We humans have always been afraid of the woods–or, more accurately, afraid of what’s waiting for us inside the woods. This fear is the basis of many fairy tales and fables, from Little Red Riding Hood to Hansel and Gretel. It’s a legitimate fear, because when you go into the woods, you never know what you might find.
But not everything you find in the woods is scary! Lots of people have ventured into the forest and discovered something that was just plain weird. Sometimes they found personal items that were mysteriously abandoned. Other times they found weird and wonderful oddities made by nature itself. Some people even found that appeared to be left behind deliberately, for wanderers to stumble on.
Whatever the case may be, one thing is clear: the woods is just as interesting as it is scary.
1. “This tree I found while hiking looks like a monster watching over you.”
2. “Found this abandoned house in the woods in Russia.”
3. “Found this sword in Epping, England.”
This is probably a decorative sword belonging to the fraternal order of the Knights of the Sherwood Forest, which started in the US in 1879 and existed until the 1920s.
4. “I was driving through the backwoods of Pennsylvania when I found a mountain of ceramic dishes and tea cups.”
5. Are we in the Hundred Acre Wood?
6. “Moved to Wisconsin. Found this in the woods.”
This is part of a Stevens Point art installation called “Out of the Woods: A Grand Entrance.”
7. “My girlfriend and I were walking in the woods when we found a rainbow swamp.”
Read more about rainbow swamps here.
8. “Found a purple mushroom in Pennsylvania!”
Probably a Cortinarius violaceus, aka a violet webcap or a violet cort. It’s edible but tastes bitter and is primarily favored for its beauty.
9. “Took this while standing in a huge pond that sinks every dry season.”
10. “Found a dead robot in the woods.”
11. “Found these stairs to nowhere in the New Hampshire woods.”
These stairs are part of Madame Sherri’s Castle Ruins.
12. “A buddy of mine found this ‘dinosaur’ the other day.”
13. When you find out the hard way that your car is not an off-road vehicle.
14. “What my parents found on their hike.”
15. Not all toilets are domesticated. Some are wild.
So how about those? Crazy right?
Let us know what you think in the comments!