New growth has appeared in the affected areas of the crop circle design. (Stonehenge Dronescapes / YouTube) — New growth has appeared in the affected areas of the crop circle design. *(Stonehenge Dronescapes / YouTube)*

A crop circle first documented in July of 2019 has seen strange growth in the negative space of its design.

The circle, recorded by Nick Bull of Stonehenge Dronescapes, appeared July 16th on Rodfield Lane in the Hampshire, England, village of Tichborne, and a second video uploaded October 23rd shows the unusually vibrant growth.

This phenomenon is often referred to as a “crop circle ghost” or “ghost crop circle,” and some skeptics believe that it is caused by crop circle tourists or hoaxers stepping on the affected plants and inadvertently planting the seeds within. This can cause a second growth of plants in the affected region, which then appear green and vibrant. The following year, if the farmer working the field doesn’t apply extra fertilizer, the crop circle may reappear as an area of less growth, as the new plants have leeched the soil of nutrients.

In this case, the ‘ghost’ effect has appeared in the negative space of the original crop circle—those areas of the design which were originally flattened. Some have speculated that the aforementioned actions of crop circle tourists or the mere act of flattening the plants itself, might have spurred new growth. This argument is especially convincing to skeptics, considering the new growth apparent in the tractor tracks seen throughout the field, where the tractor’s tires may have had the same effect on the plants in its path.

The original crop circle from July, 2019. (Stonehenge Dronescapes / YouTube) — The original crop circle from July, 2019. *(Stonehenge Dronescapes / YouTube)*

Others ascribe a paranormal origin to the phenomenon, believing it to be a side effect of unusual energies associated either with extraterrestrial or interdimensional craft, or the earth energy that some say causes the circles.

Still others believe that the truth could be somewhere in the middle.

“That ‘trampled plant’ explanation makes a certain amount of sense, although it’s not necessarily dependent on a mundane origin to the phenomenon,” Singular Fortean Society lead investigator Tobias Wayland said. “It’s only important that the seeds are released, that doesn’t mean something paranormal couldn’t have done the releasing. This doesn’t prove that crop circles are either paranormal or mundane, only that they can have lasting physical effects on their environment—maybe intentionally, maybe not.”

It is unknown what steps the farmer in question has taken following the original circle’s creation, and whether or not fertilizer played a role in the new growth.

To report your own encounter with the impossible, reach out to us directly at the Singular Fortean Society through our contact page.

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