🔗 Share this article

"Locals dub this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," explains a tour guide, the air from his lungs creating wisps of condensation in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "So many individuals have gone missing here, some say it's a portal to another dimension." The guide is leading a traveler on a evening stroll through what is often described as the globe's spookiest forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of primeval native woodland on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Reports of strange happenings here extend back centuries – the grove is titled for a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the long ago, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when a military technician called Emil Barnea took a picture of what he described as a flying saucer floating above a circular clearing in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and failed to return. But don't worry," he adds, addressing the visitor with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, spiritual healers, UFO researchers and paranormal investigators from across the world, interested in encountering the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being among the planet's leading pilgrimage sites for supernatural fans, the forest is under threat. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, called the tech capital of the region – are expanding, and real estate firms are pushing for approval to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Except for a small area home to area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is lacking legal protection, but Marius hopes that the initiative he co-founded – a local conservation effort – will help to change that, encouraging the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's value as a tourist attraction.

Chilling Events

While branches and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their shoes, the guide recounts various folk tales and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• A well-known account tells of a five-year-old girl going missing during a family picnic, then to rematerialise half a decade later with no recollection of the events, showing no signs of aging a day, her attire shy of the slightest speck of soil.
• More common reports explain cellphones and camera equipment unexpectedly failing on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses range from absolute fear to moments of euphoria.
• Some people report noticing bizarre skin irritations on their skin, detecting ghostly voices through the forest, or sense hands grabbing them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the accounts may be hard to prove, numerous elements before my eyes that is definitely bizarre. Everywhere you look are trees whose bases are warped and gnarled into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been given to clarify the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or naturally high radiation levels in the soil account for their unusual development.

But research studies have discovered inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

The expert's excursions allow participants to engage in a modest investigation of their own. When nearing the opening in the woods where Barnea captured his renowned UFO pictures, he gives his guest an EMF meter which detects energy patterns.

"We're stepping into the most energetic part of the forest," he comments. "Try to detect something."

The vegetation immediately cease as we emerge into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's clear that it hasn't been mown, and seems that this bizarre meadow is organic, not the creation of human hands.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a area which fuels fantasy, where the line is unclear between fact and folklore. In countryside villages superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering creatures, who return from burial sites to terrorise local communities.

The famous author's well-known vampire Count Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a medieval building located on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "the count's residence".

But including 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 radioactive, atmospheric or entirely legendary, a hub for creative energy.

"Inside these woods," Marius says, "the boundary between fact and fiction is extremely fine."