Haunted Forest Trail - Fort Macon State Park

The bent, curving limbs and trunks of this section of Live Oak Trees give the impression of a trail passing through a haunted forest. In reality this is the Elliot Couse Nature Trail at Fort Macon State Park, Atlantic Beach, NC. It's not haunted at all. Or is it? Somewhere along the trail there is an old burying grounds for Civil War era soliders. The exact location of the graves is unkown.

This popular loop trail is about three and a quater miles in length. It passes through maritiem forest, past a salt marsh and through the dune zone. The woodlands is home to rabbits, squirrels, deer and an abundance of birds. Foxes and coyotes have been occassionally reported.

The park is located on Bogue Banks, one of several barrier islands found along the North Carolina coast. When European explorers first slammed into the North American continent much of the islands were covered by forest like seen here. Today only remnants of these narly woodlands remain.