🔗 Share this article

"People refer to this place a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states a tour guide, the air from his lungs forming clouds of mist in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "So many individuals have gone missing here, some say there's a gateway to a parallel world." This expert is leading a guest on a nocturnal tour through commonly known as the planet's most ghostly woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval native woodland on the edges of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Accounts of unusual events here go back centuries – this woodland is titled for a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the distant past, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when a defense worker known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he reported as a flying saucer suspended above a round opening in the centre of the forest.

Many came in here and failed to return. But rest assured," he states, turning to the visitor with a grin. "Our tours have a flawless completion rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, shamans, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from around the globe, curious to experience the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being one of the world's premier hotspots for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is facing danger. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, described as the innovation center of Eastern Europe – are expanding, and real estate firms are campaigning for authorization to remove the forest to construct residential buildings.

Except for a few hectares home to regionally uncommon oak varieties, the grove is not officially protected, but the guide believes that the company he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, encouraging the government officials to recognise the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their footwear, the guide describes some of the folk tales and reported ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story describes a five-year-old girl disappearing during a family picnic, only to reappear after five years with no memory of what had happened, without aging a moment, her attire shy of the tiniest bit of dust.
• Regular stories detail smartphones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses range from full-blown dread to feelings of joy.
• Certain individuals report observing bizarre skin irritations on their bodies, detecting ghostly voices through the woodland, or sense hands grabbing them, although sure they are alone.

Scientific Investigations

Despite several of the stories may be unverifiable, numerous elements visibly present that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are plants whose stems are curved and contorted into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been given to clarify the misshapen plants: strong gales could have bent the saplings, or typically increased radioactivity in the ground cause their unusual development.

But scientific investigations have turned up inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

The guide's excursions enable guests to engage in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the clearing in the trees where Barnea photographed his well-known UFO pictures, he gives his guest an EMF meter which measures EMF readings.

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

The plants immediately cease as they step into a complete ring. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath their shoes; it's clear that it hasn't been mown, and appears that this unusual opening is natural, not the creation of people.

The Blurred Line

This part of Romania is a location which fuels fantasy, where the line is indistinct between fact and folklore. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, shapeshifting vampires, who rise from their graves to frighten local communities.

Bram Stoker's renowned character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith perched on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is actively advertised as "the count's residence".

But despite legend-filled Transylvania – actually, "the territory after the grove" – feels solid and predictable versus this spooky forest, which give the impression of being, for reasons radioactive, climatic or simply folkloric, a center for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," the guide states, "the boundary between fact and fiction is extremely fine."