Anyone visiting the forest known as Aokigahara, at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan, will be met by signs as they enter the legendary woods. The signs do not welcome you, or provide a map. Instead the signs urge visitors not to do the unthinkable..And kill themselves. The signs are placed throughout and have messages like ” Your life is precious” and “Think one more time”. But why would the Japanese government be so concerned that visitors would commit suicide here?
Aokigahara has become a famous place for people of Japan to end their own lives. It has even been called “the perfect place to die” by some Japanese citizens. An astounding 75 bodies (on average) are found inside the large and seemingly endless forest each year. Essentially, every few days another life is extinguished inside of this Japanese forest.
Of course it didn’t take long for stories of ghosts to emerge. The forest is infamously haunted and it is believed that the lost souls and spirits of those who have ended their life inside Aokigahara forest still linger.
Visitors to the haunted forest have reported seeing full bodied apparitions, hearing whispers that seem to originate from nowhere and more. Ghosts of Aokigahara are said to appear in the form of fog and in human form. Compasses, GPS and electronic devices seem to have trouble functioning there too. Many people who enter the forest become disoriented and lost very quickly. It is not uncommon for someone to get hopelessly lost withing the dense forest. It is also not uncommon for someone to stumble upon a still undiscovered body while hiking through the forest.
So what is it about this forest that makes so many Japanese people put an end to their own lives? The mystery of these woods and the almost unbelievable tragedy associated with them leads to many questions.
Has the tragedy inside the “Suicide Woods” of Japan caused it to become such a paranormal hot spot? Or was the forest already somehow cursed or paranormal in a way that contributed to the tragedies? We may never know. But the mysteries of Aokigahara are ones that if solved, could potentially end the morbid and horrible reputation that the forest has earned as the “suicide woods” and as one of the most Haunted Places on earth.
The forest is open to visitors with miles of twisting trails to hike and plenty of spaces for setting up camp, should you decide to visit. However, if you decide to venture into this creepy and mysterious forest..Some say you may never come out. Disturbingly enough, statistics would agree.
