The Aokigahara Forest[1] (also known as Sea of Trees and Suicide Forest) is a 14-square mile forest located at the northwest base of Mount Fuji in Japan that is notorious for being a suicide site and infested with Yurei.
History[]
At some point after the death of Bishop Gottskalk Nikulausson in the 1500s, a map to his secret tomb where the Rauoskinna spellbook was kept was hidden inside a cavern in the Aokigahara Forest. In the present, Kylie Griffin and the Chicago Ghostbusters were dispatched to Aokigahara Forest based on the likelihood it was the location of the map to Bishop Nikulausson's secret tomb based on a list given to the Ghostbusters by Kaia May. They hired a local guide to help with navigating themselves through the forest. She warned them their technology would not work due to the presence of iron in the soil. After some hiking, Ron Alexander noticed his GPS device indicating they were in Fresno, California. Kylie continued to use her P.K.E. Meter. She wasn't happy with Ron firing an errant shot into the forest with his Boson Caster since it could agitate the local ghosts. Dani Shpak and Lou Kamaka were confident the ghosts would be as polite as the people they met along the way. The guide posited it was possible they would encounter an angry spirit that would slit their throats and laugh about it. A Yurei manifested behind Dani and Lou. They blasted most of her face off but the spirit only laughed. More Yurei manifested around the Ghostbusters. Ron revealed he added a modified atomizing stream to his caster and his co-workers' throwers and implored Kylie to continue with the mission while the Chicago Ghostbusters provided a distraction. Kylie, Rookie, and the guide following a reading to a cavern and found a box on a pedestal inside. Rookie was uneasy. The guide was possessed by the Map Guardian Ghost. It warned them to leave the map or die. Kylie memorized the map then conceded to the ghost's demands. She threw the map on Rookie's Proton Stream and it disintegrated. The ghost granted them permission to leave but refused to give up the guide. Kylie captured the ghost with the Trap and the guide fell, suffering minor injury and a bloody nose.
Trivia[]
- Aokigahara is located in Yamanashi Prefecture, a land-locked prefecture located in the central area of Honshu Island in Japan.
- Aokigahara is infamous for being infested with Yurei, angry ghosts, said to manifest from those who kill themselves in the forest as it a notorious location for suicide. It is also known for its diverse geography, such as ice caverns and a lava plateau.
- The full name of Aokigahara is Aokigahara Jukai or often interpreted as "Sea of Green Foliage"
- On page 12 of Ghostbusters International #9, panel 1, Mount Fuji looms in the background. Aokigahara is located in the northwest base of the famous mountain.
- On page 12 of Ghostbusters International #9, in panel 2, the guide mentions the soil is full of iron and technology like compasses, GPS devices, and cell phones won't work. The forest is filled with rich deposits of magnetic iron in the volcanic soil.
- On page 12, panel 2, Rookie is seen with a rope. It is common practice for visitors of the park to use a method to cover their tracks so they don't get lost. Some methods are leaving plastic tape on the forest floor, looping plastic ribbon around trees, and those unsure of suicide tie white ropes to trees.
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ Narrator (2016). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters International #9" (2016) (Comic p.12). Narrator says: "At the very same time (and also 14 hours later - don't you just love time zones?) in the Land of the Rising Sun, Kylie Griffin and the Chicago branch of the Ghostbusters follow their own lead... in Aokigahara Forest."
Gallery[]
