoes.”
So that mystery is solved.
THE GEORGIA PINE APE
I have read, in the Times Georgian, an account of the Georgia Pine Ape. It was as tall as a man, had matted gray hair and smelled like carrion. But what I must confess is that was written by myself as an April fool prank several years ago so it’s not a real thing.
There have been some sightings on Bull Run Road on cold evenings when the sun is just beginning to set, but they haven’t been substantiated. That might have something to do with an old fur coat I’ve been wearing around lately. It looks mangy but is super warm. So, if you see a Georgia Pine Ape, please hold your fire and make sure it’s not me before you go to blasting.
WHITE DOG IN YELLOW GOGGLES
I’ve been hearing lately about a giant white dog in the back of a gray pickup truck. The dog is wearing yellow ski goggles. The location of most of the sightings is in the vicinity of the square. This story sounds pretty outlandish to me, although I did see pictures of it on Facebook. But it’s a bad idea to trust everything you see online- you how good Photoshop is now days.
There may be more stories- if you know of others, next time you see me hanging around on the square (hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive White Dog in Yellow Goggles), please share them with me. I’d love to add them to my collection.
Originally printed in the Times-Georgian where Mimi Gentry can be read every Thursday.