So, I took my mom to see The Forest last weekend. I had recently read a book titled Suicide Forest and I thought same thing. It was not the same thing.

The movie was good, don't get me wrong, but I jumped at a lot of things (my mom did too, so hah!). It had this really creepy feel to it the entire time and sitting on a dark theatre only increased the creepy vibes.

The movie takes place in a "haunted" forest in Japan, Aokigahara. Aokigahara, also known as the Suicide Forest or Sea of Trees, is a 35-square-kilometre forest that lies at Mount Fuji's northwest base in Japan. It is said that when you look off of Mount Fuji, all you see is a sea of green for miles. Thus, the Sea of Trees.

Now, Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Fun Fact: some districts in Japan have blue lights at night, causing the brain to release chemicals to tell the body to be calm instead of stressed. Thus decreasing suicidal ideations and suicide rates.

It is said that the forest was first used as a place where struggling villages (waaaaay back when) would take the elderly and the children to die. They would take them deep into the forest and make them lost, causing them to then die of starvation or hypothermia.

The increased amounts of suicide rates are mostly men in their late 20's to their early 80's. Japanese men (and women) would go this this forest to either contemplate suicide or have a plan and follow it through. The staff at the visitation center has seen many people walk through their building to only come out it body bags. They have began to notice signs of when someone is going to Aokigahara to commit suicide and they alert the local authorities and the park rangers.

Since the early 2000's the authorities and the park rangers have pulled out numerous bodies in the thousand's range. This only added to the forest's creepy feel.

Tourists were warned to stay on the path, since it's easy to get lost. It is said that when you stray from the path, you beging to hear the voices of the spirits trapped inside and they drive you to commit suicide. Well, that's not good. Not good indeed.

Some that go into the forest bring along items that were sentimental to them. May it be a baby doll or a diary, the forest is covered in these items. Some nearby homeless would be brave enough to rob the corpses of their wallets and other valuables for money.

Another creepy thing is the ribbons and the rope. There are numerous colorful ribbons and rope that leads to a body. Some say that they could have been used by the people to help find their way out of the forest, or aid the authorities and the park rangers to finding them. This just adds to the vibes.

So, yeah. That's Aokigahara for those who didn't know.