🔗 Share this article

"People refer to this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," remarks a tour guide, the air from his lungs creating clouds of mist in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "So many people have gone missing here, many believe there's a gateway to a different realm." This expert is escorting a traveler on a night walk through frequently labeled as the globe's spookiest forest: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of primeval local woods on the fringes of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Reports of unusual events here go back centuries – the grove is titled for a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, along with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea photographed what he described as a flying saucer hovering above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and vanished without trace. But no need to fear," he adds, facing the visitor with a smile. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn meditation experts, spiritual healers, ufologists and ghost hunters from around the globe, curious to experience the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being a top global pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of more than 400,000 people, known as the Silicon Valley of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and construction companies are advocating for permission to remove the forest to erect housing complexes.

Barring a small area home to regionally uncommon specific tree species, this woodland is not officially protected, but the guide hopes that the organization he helped establish – a dedicated preservation group – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the local administrators to appreciate the forest's value as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their boots, the guide describes some of the local legends and reported ghostly incidents here.

• A well-known account tells of a young child vanishing during a family outing, only to return five years later with no memory of the events, showing no signs of aging a single day, her attire without the slightest speck of soil.
• Frequent accounts detail cellphones and camera equipment unexpectedly failing on venturing inside.
• Feelings range from absolute fear to feelings of joy.
• Certain individuals claim noticing unusual marks on their bodies, perceiving ghostly voices through the woodland, or feel fingers clutching them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

While many of the stories may be impossible to confirm, numerous elements clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are plants whose trunks are warped and gnarled into unusual forms.

Different theories have been proposed to explain the abnormal growth: strong gales could have bent the saplings, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the earth account for their unusual development.

But formal examinations have discovered insufficient proof.

The Notorious Meadow

The guide's excursions permit guests to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the forest where Barnea captured his well-known UFO photographs, he gives the visitor an electromagnetic field detector which detects EMF readings.

"We're venturing into the most powerful area of the forest," he says. "See what you can find."

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as the group enters into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the short grass beneath our feet; it's obvious that it hasn't been mown, and looks that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the result of landscaping.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a place which fuels fantasy, where the line is blurred between reality and legend. In traditional settlements superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, form-changing creatures, who rise from their graves to terrorise local communities.

The famous author's famous vampire Count Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – an ancient structure perched on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – actually, "the territory after the grove" – seems real and understandable in contrast to these eerie woods, which give the impression of being, for factors related to radiation, climatic or entirely legendary, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"Inside these woods," the guide states, "the division between truth and fantasy is remarkably blurred."