Nikki Van De Car - Magical Places: An Enchanted Journey through Mystical Sites, Haunted Houses, and Fairytale Forests

THERE ARE PLACES IN THE WORLD WHERE DRAGONS HAVE slithered and giants have battled. There are places where fairies dwell and spirits keep watch.

Or so legend has it. People have always told stories to explain what seemed unexplainable at the time. We find oddly perfect basalt columns formed by ancient lava flows and decide that giants must have built them. A river so impossibly clear we can barely fathom it must hold naiads and other water spirits. Countless mountains around the world are ancient beings turned to stone or homes of the gods.

Not too many generations ago, these kinds of natural phenomena were often viewed as acts of vengeful or, less often, generous gods. Now we say that they are geothermal, volcanic, weather-based, or built by ancient civilizations. Who is to say that our new, scientific explanations wont be called into question a few more generations down the line? Our reasoningour storytellingmay one day be considered equally fanciful.

For now, lets let go of reason, unleash our imaginations, and walk among the fairies.

THE HINATUAN RIVER, ON THE ISLAND OF MINDANAO IN THE Philippines, is very short. For a brief 2,000 feet, its waters stretch toward the Pacific Oceanand within that tiny distance runs the clearest river water in the world. It is as smooth as glass, and you can see the bottom at even its deepest pointswhich can be as great as eighty feet. Swimming in its crystalline waters feels like flying.

The river stays so clear because it is fed by underground caverns; the majority of the Hinatuan is subterranean, which keeps the water filtered and pure until it emerges right at its end. There, it blends with the nearby ocean, forming a brackish mix. That underground cave system has only added to the rivers mystery, of course.

The mystical Hinatuan has inspired a lot of folklore. Locals believe that it is the various spirits who watch over the river that keep its waters so clear. Engkanto (mermaids) have often been seen frolicking in its waters, and the fish that swim in it cannot be caught, by any means, it is saidand if such a miracle would occur, the fisherman would be cursed. Even the acacia and balete trees on the rivers banks are enchanted, as they are home to diwata, Filipino tree spirits. All of the various creatures that dwell in and around the Enchanted River are reputedly unearthly, beautiful, and benevolentbut less so at night. Night is their time with the river, and several unexplained drownings have been blamed on engkanto or diwata.

Specific parts of the river are also said to be forbidden territory, day or night: In certain places, where the river spirits are particularly unwelcoming, swimmers can develop rashes or scratches, and some have reported feeling pulled beneath the water by an unseen force. Others have been lured into the surrounding woods. Locals say this happens when proper respect is not given to nature.

For this reason, those places are forbidden, and access to the entire river, otherwise serene and welcoming, is cut off after dark.