🔗 Share this article

"People refer to this place a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks a tour guide, his breath producing wisps of mist in the crisp dusk atmosphere. "Numerous visitors have vanished here, many believe it's an entrance to another dimension." Marius is leading a traveler on a evening stroll through commonly known as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of old-growth native woodland on the edges of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Stories of strange happenings here date back a long time – this woodland is called after a local shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, accompanied by two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu gained worldwide fame in 1968, when a defense worker named Emil Barnea photographed what he reported as a UFO floating above a round opening in the centre of the forest.

Many came in here and vanished without trace. But no need to fear," he continues, facing the traveler with a grin. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, spiritual healers, extraterrestrial investigators and supernatural researchers from worldwide, interested in encountering the mysterious powers said to echo through the forest.

Current Risks

It may be one of the world's premier pilgrimage sites for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is at risk. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of more than 400,000 people, called the tech capital of Eastern Europe – are advancing, and developers are pushing for permission to remove the forest to construct residential buildings.

Barring a few hectares housing locally rare specific tree species, the forest is not officially protected, but Marius hopes that the initiative he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, encouraging the local administrators to recognise the forest's importance as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and autumn leaves break and crackle beneath their footwear, Marius tells various local legends and alleged paranormal happenings here.

• One famous story recounts a young child disappearing during a family outing, then to rematerialise five years later with no memory of the events, showing no signs of aging a moment, her clothes shy of the tiniest bit of dirt.
• Frequent accounts describe mobile phones and imaging devices inexplicably shutting down on venturing inside.
• Feelings include absolute fear to feelings of joy.
• Certain individuals claim noticing unusual marks on their arms, detecting disembodied whispers through the trees, or experience palms pushing them, despite being sure they are alone.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the stories may be unverifiable, there are many things clearly observable that is undeniably strange. Everywhere you look are plants whose trunks are warped and gnarled into bizarre configurations.

Multiple explanations have been given to explain the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or naturally high radioactivity in the soil account for their unusual development.

But scientific investigations have discovered inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

The guide's excursions allow participants to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. When nearing the clearing in the trees where Barnea took his well-known UFO images, he gives the visitor an ghost-hunting device which registers EMF readings.

"We're entering the most energetic area of the forest," he states. "Try to detect something."

The trees abruptly end as the group enters into a complete ring. The sole vegetation is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's clear that it's not maintained, and seems that this unusual opening is natural, not the work of human hands.

Fact Versus Fiction

Transylvania generally is a place which stirs the imagination, where the border is indistinct between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering creatures, who rise from their graves to haunt nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's famous vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a medieval building located on a stone formation in the Carpathian Mountains – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – actually, "the land past the woods" – seems tangible and comprehensible compared to this spooky forest, which seem to be, for causes related to radiation, climatic or purely mythical, a nexus for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," the guide says, "the division between truth and fantasy is very thin."