MOST HAUNTED FORESTS
Step Inside the World’s
‹‹ Wistman’s Wood ENGLAND
In Wistman’s Wood, moss and lichen drip so heavily from the tangled treetops, the sky is nearly obscured, according to Atlas Obscura. And the place is legit haunted, according to those who are familiar with its ancient tales of druids, hellhounds, ghosts and a host of other supernatural creatures, earning it the title of ‘the most haunted place in England’s Dartmoor National Park’.
The Schwarzwald GERMANY
Named for its almost impenetrable darkness, the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) is the site of some of the scariest fairy tales the Brothers Grimm ever wrote. But legend has it the forest is actually haunted by werewolves, witches and the devil himself. The tale of der Grossmann (the Slenderman) is that of a tall, horribly disfigured man with bulging eyes and many arms who compelled children to enter the forest, confess their sins, and never emerge again.
The Hoia-Baciu Forest ROMANIA
Located in northwestern Romania, the Hoia-Baciu is known as the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ of Romania. Strange disappearances are said to have occurred here, like a shepherd who reportedly disappeared with a flock of 200 sheep, and a five-year-old girl who disappeared here only to emerge five years later without having aged. Visitors often “report intense feelings of anxiety and the feeling of being constantly watched”, the forest’s website warns, and the locals tend to stay away because they fear that if they enter, they will never find their way out.
The Smolensk Forest RUSSIA
In 1943, at the height of World War II, German troops invaded the Smolensk (Katyn) Forest and discovered mass graves containing thousands upon thousands of dead Polish soldiers. Ultimately, it was
Island of the Dolls MEXICO
One of the world’s scariest places is La Isla de la Muñecas, or Island of the Dolls, a small island south of Mexico City, according to Live Science. The island was named for its collection of dolls, doll heads, and disembodied doll parts that were strung along the jungle trees by a man who was haunted by the sight of a drowned girl whose body washed up on shore more than half a century ago. The sight of the dolls is terrifying enough, but some say that high above them in the treetops, they’ve heard the dolls whispering to one another. determined they’d been massacred on Joseph Stalin’s orders. If the presence of about 22,000 lost souls wasn’t enough to frighten people away, then it was compounded by the tragic plane crash that took place there in 2010, which killed 96 Polish political, military and business leaders, among them then Polish president Lech Kaczynski.
Long Trail BENNINGTON, VERMONT, USA
This 437-kilometre-long hiking trail is believed to be where a college student, Paula Jean Welden, disappeared on December 1, 1946. But she wasn’t the only one. Four others disappeared there between 1945 and 1950, with only one body ever being found. Rumours of the
trail giving off a ‘weird haunting energy’ continue to this day.
Blairadam Forest SCOTLAND
Another creepy copse is Scotland’s Blairadam Forest, which back in Victorian times had been the home of a coal mine and a mining town. Visitors to these woods report strange phenomena such as feeling inexplicably agitated and their pets being spooked. Living nearby did not stop the Wilson family from enjoying a hike and a picnic in 2008. But they were stopped cold
Aokigahara JAPAN
In Japanese mythology, Aokigahara, which is also known as the ‘Sea of Trees’, at the base of Mount Fuji, is said to be haunted by demons. It is also thought that yūrei – trapped, lost, angry or revengeful souls – flit between the twisted trees. According to some local spiritualists, the trees have a malevolent energy accumulated over centuries. Eerily quiet, the forest is also easy to get lost in, with compasses and mobile phones sometimes not working, possibly because of high iron deposits in the soil.