🔗 Share this article

"People refer to this location the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," explains an experienced guide, the air from his lungs producing clouds of condensation in the cold night air. "Numerous visitors have disappeared here, it's thought there's a gateway to another dimension." The guide is escorting a traveler on a nocturnal tour through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval local woods on the edges of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Accounts of bizarre occurrences here date back a long time – the forest is titled for a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the distant past, accompanied by two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu gained worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist called Emil Barnea photographed what he described as a UFO hovering above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and failed to return. But no need to fear," he continues, turning to the visitor with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yoga practitioners, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and ghost hunters from around the globe, interested in encountering the strange energies said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being a top global pilgrimage sites for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is under threat. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of a population exceeding 400,000, known as the tech capital of eastern Europe – are advancing, and construction companies are campaigning for permission to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Aside from a few hectares housing locally rare Mediterranean oak trees, the forest is not officially protected, but Marius believes that the organization he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, encouraging the authorities to recognise the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Eerie Encounters

While branches and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their footwear, Marius describes various traditional stories and claimed ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale tells of a young child disappearing during a family outing, then to reappear five years later with complete amnesia of her experience, without aging a day, her attire shy of the slightest speck of dust.
• More common reports explain mobile phones and imaging devices unexpectedly failing on stepping into the forest.
• Reactions range from absolute fear to feelings of joy.
• Some people report seeing strange rashes on their arms, perceiving ghostly voices through the woodland, or sense palms pushing them, even when sure they are alone.

Research Efforts

Although numerous of the tales may be hard to prove, there are many things clearly observable that is undeniably strange. Throughout the area are trees whose bases are warped and gnarled into unusual forms.

Different theories have been proposed to explain the misshapen plants: that hurricane winds could have altered the growth, or naturally high radioactivity in the earth cause their unusual development.

But scientific investigations have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Famous Clearing

Marius's tours allow guests to engage in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the clearing in the trees where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO pictures, he gives his guest an ghost-hunting device which detects EMF readings.

"We're stepping into the most powerful section of the forest," he says. "Discover what's here."

The trees suddenly stop dead as the group enters into a complete ring. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath their shoes; it's clear that it's not maintained, and seems that this unusual opening is wild, not the result of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

Transylvania generally is a area which stirs the imagination, where the border is unclear between fact and folklore. In rural Romanian communities belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing vampires, who return from burial sites to haunt regional populations.

Bram Stoker's renowned vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith situated on a stone formation in the Carpathian Mountains – is actively advertised as "the vampire's home".

But despite legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – appears tangible and comprehensible compared to these eerie woods, which give the impression of being, for reasons nuclear, climatic or simply folkloric, a center for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," Marius states, "the division between fact and fiction is extremely fine."