Woods are spooky places anyway, but nothing beats the fright factor of these haunted forests
12 True Stories from the Most Haunted Forests in the World
Updated on Jun. 10, 2025
Forest of Broceliande, France
The Fôret de Brocéliande, located in Brittany, France, is supposedly the forest of the King Arthur legend—and is the home of the rumored Tomb of Merlin, pictured here. That’s not too spooky, but the Vals Sans Retour (“Valley of No Return”) is said to be where King Arthur’s half-sister, the sorceress Morgan le Fay, imprisoned young, unfaithful men.
More recently, in 1990, the valley was the site of a terrible fire that ravaged the forest, which is memorialized by a golden tree at the entrance to the valley. The fire was doused with the waters of a nearby lake, and locals believe that this mystical, haunted body of water hides many untold stories in its depths.
Hoia-Baciu Forest, Romania
Located in northwestern Romania, Hoia-Baciu is known as the Bermuda Triangle of Romania because so many strange disappearances are said to have occurred here. Take the tale of a shepherd who went missing with a flock of 200 sheep and a five-year-old girl, only to emerge five years later without having aged.
Visitors often report “intense feelings of anxiety and the feeling of being constantly watched,” the haunted forest’s website warns, and locals tend to stay away—fearing that if they enter, they will never find their way out.
Smolensk Forest, Russia
In 1943, at the height of World War II, German troops invaded the Smolensk Forest and discovered a mass grave containing thousands of dead Polish soldiers—20,000 by some estimates. Ultimately, it was determined they’d been massacred on Joseph Stalin’s orders.
If the presence of 20,000 lost souls wasn’t enough of a true ghost story to frighten you away, then the tragic plane crash that took place there in 2010, which killed 96 Polish political, military and business leaders, might hammer the nail into the coffin, so to speak.
Long Trail, Vermont
This 272-mile-long hiking trail is believed to be where Bennington College student Paula Jean Welden disappeared on December 1, 1946, in one of the strangest unsolved mysteries of all time. But she wasn’t the only one. Four other people disappeared there between 1945 and 1950, with only one body ever found. Talk of the trail giving off a haunting energy continues to this day.
Schwarzwald, Germany
Named for its almost impenetrable darkness, Schwarzwald (“Black Forest”) is the site of some of the scariest fairy tales the Brothers Grimm ever wrote. But legend also has it the forest is actually haunted by werewolves, witches and the devil himself. Take the tale of der Grossmann. This tall, horribly disfigured man with bulging eyes and many arms compels children to enter the haunted forest and confess their sins. Of course, the children never emerge again.
Pine Barrens, New Jersey
The forest floor of New Jersey’s extensive Pine Barrens is sandy, acidic and nutrient-poor, but the Pine Barrens are filled with plant life—including pine trees that thrive on forest fires. In the 18th century, the area came to be populated with outcasts of one kind or another, and over time, inhabitants of the Pine Barrens came to be known as “Pineys,” a negative epithet similar to hillbilly.
One legend that arose from that culture is that of the Jersey Devil, a monster with a goat’s head, bat’s wings and cloven hooks. Go visit … if you dare.
Doon Hill, Scotland
The woods of Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park in Scotland include a clearing called Doon Hill and Fairy Knowe. There, a lone Scotch pine is nestled among a sea of oaks. It’s the entrance to a fairy queen’s underground palace, and it seems no one was supposed to know this.
But in 1691, a local reverend spilled the beans in his book, The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies, angering the magical inhabitants, who cursed the reverend. It is said that the spirit of the reverend still lingers in the haunted forest.
Blairadam Forest, Scotland
Another creepy copse in Scotland is the Blairadam Forest, which back in Victorian times had been the home of a coal mine and mining town. Visitors to these woods report strange phenomena, such as feeling inexplicably agitated or noticing that their pets seem spooked.
Living nearby did not stop the Wilson family from enjoying a hike and a picnic in 2008, but they were stopped cold after they left and examined the photos they’d taken of the Wilson children. A sinister-looking figure clad in Victorian clothing was clearly visible, lurking among the trees.
Island of the Dolls, Mexico
One of the world’s scariest haunted forests is on an island: La Isla de la Muñecas, or “Island of the Dolls.” It’s located south of Mexico City, and was named for its collection of dolls, doll heads and disembodied doll parts that were strung along the jungle’s trees.
This unsettling place was decorated by a man haunted by the sight of a drowned girl, whose body washed up on shore more than half a century ago. And while seeing the dolls is terrifying enough, some say that high above them in the treetops they’ve heard the dolls whispering to one another.
Tawau Hills Park, Malaysia
This forest park in Sabah, Malaysia, is home to the tallest tree in the world, a yellow meranti, and is frequented by tourists … but only during the day. Local residents believe the forest is haunted, and the spirits that lurk there only come out at night. Go if you dare, but apparently, many people are believed to have disappeared in this haunted forest, particularly near its famous waterfall.
Freetown-Fall River State Forest, Massachusetts
Besides its scenic beauty, outdoor activities and interesting history, Freetown-Fall River State Forest is perhaps most well known for its bizarre, unexplainable phenomena. We’re talking disappearances, rumored cult happenings, random lights and even sightings of a Wampanoag folk creature called a Pukwudgie.
The haunted forest sits within southeastern Massachusetts’s Bridgewater Triangle, a 200 square mile “epicenter” of the paranormal. Even if you’re not afraid of Bigfoot or the occasional UFO, the forest is said to be haunted by the ghosts of a Native American tribe, embittered by the presence of European settlers.
Wistman’s Wood, England
In Wistman’s Wood, moss and lichen drip so heavily from the tangled treetops that the sky is nearly obscured. Even horror buffs who thrive on ancient tales of druids, hellhounds, ghosts and other supernatural creatures warn us about this haunted forest. It has been called the most haunted place in England’s Dartmoor National Park.
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Sources:
- Brittany Tourism: Destination Broceliande
- CBS: “It Happens Here: A look at the ‘weirdness’ of the Bridgewater Triangle”
- Hoia Baciu Forest: “World’s Most Haunted Forest”
- Slate: “Another Tragedy in the Haunted Forest”
- Britannica: “Katyn Massacre”
- Haunted Places: “Long Trail”
- Bennington Banner: “Lost in Glastenbury”
- Trip Savvy: “The Most Haunted Places in Germany”
- Philly Mag: “Pine Barrens New Jersey”
- Live Science: “World’s Scariest Places”
- Massachusetts State: “Freetown Fall River State Forest”
- Atlas Obscura: “Wistman’s Wood”
