Stories within the Graveyard

"There were 2,645 suicides recorded in January 2009, a 15 percent increase from the 2,305 for January 2008, according to the Japanese government" reports Kyung Lah, a CNN reporter. After searching the many reasons for hauntings suicide seems to always play a part. As stated in theshadowlands.net spirits tend to remain on or close to where their lives ended. They try to make connections with people who cross their paths. Spirits that commit suicide tend to feel guilty for taking their lives and some go as far as trying to take care of unfinished business. So what does this make a forest that could potentially be renamed a graveyard? I believe the forest is haunted by the spirits of all the lost souls. Lisa Lee Harp Waugh actually went to visit the forest and the videos can be found on the website hauntedamericatours.com. On her encounter spectators tell her to look close into the bark of the trees because you can actually see the faces of the dead. Waugh's guide actually refuses to go away from the path of the forest and claims no one steps a foot at night unless they have intentions of ending their lives. She claims she was possessed by a ghost in the forest and states the group she was with told her she started speaking Japanese. She says he told her he hung himself in the tree she was standing by. She goes on to say she tried to rip her own skin and was forced to be held down. Waugh's experience makes me wonder if many of the people who have died in the forest went through something similar, tried to escape, and never found their way out? Another story was reported by CNN. A man called Taro in the article talks about his attempt to commit suicide in the forest. "My will to live disappeared, I'd lost my identity, so I didn't want to live on this earth. That's why I went there." says Taro. He blames his lack of money as the reason to why he wanted to die. His story of survival is one of the few. Wether Waugh's story of possession is true or not, I don't know. But, I am sure the forest is full of paranormal activity. The Japanese government thinks some bodies have gone undiscovered, leaving spirits to fill the sea of trees. 





Sources: Juliano, Dave. "Why Do Some Spirits Stay Earthbound?" Why Do Some Spirits Stay Earthbound? N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. <http://theshadowlands.net/ghost/stay.htm>.
Lah, Kyung. "Desperate Japanese Head to 'suicide Forest'" CNN. N.p., 19 Mar. 2009. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. <http://articles.cnn.com/2009-03-19/world/suicide.forrest.japan_1_suicide-taro-aokigahara-forest?_s=PM:WORLD>.
Harp Waugh, Lisa Lee. "HauntedAmericaTours.com "Changing The Paranormal Landscape ~ One Page At A Time!"" Aokigahara Forest, Japan "THE MOST HAUNTED FOREST AND HOT SPOT IN THE ASIAN WORLD!" N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. <http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/haunted/Aokigahara.php>.

"Aokigahara: The Sad Sea of Trees." Aokigahara: The Sad Sea of Trees. N.p., 5 Mar. 2010. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. <http://cogitz.com/2010/03/05/aokigahara-the-sad-sea-of-trees/>.