5 of the World’s Most Haunted Forests That Will Give You Goosebumps

While the Southern Hemisphere’s blossoming flowers and sunny weather may not be putting me in Halloween spirits (pun intended) as much the chilly, dark evenings I’m used to in October would, it’s still one of my very favorite holidays. Today’s spooky guest post has me dying (intended again) to explore some of the world’s most haunted forests.

5 Haunted Forests That Will Give You Goosebumps
Halloween is nigh, and its entourage of ghosts and goblins is preparing to descend on your neighborhood in search of sugary treats. But where do the paranormal citizens reside when they aren’t hoarding sweets or pelting houses with eggs?

Holiday Lettings ponders the answer lies in the depths of the deepest, darkest woods. So, should you be keen to rub shoulders with witches and werewolves outside of Halloween haunting hours, read on to learn about some of the most promising phantom-spotting haunted forest locations around the world.

The Black Forest – Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Haunted forests - The Black Forest, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Photo credit: Tom Lück (edited) (license) via Wikimedia Commons

Situated along the Rhine River, these woods are mountainous, vast and notoriously dense. Pine and fir do their best to block out the sunlight, which makes for a dim and dreamy environment – a sure magnet for supernatural beings.

The hauntings of the Black Forest are of the straight-out-of your-fairy tale variety. Curious folk come here in search not of UFOs or aliens, but in hope of spotting ghosts of kings and queens, as well as werewolves, dwarves, witches and magicians.

Near the now-vanished village of Wolmerspur, a headless horseman rides once every year on a great white steed. Yberg Castle is home to beautiful ladies visible only at night and a legendary wine cellar that no one has managed to find. There are also the Baden nymphs, who dwell in the murky waters of the Mummel Lake, sharing space with an undead king who is reputed to kidnap women and take them to his underwater lair.

Devil’s Tramping Ground – North Carolina, USA

Haunted forests - Devil's Tramping Ground, North Carolina

Photo credit: Jason Horne(edited) (license) via Wikimedia Commons

Deep in the forests near the town of Bennett is a circular path over 30 feet wide where nothing grows. It looks as if someone – or something – has made the soil completely barren and destroyed all plantlife. Close to Harper’s Crossroads and within hiking distance of Silver City, the area is a popular camping spot – campers have claimed that items left on the path move in the black of night.

The popular explanation is that the path is made by the devil, trotting round and round while trying to come up with a solid plan to bring about Armageddon. It’s said that the North Carolina State Department of Agriculture has collected dirt from the site in hope of figuring out what’s causing the pattern… No officials have offered any answers as yet.

Dering Woods – Pluckley, Kent, UK

Haunted forests: Dering Woods, Pluckley, Kent, England

Photo credit: Robin Webster (edited) (license) via geograph.org.uk

Nicknamed “The Screaming Woods,” Dering Woods is famous for the loud, ghastly cries that sound from its depths. These screams are said to come from the souls of those who have died inside the forest, including a highwayman impaled on a tree by enraged villagers. The haunted forest has many visitors who come in hope of hearing a chilling scream or two. The Sunday Night Project camped out here, and even BBC’s Top Gear team have spent a night here huddled in a car.

Dering Woods borders on the village of Pluckley, regarded by some as the most haunted community in the UK. Should the spirits of the woods not frighten you enough, retreat to the nearest pub, keep an eye out for a Phantom Monk patrolling the outskirts of the village and listen out for an invisible carriage rumbling down the streets.

Old House Woods – Mathews County, Virginia, USA

Haunted forests: Old House Woods, Mathews County, Virginia

Photo credit: http://www.ForestWander.com (edited) (license) via Wikimedia Commons

If subtle uncanniness isn’t your cup of rum, head over to Mathews County for fifty acres of thoroughly haunted woodland and a broad range of pirate-themed supernatural spectacles.

The neighboring port was full of activity during the Revolutionary and the Civil Wars and has been inhabited or attacked by the Spanish Armada, British Redcoats, Native Americans, slaves and plenty of pirates. As a result, there are countless legends about lost treasures and haunted graveyards, along with reports of brooding presences and glowing lights.

More remarkable stories include sightings of headless dogs, ghost cows and rampaging skeletons armed with swords. Some have even seen a phantom three-masted sailing ship flying over the woods and a fully rigged Spanish galleon.

Aokigahara Forest – Mount Fuji, Japan

Aokigahara Forest, Mount Fuji, Japan

Photo credit: mtzn (青木ヶ原樹海) (edited) (license) via Wikimedia Commons

Mount Fuji is a popular tourist destination renowned for its stark and tranquil beauty – but hidden at the foot of the Japanese mountain is a forest that casts a terrifying shadow over its rocky neighbor.

Known as Suicide Forest, these woods are a common destination for people who want to end their lives. Authorities have stopped publishing the death toll, but some years during the last decade saw over a hundred people perish here.

Reports tell of a malicious force in the forest – some suggest it’s the residual misery of those who have passed away. Other stories describe harrowing howls and moving shadows. There are also historical links between the forest and demons from Japanese folklore.

Have you visited any of these world’s most haunted forests? What are your plans for this Halloween?



13 Responses

  1. ~ Carmen ~ says:

    I can see why these are haunted. It’s so spooky. The forests are so lush & dark. Creepy. :] // itsCarmen.com ☼ ☯

  2. Cassandra says:

    “your cup of rum”—–> Nice turn of phrase, and oh-so appropriate for the subject matter.

    When I was a kid, I always made up so many stories while playing in the woods around my house. My imagination really would have run away with me if I’d lived near one of these spooky areas! Have you been to any of them?

  3. albanian_mom says:

    Fascinating, and I can certainly relate.

    As many of you know, I have been battling haunted foliage and vegetation in and around my home for years. It started when my family moved into a lovely brick home with a greenhouse.

    Everyone who knows me knows that there are four things that I love more than anything else: my two children (Watley & Melba), and the vegetables Fennel and Beat-Root. I love them so much that often one of the other mothers on the PTA Carpool Committee will make a joke like “Deb sure loves to eat beat-root and fennel!” It’s a hoot.

    Anyways, I was very excited to grow my own in my very own greenhouse and I began immediately… That’s when the trouble started.

    I began to hear voices coming from the greenhouse late at night– often the plants would move to new locations that were difficult for me to reach with my bad back. As time progressed, my prized beat-root plant would start to cackle at me. I thought, hmmm this is odd.

    Then one day in early September, just a few weeks away from my first batches of nutritious home-grown vegetables, the beat-root plant said “you’d better not eat me you overweight sow.”

    In my home there are two rules: no cuss-words and we don’t call people names so you can imagine my anger. I said, “okay Mr. Beat-Root you are out of here!” I removed him from the greenhouse and put him on the compost heap.

    The next morning, while performing my daily inspection of the yard, I was dismayed to find that the beat-root plant had moved from the compost heap to the middle of our backyard… More terrifying was the fact that it was reading a book: How to Raise the Dead by the well-known parapsychologist Tyler Johnson. I took the book away from him, but as I was walking away I could hear a defiant chortle. What a mean-spirited knucklehead!!!

    The next day, the plant–still in the yard–had used the knowledge gained from the book to raise a shrubbery from the dead. Now I had two blockheads to deal with, and boy were they loud!

    They would mock the other bushes and trees and keep my family up at night by prank calling the house-phone (who gives a phone to a plant anyway?!). It would usually be during “Family TV Hour” and the phone would ring. They would often demand to talk to the “cute Orchid” that I keep on my dresser. “This is inappropriate, cut it out,” I would say before they hung up.

    This has now been going on for a very long time and I am at my wit’s end.

    Does anyone have any practical advice at dealing with malicious ghost-plants? I know my problem is not as large as the haunted forests in the main article, but this is my yard we’re talking about so it’s very personal.

    I have considered calling in a priest who also gardens in the hopes that he can fix this situation. I heard Gregor Mendel grew plants in addition to being a monk, but that was hundreds of years ago. Do they still have Gardening Clergy?

  4. Alexandra says:

    Interesting blog:)

  5. Interesting post! I would love to visit all of these spooky places.

  6. harry says:

    good article

  7. I would definitely be moving fast along these trails – haha, probably break out into a run if I’m honest. Spooky.

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