The forest has always carried not only good but also a danger to humans. Wild animals roamed in it, robbers hid, and suicides often used forest trees as gallows. Some forests have such a bad reputation that superstitious and impressionable people go around them by the tenth way.
And if you are not afraid or shy, then welcome to the top 10 most creepy forests in the world. They are in no particular order.
10. Wichwood, England
This English forest is a favorite spot for ghosts. Many visitors to Wichwood complain of being touched by disembodied hands or hearing the clatter of the hooves of invisible horses.
But for every frightened traveler, there is another one intrigued by such a mystery – and the thrill it promises. After all, an encounter with the supernatural makes you feel more alive.
09. Aokigahara, Japan
The dense forest of Aokigahara at the northwestern foot of Mount Fuji in Japan has a disorienting power of its own. It is rumored that large underground deposits of iron interfere with the compass, forcing travelers to follow the wrong path.
It is not for nothing that Aokigahara is popularly called the “forest of suicides”. Since 1970, once a year, police officers, along with volunteers, comb the forest in search of the remains of those who committed suicide. During such raids, they find up to 80 bodies.
Rumor has it that the forest is inhabited by yurei – restless souls. They roam between the trees in the form of ghostly figures with glowing eyes and unnaturally long arms. So those who decide to go to Aokigahara at night need to have very strong nerves.
08. Elven forest, USA
The name of this forest sounds like it belongs to Tolkien’s world, even though the location is in California.
Legend has it that in the 19th century, gypsies lived in the Elven Forest until the townspeople kicked them out for some offense and killed those who remained. In revenge, the gypsies cursed the forest itself and the surrounding lands.
Today, people claim that they saw all kinds of horror in the Elven Forest – a woman floating in the air, dressed in white, and a spirit in a cloak, riding a black stallion.
07. Black Forest, Germany
Sunlight does not everywhere make its way through the dense spruces of the Black Forest (translated as the Black Forest). And the myths surrounding this forest are more fantastic than paranormal: a headless horseman riding a large white horse, a king kidnapping women, friendly gnomes, and werewolves howling at the moon. Is it any wonder that the Brothers Grimm linked many of their fairy tales to this place (for example, about Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White)?
However, for lovers of tourism, this forest is very friendly and not at all scary. There is a network of hiking trails in the Black Forest, and the pearl of the Black Forest is the ten-level cascade of the Triberg Falls, reaching 163 meters in height.
06. Island of the Dolls, Mexico
In addition to its status as a World Heritage Site, the Xochimilco area (Mexico City) is also known for its Isla de las Munecas or Island of the Dolls. Tucked among numerous canals, this place is famous for hundreds of rotting dolls and parts that hang from trees and are scattered among the grass.
It is believed that these toys are supposed to calm the ghost of a girl who drowned in one of the canals. Local legend says that the dolls whisper to each other, move their heads and arms, and open their eyes.
05. Doering Woods, UK
Dering Forest is called the “Howling Forest” and is clearly not the best place for a family hike. Tourists who decide to visit Dering at night report that they hear blood-curdling screams coming from the depths of the forest, and on foggy days, footsteps and whispers are heard in it.
The screams are often attributed to a highwayman who was captured and killed by villagers in the 18th century, and whose ghost apparently still harbors a grudge against the living. Others believe that it is the ghosts of 20 people who were found dead in Doering Woods on November 1, 1948. Autopsies did not help determine the cause of death.
04. Dow Hill, India
Dow Hill Indian Forest is one of the most visited places in the country, and at its center is the Victoria School for Boys.
It would seem, what danger could be in a place where many children and teachers have gathered? However, the road leading to the school is known as the death road. Ghosts are often seen there, giggling and phantom footsteps are heard. But the most frightening and famous local ghost is the headless boy. He patrols the “road of death”, and if noticed, he runs to the trees and disappears.
03. Land of the Devil, USA
Despite the fact that the Earth is located in the middle of the dense old Bear Creek forest, this place is empty of all life. The clearing is about 12 meters wide, and people who entered there claimed to have witnessed a number of strange incidents.
Dogs prefer to avoid this place and howl if they are forced inside. People have seen how forest animals go around the Devil’s Land and do not pass through it. Items left overnight in the circle end up outside of it.
Legend has it that the Devil uses this space for his nightly dances, hence its name.
02. Forest Hoya-Bachu, Romania
In 1968, a military technician (according to other sources – a tourist) took a picture of a UFO wandering around Hoya Bach, and since then this forest has acquired an unusual paranormal reputation throughout the world. This area is known as the “Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania” – a portal to another world.
Some people who have walked through this forest have reported having a rash on their bodies, nausea, and intense feelings of anxiety. All this can be attributed to psychosomatics, but how can one explain the unnaturally bent and twisted wood of trees, and the presence of a strange round glade, on which there is no vegetation?
Even with the name of the forest, a terrible story is connected – about the disappearance of a shepherd named Bachu. He drove a flock of 200 sheep to the fair in the town of Cluj-Napoca. Bachu’s path ran through the forest. He went there and disappeared without a trace, along with the sheep. And even if the shepherd himself was killed by robbers, it is an extremely difficult task to take away such a number of livestock so that it would not become known about it in the nearby villages.
01. Myasnoy Bor, Russia
This is the most terrible forest in Russia, it is alarming to be in it even during the day. According to unofficial data, about 10 thousand people died here during the Luban offensive operation in 1942.
Now Myasnoy Bor has turned into a place where black diggers roam in search of war trophies, and search engines go looking for the remains of Soviet soldiers. Many search engines pay attention to the fact that birds do not settle in places of mass death of people, they arrive only when the remains are buried properly.
Travelers say that in Myasny Bor you can often hear men’s voices and shouts of “hurray”, machine gun fires, and other sounds of a battle that died down many years ago.