Sarbarj is a village in the Torqabehi district of Mashhad. Sarbarj forest is in this village and annually hosts hundreds of domestic and foreign tourists due to its terrible phenomena. However, for the same reason, many people choose to return to the start of the road to run away from the fear.
The days of this forest are normal and calm. However, at night, a strange and terrifying sound is heard from the trees of this forest. It sounds like a whistle or a scream that is heard as soon as it gets dark and continues until dawn.
Some residents consider the terrifying noises to be from locusts that invade the area and take refuge in trees at night, while others have blamed unknown factors, including climate change. Some also say that the forest is cursed and consider it a place of residence for goblins and ghosts. According to some, demons and cursed spirits roam the village at night, and these screams are related to them.
It is true that on the trees, and in the surrounding meadows, there is an influx of locusts. However, no other unnatural phenomena have been observed in the region.
The forest is located at the river mouth that is one of the sources of the Torgh Dam, which was dry in some seasons of the year. But since the start of the sounds coming from the forest in 2011, there has been no dry seasons and the river’s water hasn’t stopped flowing. This has attracted people’s attention and, consequently, has caused their fear of this amazing phenomenon. On the other hand, the horror that has attracted a lot of curious tourists.
The secret behind the noise
Ibrahim Arab, the mayor of Sarbarj Torqabeh village, says: “When the noise frightened some villagers and tourists, we reported the matter to the district administration, who also sent an expert to the area. They said that the noise was related to a special type of crickets.”
In fact, in the rainy years, when there is a lot of water and the Sarbarj River does not dry up or become dehydrated, these crickets attack the village and hide in the trees and plants.
About 3,000 crickets may sit on each tree. All of these crickets are on the banks just two kilometers of the river, and a large number of them make a singing sound like the sound of screaming and howling. These crickets survive for up to 40 days and then die.