🔗 Share this article Exploring this Planet's Most Ghostly Forest: Twisted Trees, Unidentified Flying Objects and Chilling Accounts in Transylvania. "People refer to this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states a tour guide, the air from his lungs forming puffs of vapor in the crisp dusk atmosphere. "So many individuals have gone missing here, some say there's a gateway to a different realm." The guide is leading a traveler on a night walk through frequently labeled as the globe's spookiest forest: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval native woodland on the fringes of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca. Centuries of Mystery Reports of unusual events here date back a long time – the forest is called after a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, along with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu achieved global recognition in 1968, when a defense worker known as Emil Barnea photographed what he reported as a flying saucer hovering above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest. Many came in here and failed to return. But rest assured," he continues, addressing his guest with a grin. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate." In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has drawn meditation experts, traditional medicine people, ufologists and paranormal investigators from worldwide, eager to feel the strange energies reported to reverberate through the forest. Modern Threats It may be one of the world's premier destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, the forest is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, known as the innovation center of the region – are expanding, and developers are campaigning for permission to cut down the woods to construct residential buildings. Aside from a limited section containing locally rare specific tree species, the forest is not officially protected, but Marius is confident that the company he helped establish – a dedicated preservation group – will help to change that, persuading the government officials to appreciate the forest's importance as a travel hotspot. Eerie Encounters As twigs and fall foliage split and rustle beneath their footwear, the guide tells some of the local legends and reported paranormal happenings here. A popular tale tells of a five-year-old girl going missing during a group gathering, only to rematerialise after five years with no memory of the events, showing no signs of aging a day, her garments lacking the smallest trace of dust. More common reports describe smartphones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest. Emotional responses include complete terror to feelings of joy. Various visitors claim noticing unusual marks on their bodies, detecting disembodied whispers through the trees, or feel fingers clutching them, even when sure they are alone. Scientific Investigations Although numerous of the accounts may be hard to prove, numerous elements visibly present that is undeniably strange. All around are vegetation whose bases are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations. Various suggestions have been given to clarify the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or naturally high radioactivity in the earth explain their unusual development. But scientific investigations have discovered inconclusive results. The Legendary Opening Marius's excursions allow visitors to engage in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the woods where Barnea took his well-known UFO images, he hands the visitor an EMF meter which registers electromagnetic fields. "We're stepping into the most active area of the forest," he states. "See what you can find." The trees immediately cease as we emerge into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath their shoes; it's obvious that it hasn't been mown, and seems that this bizarre meadow is organic, not the creation of people. Fact Versus Fiction This part of Romania is a area which stirs the imagination, where the line is unclear between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting creatures, who rise from their graves to terrorise nearby villages. The famous author's renowned vampire Count Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith located on a stone formation in the Transylvanian Alps – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle". But including folklore-rich Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – appears solid and predictable in contrast to this spooky forest, which seem to be, for causes nuclear, environmental or entirely legendary, a hub for human imaginative power. "In Hoia-Baciu," the guide says, "the division between truth and fantasy is very thin."