Science explains the legend of a river whose name has been associated with black magic and demons

A waterfall in North Yorkshire, England, has been an attraction for curious and nature lovers since its discovery hundreds of years ago, but its name is associated with black magic and demons until science explained its amazing ability to turn various objects placed under it into smooth stones.

What is now known as Mother Shipton's Cave was first opened to the public in 1630 and was nicknamed the "Falling Well".

An expressive drawing of him from the fifties of the eighteenth century shows his fame and attractiveness to the curious, because of the ability of his water to confine everything that touches it, but of course with the passage of time.

It is for this reason that many people felt that they would also turn into stone if they came into contact with water, prompting the public to invent stories and prepare legends about its origin, where it was said among other things that it was home to an ancient evil that came in the form of a notorious woman. According to legend, the character nicknamed Shepton (also known as Ursula Suthel) was born in the cave by a woman with a bad whip, said to have been a sorceress but had supernatural abilities including the ability to predict major historical events such as the defeat of the historic Spanish Armada fleet in 1588, the Great Fire of London in 1666, and even the invention of mobile phones!

But scientists later discovered that the ability of water to turn anything it touches over time into a rigid stone is actually due to the properties of water, not Ms. Shipton's magic.

This is due to the fact that the spring water contains large amounts of soluble limestone, which when the water touches something, the limestone deposits begin to accumulate and over time, it turns everything on its way into stone.

Whether some are convinced by the scientific explanation or prefer to think of magic, people have been coming to leave and hang symbolic private properties under limestone-rich waters for decades.

Among the objects that exist and are completely petrified a man's hat and a women's hat from the fifties of the nineteenth century still exist to this day. Someone even left a bike underwater to allow it to be turned into a stone. Teddy bears are also a common item that hangs from a limestone wall. In doing so, people are given their possessions to an eternity that they know they cannot obtain as human beings.