🔗 Share this article

"They call this place an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," explains a local guide, the air from his lungs producing puffs of mist in the crisp night air. "Numerous people have gone missing here, some say there's a gateway to another dimension." This expert is escorting a visitor on a night walk through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient local woods on the outskirts of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Accounts of bizarre occurrences here go back hundreds of years – this woodland is called after a local shepherd who is said to have vanished in the far-off times, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to international attention in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea took a picture of what he described as a flying saucer floating above a circular clearing in the middle of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But no need to fear," he adds, turning to his guest with a grin. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, shamans, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from worldwide, eager to feel the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Current Risks

It may be one of the world's premier destinations for supernatural fans, the forest is under threat. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, called the tech capital of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and construction companies are campaigning for approval to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Except for a few hectares containing area-specific oak varieties, the forest is without conservation status, but the guide believes that the company he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will help to change that, persuading the government officials to recognise the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Eerie Encounters

When small sticks and seasonal debris break and crackle beneath their boots, the guide describes some of the traditional stories and reported supernatural events here.

• A well-known account tells of a five-year-old girl going missing during a family picnic, later to rematerialise after five years with no recollection of the events, showing no signs of aging a day, her attire lacking the smallest trace of dirt.
• More common reports describe smartphones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on venturing inside.
• Reactions range from complete terror to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors report noticing bizarre skin irritations on their skin, perceiving disembodied whispers through the forest, or sense palms pushing them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

While many of the stories may be hard to prove, there is much before my eyes that is certainly unusual. All around are vegetation whose stems are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Different theories have been proposed to clarify the deformed trees: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated electromagnetic fields in the earth account for their strange formation.

But research studies have found inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's tours allow participants to participate in a small-scale research of their own. As we approach the opening in the trees where Barnea took his renowned UFO pictures, he passes the traveler an EMF meter which measures electromagnetic fields.

"We're venturing into the most energetic part of the forest," he states. "See what you can find."

The plants immediately cease as we emerge into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's clear that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this strange clearing is natural, not the result of people.

The Blurred Line

The broader region is a area which stirs the imagination, where the border is unclear between fact and folklore. In traditional settlements belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing bloodsuckers, who rise from their graves to frighten nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's renowned fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a medieval building situated on a rocky outcrop in the Carpathian Mountains – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But despite myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the land past the woods" – appears tangible and comprehensible compared to the haunted grove, which seem to be, for reasons radioactive, environmental or entirely legendary, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"Within this forest," Marius comments, "the division between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."