25/02/2024
The Parallel Forest
Author Tanya McCoy
February 10th, 2019
Over the past couple of years, I have been contacted by more than one person asking questions about the famed Parallel Forest by Lawton Oklahoma. The first time I was asked about it was actually the first time I had ever heard about it. It was summertime and my best friend Whitney, and I had gone down to take a look. From the road, the area appeared to just be a regular cluster of trees lining the roadway. Due to the time of year, tall grass and possibility of snakes, we opted not to go exploring at that time. It wasn’t until I the more recent email request I received that got me curious. With so many people inquiring about the forest, I felt the need to investigate the location myself.
My husband and I were spending some time alone together, kind of our Valentine’s date since I won’t be available to spend valentine’s day with him this year. We had originally just planned on grabbing some breakfast where we use to frequent when we were first dating but our plans took a quick turn. I had remembered there was a place I always wanted to take him to down in Meer’s Oklahoma and since he had never been to Medicine Park either, we decided to take a quick little road trip. I showed him around Medicine Park and told him about some of the experiences we had while investigating the Old Plantation Restaurant and the music hall as we grabbed a quick bite at. I then started to drive him around the Mount Scott area, showing him some of the wonderful scenery. We were lucky enough to even see a large buffalo grazing in an open field.
When we first left the house that day, the last thing on my mind was driving do to investigate a rumored haunted forest. None the less, that is exactly where we ended up. While I was driving around Mount Scott, I remembered the email and messages I received earlier that week about the forest and decided we should check it out while were we down in that area. I put the location into my GPS and soon we were on our way. As we neared the location, we noticed about four other cars pulled off into the parking area near the trails that led deep into the forest.
At first glance, it appeared to look like any other grove of trees located though out the wildlife refuge. You don’t really grasp the full picture of the forest until you walk up to the tree line and start to enter the grove. Once you cross the tree line, the forest takes on a new life all its own.
Located deep in the Wichita Mountain in Oklahoma, sits small sixteen-acre forest known as the Parallel Forest. Formally known as the Cedar Planting, this forest contains over 20,000 red cedar trees and offers a unique place to visit her in Oklahoma. First planted in 1912 to help provide a source of wood for a fence post, has now become one of our most popular destinations for residents across our state.
The Wichita Mounts Wildlife Refuge has been a protected site since 1901. It is home to several wildlife species including the buffalo, whitetail dear, and even the Texas Longhorn, just to name a few. When the trees in the Parallel Forest were ready to be harvested, the refuge was redesigned as a state-protected wildlife refuge and they were unable to remove the trees.
The trees, when first planted were planted in straight rows, six feet apart so that the tree would group upward instead of outward. This caused the forest to take on a unique but spooky element to its design. With the trees growing tall and straight, they create a canopy on top of the grove, leaving the ground below in a blanket of darkness.
The ground takes on an eerie feeling of its own. Tree roots creep out of the moist dirt extending up like ling skinny fingers waiting to grab the ankle of anyone who chooses to walk along their deep and dark paths. There are several long warn pathways that extend throughout the sixteen-acre woods. During the winter months, the ground cover is low which makes the walk towards the tree line much more accessible not to mention the decrease in poison ivy during this time of year, making it much easier to walk around the woods without fear of encountering this dreaded plant.
As my husband and I entered the wood, we were greeted with rows of trees extending both ways in a perfectly symmetrical design. For me, the forest felt peaceful, a place I could sit and write in had I had a chair, a table, and my laptop, but it also contained an eerie feeling about it. Many people have reported not feeling alone while they were there and always feeling like they were being watched. That feeling became more prominent the further we walked back into the wooded area. Loud gunshots could be heard off in the distance for a nearby gun range, but the forest itself remained very quiet. An occasional snap of a twig or the rustling of the leaves would break the eerie silence as a breeze would sweep through the trees. The breeze itself was interesting, often feeling like it was coming from various directions, not just one. Is this perhaps what people would have claimed to feel when they felt as if someone had come rushing by them? One minute the wind would blow from a Southwestern direction only to change directions from the east.
As we walked through the forest area, my husband suggested I turn on ghost radio to see if we could get anyone to talk to us. As we walked further into the wood, the application was responding or picking up on anything out of the ordinary. We turned back towards the northeast and started walking down a different path moving deeper into the woods. I started to feel like we were no longer alone. It was getting darker and we started to turn back. I heard a loud thump come from directly behind me followed by a string of words spewing from my husband’s mouth. He had lost his footing when his foot slid causing him to fall on the keys in his front pocket as well as a sharp tree root sticking out of the ground. At that very moment, a voice came over the radio saying, “cry.” I started laughing, not at my husband falling since I knew it hurt, but because of the word that just came across and my husband’s reaction to it. He tried to stand up but couldn’t for several minutes. When he finally was able to stand, I said it was funny how the radio who had not been talking at all did the moment he fell. He then responded, “well I’m not crying but it sure did bring some water to my eyes!” At that moment the ghost radio responded again saying, “are you okay?” Taken back the response, he found himself getting a little unnerved then did something he has never done with me in the many years of my investigations. My non-believer husband began to ask the spirit questions. He asked who was with us. We received the response, “Carol,” followed by the word “seek.” When we first entered the area I thought I had felt the presence of a female entity and now I had my confirmation.
With my husband hurt and limping, we decided to start heading back to the car. The sun was setting as the forest grew darker around us. A pack of wild coyotes could be heard howling off in the distance. The forest started to take on a more sinister feeling. Without a flashlight, one could easily get lost after dark. We made it back to our vehicle safely without any further incidents, but we were able to obtain a few more words from the ghost radio before my phone died. We got the words much, brimstone, afraid of you and the name Mark.
Our short and impromptu investigation proved to be productive for us and I have every intention of returning with more equipment and my team in the future. I didn’t make it to the altar area where claims of devil-worshipping and sacrifices have been made, at least that’s the tales. In 2018, vandals went into the woods and spray painted several of the trees with various devil worship symbols including the number 666 as well as the upside-down pentagram. Evidence of this vandalism can still be seen today. The area that the alter is located is towards the middle of the forest. The alter consists of an old tree stump surrounded by multiple rows of rocks circling the trunk. Other reports of sightings in the woods have been disembodied voices, a headless body of a young boy, a native American woman, disembodied bloody screams along with the sounds of trail drums being played. Many people have claimed to have felt someone touching them only to turn and find nobody there.
The Parallel Forest in a unique place to visit filled with beauty and mystery. If you are ever in the area I would suggest stopping in and taking a look around. Just make sure to not get lost walking along with the straight-lined trees. They seem to look the same no matter which direction you face and if you are brave enough to venture in after dark (even though the signs say gates close at dark), make sure to take a flashlight with you!
