The Curse of the Rocks

December 16 2010 by Sam Lowe

iStock_000001267575XSmall.jpgThe northeastern sector of Arizona is separated from the Hawaiian Islands by more than 3,000 air miles, a large body of water, climate, humidity and innumerable geologic and cultural differences. Despite that, they do have one thing in common - the Curse of the Rocks.

Visitors to the Petrified National Forest near Holbrook, Ariz., are warned that picking up petrified wood is not only illegal, it can also be costly. Fines for those caught trying to smuggle out pieces of the wood, even the tiniest sliver, can run as high as $275. Even worse, those who steal often run afoul of the curse.

But the park is vast - more than 90,000 acres - and the temptations are great, so many who go there inevitably take a sample home. For some, the price is high.

An exhibit of testimonials in the Rainbow Forest Museum, the visitor center at the south end of the park, tells of the misfortunes of those who fell under the bad mojo associated with the pilfered stones. Every year, the park receives hundreds of letters and packages containing pieces of stolen petrified wood and letters written by guilt-ridden petty thieves who relate woeful tales about the suffering caused by their illegal acts.

One tortured soul confessed: "We smuggled out three small pieces of petrified wood, carefully stuck inside a bra on the body. That evening our bad luck began. One person had stomach cramps and diarrhea...that same night we were the only ones to be attacked by flying ants in the campground..."

Another penitent wrote: "I am returning the rock and the bad luck that followed it. Since I have had it, my bike has been stolen and my feet had blisters as big as my hand. And now my side hurts and it might be a hernia, and worse of all, me and my girlfriend are about to break up."

Park rangers say the returned pieces of petrified wood are not returned to their original surroundings but are stashed in a separate area. And, they add, nobody knows for certain how or why the curse got started.

Across the water, at Waikoloa Beach on the Big Island of Hawaii, packages arrive almost daily from all over the world. Some of them weigh almost 20 pounds. All contain lava rocks that were stolen from the area, along with letters of apology and pleas for forgiveness.

This is because the thefts are not only illegal; they also offend Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes. According to legend, she puts a curse on every person who removes the rocks from the island. The letters that accompany the packages give credence to the power of the goddess by detailing the bad luck that followed those who dared to challenge her.

One woman wrote: "My husband brought back some lava rocks that he found on Waikoloa Beach. I was not aware that he had done this until I commented on the story I had seen on the Travel Channel. When I told him, he confessed that he was one of the guilty. I know this is an urban legend but after reading the stories and then thinking back to all the misfortune we have suffered since that time, my husband asked if I would find out how to return the rocks..."

A man from Germany returned some of the geologic samples and said, "Here I send back the rock that I stolen from Pele...the year 2000 was bad for me and my family. My wife's father died. I'm marathon man and have broken my leg. Later problems with with my pancreas. Please give it back."

More than a ton of lava rocks have been shipped back to the island since 2002. Most are returned to the beach or placed in a garden of native plants. At noon on the first Wednesday of each month, Hawaiian culture elders perform a ceremony in the garden, asking Pele to accept the returned rocks and remove her curse.

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