The eeriest haunted forests
Have you ever heard murmuring voices in a dark wood, felt the temperature suddenly drop or had the uneasy sense that something wasn’t quite right? Even the most peaceful canopy of trees can turn terrifying. Between the looming shadows and the strange rustles and cries you can’t quite place, forests rank among the creepiest places on Earth.
Reader’s Digest invites you on a hair-raising journey through some of the most unsettling woodlands on the planet. Read on for a dozen true tales of haunted forests – and prepare to be spooked!
Forest of Brocéliande, France
In Brittany, in France’s north-west, the Forêt de Brocéliande is said to be the forest of Arthurian legend, and it’s home to what’s rumoured to be the Tomb of Merlin. That alone isn’t especially frightening. But deep in the woods lies the Val sans Retour, or ‘Valley of No Return’, where King Arthur’s half-sister, the sorceress Morgan le Fay, is said to have trapped unfaithful young men.
In 1990, a devastating fire tore through the valley, and a golden tree now stands at its entrance in memory of the blaze. The flames were put out using water from a nearby lake – and locals believe its mysterious depths hold many secrets yet to be told.
Hoia-Baciu Forest, Romania
So many unexplained disappearances are said to have happened in this forest in north-western Romania that it’s been dubbed the country’s Bermuda Triangle. One story tells of a shepherd who vanished along with his flock of 200 sheep. Another describes a five-year-old girl who went missing, only to reappear five years later without having aged a day.
The forest’s own website warns that visitors often feel overwhelming anxiety and a sense of being watched. Many locals give the place a wide berth, fearing that once they step inside, they’ll never find their way out again.
Wistman’s Wood, England
Moss and lichen hang so thickly from the twisted branches of Wistman’s Wood that the sky is almost blotted out. Even seasoned horror fans who revel in old tales of druids, hellhounds, ghosts and other otherworldly beings advise caution here. It’s been described as the most haunted spot in Devon’s Dartmoor National Park.
Schwarzwald (Black Forest), Germany
The Schwarzwald, or Black Forest, takes its name from its dense, near-impenetrable gloom, and it provided the setting for some of the Brothers Grimm’s most frightening fairy tales. Legend also says it’s haunted by werewolves, witches and even the devil.
Then there’s der Grossmann – a towering, hideously disfigured figure with bulging eyes and multiple arms. He’s said to lure children deep into the forest to confess their sins. Needless to say, they’re never seen again.
Doon Hill, Scotland
Hidden in the woods of Scotland’s Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park is a clearing known as Doon Hill and the Fairy Knowe. Here, a solitary Scots pine stands surrounded by oaks. According to legend, it marks the entrance to the underground palace of the fairy queen – a secret that was never meant to be shared.
In 1691, however, local minister Reverend Robert Kirk gave the game away in his book The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies. The furious fairies are said to have cursed him, and his spirit is believed to haunt the woods to this day.
Smolensk Forest, Russia
In 1943, at the height of World War II, German forces in the Katyn Forest near Smolensk uncovered mass graves filled with the bodies of Polish officers. They were among roughly 22,000 Polish prisoners killed in what became known as the Katyn massacre – an atrocity later confirmed to have been carried out on the orders of Joseph Stalin.
As if the restless spirits of so many victims weren’t enough to keep you away, tragedy struck again in 2010. A plane crash near Smolensk killed all 96 people on board, including Polish President Lech Kaczyński and many of the country’s political, military and business leaders – who had been travelling to commemorate the massacre.
Long Trail, Vermont, USA
This 438-kilometre hiking trail is thought to be where Bennington College student Paula Jean Welden vanished on 1 December 1946 – one of the most baffling unsolved mysteries of all time. She wasn’t the only one. Four more people disappeared in the area between 1945 and 1950, and only one body was ever recovered. To this day, hikers talk of a haunting energy along the trail.
Tawau Hills Park, Malaysia
This forest park in Sabah, on the island of Borneo, is home to a towering yellow meranti that once held the record as the world’s tallest tropical tree. Tourists flock here – but only by day. Locals believe the forest is haunted, and that its spirits emerge only after dark. Visit if you dare, but be warned: many people are said to have vanished here, particularly near the park’s famous waterfall.
Pine Barrens, New Jersey, USA
The soil of New Jersey’s sprawling Pine Barrens is sandy, acidic and low in nutrients, yet the area teems with plant life – including pines that actually depend on bushfires to thrive. In the 18th century, the region became a refuge for outcasts of all kinds, and over time its residents were dismissively nicknamed ‘Pineys’.
From that culture sprang the legend of the Jersey Devil, a creature with the head of a goat, the wings of a bat and cloven hooves. Pay it a visit … if you dare.
Blairadam Forest, Scotland
Scotland’s Blairadam Forest was once the site of a coal mine and mining village in Victorian times. Today, visitors report odd experiences there, from feeling strangely on edge to noticing their pets becoming jittery and spooked.
That didn’t put off the Wilson family, who lived nearby and headed into the woods for a walk and a picnic in 2008. But when they later looked through the photos they’d taken of their children, they froze. Clearly visible among the trees was a menacing figure dressed in Victorian clothing.
Freetown-Fall River State Forest, Massachusetts, USA
Freetown-Fall River State Forest offers beautiful scenery, outdoor adventures and a fascinating history – but it’s best known for strange happenings no one can explain. Think disappearances, rumoured cult activity, mysterious lights and even sightings of the Pukwudgie, a creature from Wampanoag folklore.
The forest lies within south-eastern Massachusetts’s Bridgewater Triangle, an area of around 520 square kilometres said to be a hotspot for the paranormal. Even if Bigfoot and the odd UFO don’t scare you, legend says the forest is also haunted by the spirits of Indigenous people embittered by the arrival of European settlers.
Island of the Dolls, Mexico
One of the world’s most terrifying haunted forests sits on an island: La Isla de las Muñecas, or ‘Island of the Dolls’, in the canals of Xochimilco, south of Mexico City. It gets its name from the hundreds of dolls, doll heads and severed doll limbs strung up throughout its trees.
The island was decorated by a man who was tormented by the memory of a drowned girl whose body washed ashore more than half a century ago. The sight of the dolls is chilling enough – but some visitors swear they’ve heard them whispering to one another high in the branches above.
