🔗 Share this article Delving into this World's Most Haunted Woodland: Twisted Trees, UFOs and Chilling Accounts in Romania's Legendary Region. "Locals dub this location the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, his exhalation producing puffs of condensation in the chilly evening air. "Countless individuals have gone missing here, many believe it's a portal to a parallel world." Marius is leading a guest on a nocturnal tour through what is often described as the globe's spookiest grove: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of old-growth native woodland on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca. Centuries of Mystery Stories of bizarre occurrences here date back centuries – this woodland is titled for a regional herder who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to global recognition in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a flying saucer floating above a oval meadow in the heart of the forest. Countless ventured inside and never came out. But don't worry," he states, addressing his guest with a grin. "Our tours have a 100% return rate." In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn meditation experts, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and paranormal investigators from worldwide, eager to feel the strange energies reported to reverberate through the forest. Contemporary Dangers Although it is a top global hotspots for paranormal enthusiasts, the grove is under threat. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of a population exceeding 400,000, called the Silicon Valley of eastern Europe – are expanding, and real estate firms are advocating for permission to clear the trees to erect housing complexes. Barring a limited section home to regionally uncommon specific tree species, this woodland is not officially protected, but the guide is confident that the organization he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will help to change that, persuading the authorities to appreciate the forest's importance as a travel hotspot. Eerie Encounters As twigs and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their boots, Marius describes various traditional stories and alleged supernatural events here. A well-known account describes a five-year-old girl disappearing during a family outing, later to rematerialise five years later with complete amnesia of her experience, showing no signs of aging a day, her garments without the tiniest bit of soil. Frequent accounts explain cellphones and imaging devices unexpectedly failing on venturing inside. Feelings include full-blown dread to feelings of joy. Some people report observing strange rashes on their arms, hearing ghostly voices through the forest, or experience fingers clutching them, even when sure they are alone. Study Attempts While many of the accounts may be unverifiable, numerous elements before my eyes that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are trees whose stems are warped and gnarled into unusual forms. Different theories have been given to account for the deformed trees: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or naturally high radioactivity in the soil cause their crooked growth. But research studies have turned up insufficient proof. The Notorious Meadow The expert's walks allow visitors to take part in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the meadow in the woods where Barnea photographed his famous UFO photographs, he passes his guest an ghost-hunting device which measures electromagnetic fields. "We're stepping into the most active part of the forest," he states. "Discover what's here." The plants abruptly end as they step into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the trimmed turf beneath our feet; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and seems that this unusual opening is organic, not the work of landscaping. Between Reality and Imagination This part of Romania is a place which stirs the imagination, where the border is indistinct between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering vampires, who rise from their graves to haunt nearby villages. The famous author's well-known vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a Saxon monolith perched on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is keenly marketed as "the count's residence". But including legend-filled Transylvania – literally, "the territory after the grove" – appears tangible and comprehensible in contrast to this spooky forest, which appear to be, for reasons nuclear, climatic or purely mythical, a nexus for fantasy projection. "In Hoia-Baciu," Marius states, "the division between reality and imagination is remarkably blurred."