🔗 Share this article

"Locals dub this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," states a tour guide, the air from his lungs producing puffs of mist in the cold dusk atmosphere. "Numerous individuals have disappeared here, many believe there's a gateway to a different realm." This expert is guiding a guest on a night walk through what is often described as the world's most haunted forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of primeval indigenous forest on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Stories of bizarre occurrences here extend back a long time – the forest is titled for a area shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, together with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu gained global recognition in 1968, when an army specialist called Emil Barnea photographed what he described as a flying saucer floating above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But rest assured," he continues, turning to the traveler with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, traditional medicine people, extraterrestrial investigators and supernatural researchers from worldwide, curious to experience the mysterious powers reported to reverberate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be one of the world's premier destinations for supernatural fans, this woodland is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, described as the innovation center of eastern Europe – are expanding, and construction companies are advocating for approval to remove the forest to erect housing complexes.

Except for a few hectares housing area-specific specific tree species, the grove is not officially protected, but the guide hopes that the organization he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will contribute to improving the situation, encouraging the local administrators to recognise the forest's significance as a visitor destination.

Eerie Encounters

As twigs and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their boots, the guide recounts numerous local legends and alleged supernatural events here.

• A popular tale recounts a five-year-old girl disappearing during a family outing, then to rematerialise five years later with no recollection of the events, without aging a moment, her garments lacking the smallest trace of dust.
• Frequent accounts explain smartphones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on venturing inside.
• Feelings vary from full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Some people report seeing strange rashes on their bodies, perceiving ghostly voices through the forest, or sense hands grabbing them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Study Attempts

While many of the tales may be impossible to confirm, there is much before my eyes that is undeniably strange. Everywhere you look are vegetation whose stems are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Multiple explanations have been proposed to explain the abnormal growth: strong gales could have bent the saplings, or naturally high radiation levels in the earth account for their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have discovered insufficient proof.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's excursions allow visitors to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. When nearing the opening in the forest where Barnea took his well-known UFO images, he gives his guest an ghost-hunting device which measures EMF readings.

"We're entering the most active part of the forest," he says. "Try to detect something."

The trees immediately cease as the group enters into a flawless round. The single plant life is the short grass beneath the ground; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this strange clearing is wild, not the work of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a area which stirs the imagination, where the division is indistinct between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, shapeshifting vampires, who emerge from tombs to frighten nearby villages.

The famous author's renowned vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith located on a stone formation in the mountain range – is actively advertised as "the vampire's home".

But even myth-shrouded Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – appears solid and predictable in contrast to the haunted grove, which appear to be, for factors nuclear, atmospheric or entirely legendary, a center for creative energy.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius says, "the boundary between fact and fiction is extremely fine."