Simply walking into a forest during the night can be creepy and scary, but there are some places in the world that are really spooky. You need to be an adventurer to visit those forests. Some of them have a great history, while other are Native burial grounds, battle fields, or crimes, murders, or suicides places. There are stories that some of them are haunted. However, many people like to visit them, and even some movies were filmed in these woods.
If you want to know the creepiest forests in the world, here is the top 10 you were waiting for:
10. Screaming Woods – U.K.
Located in Plucley, Kent, U.K., this forest is considered to be close also to the most haunted village in the country. The Dering Woods, which is the real name of the forest, is described as the place where a highwayman was killed. The story says he was captured by the villagers, who brought him into the woods. He was pinned to a tree, and killed by the villagers with a sword. People who are visiting the forest said they can still hear the screams of the man, who is haunting the place.
9. Epping Forest – U.K.
The Epping Forrest, located in Essex, England, has a long history, dated back in 8.000 BC. Its story is related to a crime: Dick Turpin, a famous highwayman, was hiding here. He lived in a cave with his partner, Tom King. Nowadays, visitors say they met the spirit of Turpin in the forest. But that is not all: the forest is also a famous burial place for victims of murderers from the city of London, because it is really close to it. That is why how the ghost stories appeared.
8. Pembrey Woods – U.K.
This forest from Carmarthenshire, Wales, has a history dating back to 400 BC. There was a fort built here, and the area is known as the “little hatchet man of Pembrey”. The ships have come to the coast line here, but the rocks made it very dangerous, so many of them sank here. The hatchet man was killing the survivors, and robbing everything he could. After the 19th century, people started to produce gunpowder and dynamite in this forest, and many place crashes happened here. That is why people said they saw a lot of ghosts in this forest.
7. Old House Woods – USA
This forest from Mathews County, Virginia, was an important place during the Revolution and the Civil War. So it is not a surprise that the place is haunted, especially by pirates, slaves, Spanish soldiers, and even Native Americans. There were also some paranormal activities reported in the area, like a ghost ship over the woods, headless dogs, knights in armor, floating lights, and many more.
6. Freetown State Forest – USA
Located in Southeastern Massachusetts, this forest is a part of the paranormal investigation known under the name “Bridgewater Triangle”. The forest has a rich history, so it is not surprising that there were ghosts seen there. This land was sacred to the Native Americans, but it was sold in the 17th century, so they cursed it. There are also many Indian burial grounds, and also some murders and satanic rituals happened there.
5. Aokigahara Forest – Japan
There is a forest on the Fuji Mountain, in Japan, known as the “Death Forest”. Also, some people call it the “Suicide Forest”, or the “Sea of Trees”, because every year, around 30 people commit suicide inside it. Since the 1950s, more than 500 people have died here, in the “perfect place to die”. The visitors of the forest will see hanging bodies and skeletons on the ground, so they should be prepared.
4. Hoia-Baciu Forest – Romania
The Hoia-Baciu forest is located in the heart of Transylvania, and it became famous in 1968, when the biologist Alexandru Sift took a picture of a UFO flying above it. But the people who live around the forest are conscious about its paranormal activity for much longer time. The place is considered to be cursed, and they don’t like to talk about it. Many science men visited it, trying to understand its mystery.
3. Forest of Rothiemurchus, Scotland
There are many haunted places in Scotland, but there is no other like the Rothiemurchus forest. The famous writer Roddy Martine said everything is wrong in this forest, including the weather, the wind, the mists, and even the rain. Also, there are some weird shades of brown, green and purple in the forest, which give a sense of isolation to the entire place. It is a very dark forest, and people who visit it feel a strong fear. There are many legends about it, but nobody was harmed there.
2. Dow Hill, India
This place is located only 30 kilometers away from Darjeeling, a city in the West Bengal state. It is known as one of the most haunted places in the entire India. Many tourists are attracted by its stories and went to visit it, especially in the last years, so the stories got even creepier. Many accidents happened there, and the place is known as the center of many paranormal activities. Also, some ghosts were seen there, but the locals don’t like to talk about it.
1. The Forbidden Forest – Harry Potter Movie
The Harry Potter Movie has a lot of fans around the world, and all of them have heard about the Forbidden Forest, or the Dark Forest. Located at the borders of the Hogwards School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it is forbidden for the students to visit it. Occasionally, they can go into the forest during the lessons of Care of Magical Creatures, or for detention. There are many creatures living in the forest, like the Acromantula colony, a colony of centaurs, unicorns, thestrals, hippogriffs, and even a pack of wolves, old descendants of werewolves. Also, a giant and a half-giant are living there, with their three-headed dog. There are rumors that many other creatures live there, and that bad things happened in the Forbidden Forest.