“Shadows mutter, mist replies; darkness purrs as midnight sighs.” – Rusty Fischer
Don’t you find that when Hallowe’en comes around you unconsciously begin to prepare yourself to be scared? You even seek out opportunities to get your adrenaline pumping. Some people are really into haunted theme parks, haunted houses, or even just scary movies. But for those who like a little adventure in their lives, there is nothing like a location with a somewhat questionable past to get the blood pumping. Even more so if that location is the woods.
Japan’s Suicide Forest (Aokigahara)
I think the name says it all really. However, Japan’s Aokigahara Forest, or Sea of Trees, also known as the Suicide Forest, has one of the darkest histories of any place. Located on the northwestern edge of Mount Fuji, this dense forest has porous lava rock, which absorbs sound. Providing visitors with a serious sense of being alone. One of those, if you scream no one will hear you, kind of places.
So, how did it become dubbed the “Suicide Forest?” Some of the reason is steeped in folklore. Local legend says that this was a place where people would practice ubasute. This is the practice of taking an elderly or sick relative to a remote area and leaving them to die.
In 2002, 78 people committed suicide in this forest, in 2003, 105 bodies were found. It is said that suicides increase during March, which is the end of Japan’s fiscal year. Annual body searches have been conducted by police, volunteers, and attendant journalists since 1970. That’s a long time and a lot of people.
A Japanese psychiatrist interviewed a handful of suicide survivors to determine the reason they chose this forest. The main response was survivors felt they would be able to die successfully without being noticed. The novel, The Complete Manual of Suicide, by Wataru Tsurumi, named the forest as a perfect place to die. Charming.
Due to the history, and the overwhelming number of suicides, officials have placed signage around the forest encouraging people to seek help. As unnerving as all this is there are lots of opportunities to hike in this forest, though it is well advised to stay on the trails. The dense forest makes it very easy to get lost. Be aware of your surroundings.
Hoia Baciu
Considered the world’s most haunted forest, Hoia Baciu is located near the Cluj-Napoca region in Romania. Some refer to this forest as the Bermuda Triangle of the country. It is well known for it’s paranormal activity and unexplained events. It gained notoriety in the 1960’s when a biologist named Alexandru Sift photographed a flying disc shaped object in the sky above the forest.
The forest itself is named after a shepherd who disappeared in the area with a flock of approximately 200 sheep. Locals are afraid to enter the forest due to the legends and stories that have been handed down for generations.
Visitors to the forests report intense feelings of anxiety and a feeling of being watched. People who have entered the forest, even to this day, have developed unexplained rashes, illness and dizziness. To make it even creepier, electronic devices have a tendency to malfunction while visiting the forest. Some reports indicate that people have heard the disembodied voice of a woman, giggling, and have seen apparitions. However, on a happier note, this forest has areas for biking, paintball and archery and is used commonly for day hikes.
Move over Transylvania, this place is not for the faint of heart. Do you dare?
The Screaming Woods
Next to Pluckey Village in Kent lies the Dering Woods, also know as the Screaming Woods. Pluckey Village is considered the most haunted village in Britain. It is a well-known place of death with, what some say, 12 active ghosts.
The forest is said to be extremely active with paranormal activity. There have been many reports of screams coming from the forest and shadows that seem to follow those who enter. It is thought that the most prevalent spirits in the forest are an 18th century Colonel who killed himself in the shrub, and a highwayman who was captured by local villagers, nailed to a tree and beheaded. Lovely.
The Dering Wood was bought by the Woodland Trust in 1997 and now the public has free hiking access to the 308 acres of wooded, screaming, landscape.
The Black Forest
The Black Forest is a large forested mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, in southwest Germany. The main industry of the Black Forest is tourism. There are an extensive network of hiking and mountain bike trails in the summer and downhill and Nordic skiing in the winter. So why is it so scary?
Many of the Brothers Grimm fairytales are set in this forest, including Hansel and Gretel. The foliage is so dense that the sunlight rarely peeks through, making it the perfect setting for mythical creatures. Legend states that the forest is haunted by werewolves, witches and even the devil. Bad children would enter the forest and were made to confess their sins to a horribly disfigured man with bulging eyes and many arms. The worst children were never seen again.
The Pine Barrens
A lot of people know of the legend of the Jersey Devil. I had to include this one, being that I currently live in New Jersey, and there is a lot of speculation surrounding the Pine Barrens.
Located in the southern portion of the state, the Pine Barrens are made up of knotty pine trees in sandy soil. Entering into the woods you feel like you have entered into a horror movie.
The Jersey Devil has been myth and legend in New Jersey for almost 300 years. This mythological creature stalks the Pine Barrens, terrorizing the locals. In 1735, a resident known as Mother Leeds apparently found herself pregnant for the thirteenth time. She was not a wealthy woman and her husband was a bit of a drunk. Exasperated with her situation, and her bum of a husband, she raised her hands to the heavens and shouted, “Let this one be a devil!”
Mother Leeds apparently gave birth to a healthy baby boy. However, within minutes after his birth he began to change, metamorphosing into this creature with horns, talon-like claws and leathery bat-like wings.
During the 18th and 19th centuries there were various sightings of this creature throughout the Pine Barrens, along with wailing, and the slaughter of domesticated animals.
There are lots of opportunities to seek out the Jersey Devil for yourself, with many miles of hiking trails winding through the Pine Barrens. Wait, did you hear that? Was it the beat of wings?
Ballyboley Forest
Located in Northern Ireland, the Ballyboley Forest, first planted in 1957, is considered an ancient Druid site. Between the 15th-17th centuries there were many disappearances, giving the forest it’s notoriety. The Forest was deemed a national park, however, with walking trails created, but still to this day not many people dare to venture out into this forest.
Those who have dared say they have a constant feeling of being watched and have heard screams that could not be traced. One man claimed to have found blood smeared on several trees. There are many stories swirling around this forest, but they all seem to point back to 4 hooded figures. Are these the druids everyone is talking about?
Druids were not always seen as sinister, but at one time it was common practice to sacrifice humans and animals on stone alters, of which you can still see remnants of in the forest and set them on fire (billowing smoke is also a common sighting).
Those who believe in and follow paranormal activity say that there are portals that can be open between realms and that they have never found one as strong as the one in Ballyboley. So, are these robbed figures alive or are these people seeing the ghosts of what once was? I will leave that for you to decide.
For more haunted destinations check out this article by Travel + Leisure.
