Coastal beech forest, Nienhagen, Germany
© Sandra Bartocha/Minden Pictures
Coastal beech forest, Nienhagen, Germany
When it comes to spooky forests, the coastal wood outside Nienhagen, Germany, takes the cake (or this time of year—the candy corn). Locals call it Gespensterwald, or Ghost Wood, a name likely earned because of the trees’ twisted, snake-like branches, shaped by winds from the nearby Baltic Sea. The spooky mood is heightened because the canopies of European beech forests like this are known for being thick and dark, with little to no sunlight reaching the forest floor. During certain times of day, when the mist is rising, it all adds up to a decidedly eerie atmosphere. Which begs the question: If someone screams in the forest and no one’s there to hear, does it still make a sound?
Golden Gate Bridge and Marin Headlands photographed from Golden Gate Overlook in San Francisco, California
Hanging bridge in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica
Honey bee flying over crocuses in the Tatra Mountains, Poland
Burrowing owl chicks gaze out from among flowers near the Pawnee National Grassland in Colorado
Panther Creek Falls in spring, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington
A path winding through a forest carpeted with bluebells in Hertfordshire, England
Tree in blue agave field in the tequila-producing region near Atotonilco el Alto, Jalisco, Mexico
A young coast redwood sprouting out of an old log in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California
