This mysterious destination, established in 1952, is for all lovers of the strange and wonderful. Located in Michigan’s Irish Hills, where nothing is as it appears, and leprechauns may abound. Mystery Hill is the premier site of abnormal forces of gravity that will boggle your mind. These natural illusions defy nature’s laws and confuse your senses. Water runs uphill, a ball refuses to roll downhill, and a pendulum that only swings to the south are just a few of the mind-twisting exhibits to experience at Mystery Hill.
And if the strange forces of gravity weren’t already enough to make you dizzy. . .
Now the oddities and curiosities exhibit of the greatest showmen of the 1940s is open to the public! This one-of-a-kind exhibit traveled the United states in the 1960s and 70s and was recently discovered hidden away in storage for decades. Purchased from the estate of Ward Hall to be permanently displayed at Mystery Hill, it perfectly matches the strange and wonderful already in the Irish Hills of Michigan.
Ward Hall was known as the “The King of the Sideshow” and produced sideshows for Circus Vargas, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey. Ward traveled with many unusual friends and made them famous in their own right. This traveling sideshow tells the tales of Percilla Bejano, the Monkey Girl; Norbert Pete Terhurne, Poobah, the 3-foot, 7-inch dwarf fire eater; and Dick Brisbane, Penguin Boy, with feet growing directly from his hips causing a waddling walk, and so many others. You will also see the strange and bizarre freaks of animal nature. Come and see 5-legged animals, 2-headed creatures, and so much more!
Irish Hills got its name from the Irish Immigrants who settled here from 1830-1850. Through the 19th century, the Irish Hills were a stopping point during the five-day stagecoach trip between Detroit and Chicago.
You, like these Early Americans, have found this area to be recreational with its unique combination of many rolling hills, fifty plus lakes and hometown charm. But throughout history, no trip along this heritage trail through the Irish Hills has ever been completed without kissing the Irish Hills' Blarney Stone.
According to legend, this rock will gift the kisser with eloquence and persuasiveness. If you don't want to kiss it at least give it a hug or a good rub for some good luck, and you'll surely find that four leaf clover.
