Aokigahara: How Japan’s “Suicide Forest” Became One Of The Scariest Places On Earth
ajari from Japan/Wikimedia CommonsSomeone making their way through the thick underbrush of Aokigahara, one of the scariest places on Earth.
At the base of Japan’s Mount Fuji is a peaceful forest called Aokigahara. The forest is renowned for its silence and darkness. It’s also known as “Suicide Forest” because of the dozens of people who die by suicide there each year.
This creepy place has a long history. Legend states that in feudal times, starving families unable to get enough food would dump elderly, weak relatives in the forest to die. For centuries, rumors spread that these abandoned souls haunted Aokigahara as vengeful spirits.
Things changed in the 1960s, however. Then, author Seicho Matsumoto published his novel Kuroi Jukai, translated as The Black Sea of Trees. In his famous book, two lovers die by suicide among the trees of Aokigahara. And soon, real-life people started to do the same (though there were some reports of decomposing bodies in the forest before the book was published).
RedditAbandoned shoes in Aokigahara, one of the world’s creepiest places.
In the years that followed, those who entered Aokigahara to see the trees often also saw suicide victims. It’s such a popular suicide location that officials have taken to posting signs that say, “please reconsider” and “think carefully about your children, your family,” at the entrance.
That hasn’t stopped hundreds of people from trying to die there. In 2004, 108 bodies were discovered in the forest. In 2010, 247 people attempted suicide there, and 54 died. More recently, the Japanese government has stopped releasing official numbers for fear that the publicity was encouraging others.
In the end, Aokigahara is just one of the creepiest places in the world. There are haunted houses, eerie museums, and creepy catacombs around every corner — if you’re brave enough and know where to look.
After reading about the scariest places on Earth, check out our galleries of the world’s most mystifying ghost towns, abandoned Detroit, Soviet monuments, and the hotel that inspired “The Shining.”
