Know what is Aokigahara, the forest of suicides in Japan

After youtuber Logan Paul exposed the body of a suicide victim in Aokigahara, Japan’s Suicide Forest has regained worldwide attention.

It is 38 km² and is at the northwest base of Mount Fuji in Japan. With two caves – “The Ice Cave” and “The Wind Cave” – it is also known as the “Sea of ​​Trees”. And to create an even more sinister atmosphere, the wind doesn’t blow below the canopy, the forest is so dense. Few animals live there, creating an eerie silence.

Read too: Video warning about suicide among university students goes viral on the internet

According to Japanese culture, the place is cursed and haunted by several demons. No wonder they think so, the forest is ancient and is second in the world ranking of suicides, second only to the Golden Gate Bridge in the United States. Therefore, at several entrances there are signs asking people not to commit suicide.

Want to see the story get more macabre? In the old days, during great wars and times of great famine, the weakest were released there to die of hunger or cold. People couldn’t get out of it, because they got lost. The forest is said to make travelers confused and never to be found again, and the fact that compasses and cell phones don’t work properly in that location doesn’t help much.

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People who live close to the forest usually help those who pass by, they talk and notify the authorities if they notice a strange attitude from someone. In addition to a small group of people who stay nearby and make rounds inside it to be able to prevent and collect bodies and belongings of suicides, and leave tapes spread around to make the exit easier if someone gets lost.

There is a place loved by paranormal researchers, as it is considered a place with a lot of influence from the other world.

Here are some cases from Aokigahara!

1. A woman who was entering the forest just to venture out said that she put a rope so she could know where she was going and where she went, but the rope mysteriously broke and the woman almost got lost. There really wasn’t anyone who could have cut the rope, and the locals assumed it was one of the spirits.

two. Rob Gilhooly, a journalist for the Japan Times, says he heard a horrible, pained scream that froze him in fear. And when following the sound to find out where it came from he found the body of a man, clearly long dead. He says his body may not have screamed, but his soul has.

3. A Buddhist monk set up an altar to try to “clean” the place which, according to him, has several spirits that encourage people to kill themselves.

4. An American couple found a Buddhist monk who helped them out of the middle of the forest when they were both lost and scared. Arriving in the nearest town, they learned of the legend of a monk who lives in the forest and prevents people from committing suicide, others believe that he is an enlightened spirit that prevents people from killing themselves.

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5. Residents of the town near the forest are taught since childhood not to go near it, as it is cursed.

6. After a soap opera made in the 1960s, suicides increased. “Kuroi Jukai”, at the end, shows a couple killing each other inside the forest.

7. Every year, about 100 bodies are discovered in Aokigahara.

9. Many report seeing a woman in white wandering through the woods.

10. When the bodies are found, they stay in a location close to the forest and at nightfall, there is always a person who will sleep next to them, as it is reported that if no one is there, the spirits spend the whole night screaming.

11. Her fame has existed for some time and several broadcasters and closed channels have already visited her, but Syfy may have gone further and actually recorded an appearance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=24&v=g428ZB1KrgE

And they even produced two films about her!

1. “Forest of Suicides” (2013) – Maiko studies in Japan, and together with her friends she makes a documentary in which the main focus is finding her mother, who committed suicide in the forest. From this moment on, you can already imagine that things are not going very well.

Read too: Suicide: a delicate and necessary topic

two. “Floresta Maldita” (2016) – Sara feels that something bad has happened to her twin sister, Jess. So she goes looking for her in her last known location, the forest of suicides. Because of her strong connection to her sister, Sara feels and sees frightening things all the way to help her twin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IR7NWJ2ymg

So would you approach this place?