15 Haunted Forests Around the World

 1. Griffith Park, Los Angeles, CA

     

Although it's best known for its memorable views and Emma Stone-Ryan Gosling dance break, L.A.'s Griffith Park has a few ghost stories hidden behind its popularity. According to legend (as reported by The Washington Post), the park was once owned by a wealthy bachelor named Don Antonio Feliz, who lived there with his niece Petranilla in the mid-1800s. When the Don died of smallpox in 1863, he left the entire ranch to a local politician—and nothing for his niece. Petranilla, unpleased with the lack of inheritance, cursed the entire park, declaring: "The wrath of heaven and the vengeance of hell shall fall upon this place.” Over the next few decades, horrible fates (mysterious deaths, crop fires, etc.) befell every subsequent owner of the property. Add to that some modern-day murders and satanic cult rituals taking place within the park's dense woods, and you have yourself one enigmatic tourist destinations. Those views though...

 2. Elfin Forest, California

     

 The community of Elfin Forest sounds like it belongs in the world of Tolkien, even though it lies just southwest of Escondido in San Diego County. How fitting, then, that it is crawling with tall tales, myths, and stories of haunted spirits and goblins. Legend has it that gypsies used to occupy Elfin Forest in the early 19th century, until nearby townsfolk drove them out and slaughtered those that remained behind. The gypsies exacted revenge by cursing the forest and all its surrounding lands. Today, people have claimed to see all kinds of eerie apparitions, like a floating woman dressed in white, a cloaked spirit riding a black stallion, and mysterious footprints.

 

3. Highgate Cemetery, London, U.K. 

    

This lush and leafy north London garden, fictionalized in Bram Stoker’s Dracula as Kingstead Churchyard, has a pleasantly eccentric roll call of notable graves, including those of Karl Marx and Douglas Adams. And while it remains one of London's least-visited landmarks, those who do enter its gates come seeking ghostly encounters as much as celebrity headstones. The site was established in the mid-1800s and became neglected and unattended by the end of WWII, the overgrown vegetation and crumbling monuments only upping the fear factor. Then in the 1970s, after appearing as a filming location in several horror movies, Highgate reached a surge in popularity—namely among self-proclaimed vampire hunters. Many visitors claimed to see a creature hovering over the graves (a vampire, presumably), and stories of grave robbing began appearing in the news. The so-called vampire hunters would open tombs to drive wooden stakes into the corpses' chests, or steal the corpses and relocate them to random places (including the car of one of the cemetery's neighbors!). To this day, Highgate remains a go-to spot for enthusiasts of all things fanged and occult.

 

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The world's 10 most haunted city

1. Madrid, Spain: Ghosts haunt all walks of life in this capital city, appearing in museums, like the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, whose central building was formerly a hospital, and even the imposing Linares Palace, once wracked by family scandal. Join one of many ghost tours and you’ll discover an urban trove of paranormal haunts.

2. Glasgow, Scotland: Glasgow is home to the sprawling Southern Necropolis (“City of the Dead”), the resting place of approximately a quarter of a million souls and maybe even one child-eating vampire with iron teeth.

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3. Baguio, Philippines: You cannot stay at Baguio’s now abandoned Diplomat Hotel, but who would want to when its purported residents are the noisy spirits of nuns and priests said to have been beheaded here during World War II?

 

4. Drammen, Norway: In folklore, Nøkken is a shapeshifter who lures his prey to a watery death with beautiful music. Alongside Drammen’s Ypsilon bridge stands a tribute to the Nøkken: Two round River Harp sound sculptures tempt you toward the water.

5. Bahla, Oman: This desert oasis on the Arabian Peninsula is said to be home to djinns, or genies, who live in the palm groves and empty stone houses in the city center. Legend has it that one of these spirits built a city wall in one night. Tread carefully; they can also bring misfortune.

6. Zanzibar City, Tanzania: A legendary shape-shifter called Popobawa haunts this East African island city and the surrounding countryside. The one-eyed creature is said to resemble a bat. Some believe he acts like a poltergeist, creating mischief, but others report more menacing attacks on entire households.

7. Canberra, Australia: Meet the former Australian Prime Minister Ben Chifley at the Hotel Kurrajong. He is a dapper gray-suited ghost pointing from the hotel’s room 214, where he suffered a fatal heart attack in 1951, toward the Old Parliament House, another of Canberra’s haunted spots.

8. San Antonio, Texas: Who can forget the Alamo, especially given the hundreds of fatalities at the gory 1836 battle for Texas independence? Groundskeepers and visitors alike say they’ve encountered the spirits of soldiers led by Jim Bowie and William Travis that still haunt the former Mexican mission.

9. Salem, Massachusetts: In 1692, Massachusetts was gripped by hysteria: Witches are among us! Now Salem embraces the paranormal—if not the curse of Giles Corey, a victim of the witch trials who is still blamed for tragedies in “Witch City.” More than 20 Salemites were executed for witchcraft that fateful year.

10. Sighișoara, Romania: The Transylvania birthplace of the man who inspired Dracula has embraced its bloody connection to Prince Vlad III. A torture museum regales visitors with the horrific tools of “Vlad the Impaler’s” trade, and only the bravest will set out after dark to climb the long, creaky covered stairway to the medieval city’s Holy Trinity Church.

 

 

 

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