Romania’s Most Haunted Forest: Hoia Baciu

Travel west of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca, and you’ll find the 729-acre forest of Hoia Baciu. What appears to have started out as a few folktales has sprung up into the Hoia Baciu forest becoming known as one of the most haunted places in the world. It’s also known by locals, as “Romania’s Bermuda Triangle”.

The forest plays host to a plethora of phenomena. From people going missing with no recollection of time upon their return, witnessing strange lights and UFO’s in the area, and hearing strange noises from within it’s boundaries, but what could be known as a haunted forest without it’s fair share of ghost stories?

Wanting to know more about the haunting stories of Hoia Baciu? The same two often pop up – the shepherd believed to have disappeared with a flock of 200 sheep, never to be seen again, and a five-year-old girl who disappeared, only to reappear five years later, wearing the same clean clothes and with no reminiscence of time.

Photograph’s of black mist, UFO’s and strange lights have all become common. As well as stories of “Talking Wind”, strange disembodied voices heard throughout the forest.

There is a circle in the forest which is said to be a portal to another dimension. It’s a place in the forest where no vegetation of life can grow. This area without any growth differs to the rest of the forest, where trees grow strangely, with twisted branches like rope, and winding trunks.

Professors of the Babes-Bolyai University have studied the area, as well as teams of scientists from other countries. Researchers from Germany, France, the United States, and Hungary have all spent time studying it’s mysteries. Some have managed to capture mysterious manifestations on film, including faces, lights and UFO’s. Alexandru Sift was a professor at the Babes-Bolyai University, who caught many phenomena on film and created an archive, which was shortly destroyed after his death in 1993.

Popular TV Shows such as Ghost Adventures have also featured Hoia Baciu on their Halloween special, when they visited during filming for their episode in Transylvania.

Whether or not you believe the forest is haunted, there’s no shortage of people who want to visit, and try witness the phenomena for themselves. You can now experience the forest as part of a tour, with a local guide.