Friday, July 21, 2017

Delusions and Hysterias: Suicide Forest- Aokigahara

Tofugu did an interesting article on a place nicknamed Suicide Forest located by Mt. Fuji in Japan. This forest is famous for having over 500 suicide deaths and relations to demons and ghosts. Warning signs have been placed around the area attempting to prevent suicide but to no avail. Death in this forest originally stemmed from abandoned family members that were too poor to be fed so they starved to death in the forest. It became popularized in a book The Complete Suicide Manual, where the author describes this as the perfect place to die.

 It is said the spirits of the deceased haunt the forest. The magnetic iron in the volcanic soil interferes with cellphone and GPS usage which lead people to believe paranormal forces are trapping them in the forest. I personally feel that there is something unnatural lurking in that forest. Decaying bodies, caves, and harsh terrain make it pretty unsettling. The last lecture on mass delusions and hysterias tied in with this creepy place pretty well. All the talk about how spooky it is leads many to believe there is paranormal activity in the forest for sure. There is even a horror movie about it called The Forest, including ghostly beings. The fear all these stories and propaganda create fuel the image for Aokigahara.

 https://www.tofugu.com/japan/aokigahara/
Image result for suicide forest japan signs
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 24, 2017 at 10:50 AM

    That is so sad that people started committing suicide in the forest because they were poor and could not afford food. It really makes the forest even more creepy since cell phone service and GPS become interfered with while in it. You did a great job with connecting this forest with the mass delusions and hysteria lecture. This is a great example since there are so many stories about the haunting's in this forest.

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  2. AnonymousJuly 24, 2017 at 8:37 PM

    When I read this I automatically thought of the movie The Forest. I never saw the movie but I did see the trailer. I had no idea it was an actual forest that this movie was based on. There are so creepy and unusual things in the world that were still not aware about. I cant even imagine what is actually the cause of those deaths. I find it interesting that there are people who do care about these kind of unusual stuff and do their research on it!

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  3. AnonymousJuly 26, 2017 at 8:40 AM

    Reading this I remembered watching the movie, "The Forest". I am sure that the forest has a lot of strange occurrences and the presence of those who passed there, however, I also believe that the attraction to the forest is based off of the craze from the book and movie. People want to believe in the forest, and I think somtimes their brains play tricks on them and they see things that aren't really there.

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  4. AnonymousJuly 30, 2017 at 4:16 PM

    Learning about the origins of the Suicide Forest is very sad and something I was completely unaware of. The whole area does just seem to be very ominous and has this super creepy vibe to it and while I don't really believe in paranormal activity, I can totally understand why people would believe that there is paranormal activity in this forest. Vice also did a really good documentary on the forest that you can find on YouTube if anyone is interested!

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