Please don’t eat any of the mushrooms growing in Blackwood Forest. The local hospitals have seen a spate of sick teens and young adults being admitted to the emergency room for severe food poisoning. It appears that the victims were inspired to try the mushrooms after a local user of the online platform TikTok created a viral video of himself sampling the mushrooms and having an intense drug trip. Again, we caution our readers against imitating the person in this video. You will not get high, you will only get incredibly sick and possibly die.

The mushrooms native to Blackwood Forest are known as Nob’s Nobs, and they have traditionally been associated with dark omens. When they grow together in clusters, it’s believed that this marks the place where an ancient evil sleeps beneath the earth. This is, of course, just silly superstition, but as I’ve already stated, they still pose a serious danger to anyone foolish enough to consume them. If you believe you’ve ingested any of these mushrooms, go to the emergency room immediately. However, it’s much safer to simply not eat them.

-Sarah Donovan, Editor & Local News, Emerson Valley Gazette