Five hideously haunted hikes:
This Halloween, skip the party crowds and hopped-up trick-or-treaters by heading into the quiet of the woods for an eerie evening. Bring your flashlights, and maybe some blessed salt too, as Amy Fiske creeps through our top haunted hikes around the world.
1. Hoia Baciu Forest, Romania
First on this list is also first on my travel wish list for spooky destinations; Romania is a treasure trove for the macabre tourist. Being ‘geographically cursed’ Romania has seen its share of horrors. As well as home to Count Dracula and Vlad the Impaler, Romania is home to witches of all varieties - in fact, the government introduced a spell tax because witches’ selling readings, hexes and heals became big business. Romania is also home to the Hoia Baciu Forest. For hundreds of years people have been going missing in this forest, some returning years later, unaged and with no memory of what’s happened. With both ghosts and UFO sightings having been reported in the area, could aliens or the supernatural be responsible for these abductions? Would you dare to set foot in what is known as the world’s most haunted forest?
2. Dead Woman’s Pass, Peru
Whilst a fantastic heading for this listicle, Dead Woman’s Pass on the Inca Trail isn’t named after any tragedy that might cause a haunting. It’s named after the mountain’s shape, which resembles a woman lying down. Whilst hiking the Inca Trail, be mindful of Incan apparitions thought to protect this spiritual landmark. Reported encounters include a feeling of being strangled in the night while camping here. Is this true or just a weird side effect of altitude sickness? This famous trail leads to world wonder Machu Picchu. As tourists curse the fog that ruins their photos, locals listen for whispers of lost souls.
3. Appalachian Trail, USA
The Appalachian Trail runs over 2,000 miles through 14 US states and passes through many old remote towns, including several abandoned villages, as well as - you guessed it - Native American land. The Appalachian trail and surrounding mountains are attached to a wealth of not only ghost stories but monsters too. With the strong community swapping stories along the route, no wonder campfire stories are living experiences. My favourite tale is that of the residual haunting of a hiker who is thought to have died lost on the trail. People don’t even realise he’s a ghost until he disappears into thin air, which makes you wonder… How often do we walk past a ghost without even realising?
4. Aokigahara, Japan
Aokigahara, meaning ‘Sea of Trees’, is a beautiful and dense forest with a lava-formed floor that makes going off trail risky. In ancient Japan, the sick and elderly were once left here to die, giving rise to tales of lingering spirits known as yurei. Unlike the mischievous yokai spirits, yurei are said to scream through the forest at night and seek vengeance. Now widely known as the ‘Suicide Forest’, Aokigahara has gained a tragic reputation. While several social and pop cultural factors contribute to this, some believe the yurei manipulate people to their fate. If you do plan to hike here, be sure to stay on the trails and, as in western culture too, carry salt to ward off negative spirits.
5. Pluckley Village, England
This charming, picturesque town in southeast England received a Guinness World Record for Most Haunted Village in Britain, with up to 14 spirits thought to reside here. Not only is the town haunted but the local woods, Derring Woods, is nicknamed the Screaming Woods (having spent the night nearby I can confirm we heard lots of screams, though most likely attributable to local kids messing about). I did a self-guided ghost walk here which featured a ghost story at every stop, including the story of a drowned traveller woman, who may have spoken to us through dowsing rods that evening, and - my favourite - a scandalous love triangle that ended in poisoning. After your ghost walk, make sure you finish at the, also haunted, Black Horse pub to help raise some more spirits.