Hoia-Baciu Forest: Why This Place Has a Reputation as the “Romanian Bermuda Triangle”
There are many forests in the world that are associated with nightmare stories. There are even some where terrible things happen even today, such as the Aokigahara forest at the foot of Mount Fuji in Japan. Without a doubt, this list also includes the Hoia-Baciu forest in Romania, where only the bravest person would dare to enter after sunset.
Romania is considered the country of vampires and werewolves all over the world. It was there, in Transylvania, that the Wallachian prince Vlad the Impaler, known to everyone as Count Dracula, lived. The scariest forest in Romania, and perhaps in all of Eastern Europe, is also located in Transylvania.
The Hoia-Baciu forest is called the "Romanian Bermuda Triangle". The locals have many stories to tell about this place. According to them, there are portals to other dimensions, alien bases, werewolf lairs and even gates to hell here. Of course, all this is fiction, just like the stories about Dracula. But such legends do not arise out of nowhere, do they?
The famous "bad" forest Hoia-Baciu is located in northwestern Romania, near the city of Cluj-Napoca. This ancient city is considered the unofficial capital of Transylvania. According to legend, the forest got its name in honor of a shepherd who grazed his sheep near it either in the 15th or 16th century.
One day, a shepherd was attracted by the lush grass growing in the forest. He began to graze his flock under the shade of the trees, going further and further each day. But one evening, he never returned home. Neither the shepherd nor his large flock of 200 sheep were ever seen again. In his memory, the forest was named Hoia-Baciu or Horya-Baciu.
The forest quickly acquired a bad reputation, and people began to avoid it. However, people still occasionally visited it. Some people ended up there by accident, lost or drunk, some were looking for a missing cow, and some went there on purpose to tickle their nerves. Some claimed that they were calmly walking through the forest and did not notice anything strange. Others told of a sudden feeling of horror that made them run in panic. And there were those who disappeared without a trace. People and animals disappeared in the forest, and their remains were never found.
The old people said that the Hoia-Baciu forest began to change over time. Initially, it was no different from other forests - it was light and green. But the more people disappeared in the forest, the more sinister it became. The trees began to grow crooked and sick, and the grass almost completely disappeared. Instead, the forest was covered with unpleasant damp moss. Animals and birds left these places, leaving the forest in an ominous silence.
In the 20th century, scientists became interested in such metamorphoses. In the 60s, biologist Alexander Sift began studying this place. He spent hundreds of hours in Hoia-Baciu, trying to solve the mystery. The scientist claims that he saw strange glowing objects over the forest, similar to UFOs. He was able to photograph one of them. Fortune smiled on photography enthusiast and military technician Emil Barnea. In 1968, he took a photo of a glowing column over the forest.
Despite the fact that Romania was a socialist country at the time, where the supernatural was not welcomed, Alexander Sift and Emil Barnea decided to publish their photos and even gave interviews to journalists. However, after that they did not make any more statements. They were probably “asked” to stay away from the mysterious forest.
After the publication, interest in the Hoia-Baciu forest flared up with renewed vigor. Over the past 50 years, so many stories have accumulated that they could fill a whole book. Tourists told stories of mysterious portals to other worlds, encounters with witches and gatherings of sorcerers. One of the most famous legends is connected with a girl who once got lost in the forest. She was found only five years later, and during this time she had not changed at all, but she could not remember anything about what had happened.
Almost everyone who has visited Hoia-Baciu at dusk or at night has claimed to have seen strange lights and shadows of people, heard ominous voices or children's laughter. However, with each passing year, it has become increasingly difficult to invent new stories about the gloomy forest. Its area has been rapidly shrinking due to human activity. Today, only a small area of 3 square kilometers remains of the legendary thicket, where one could once wander for weeks.
Almost the entire forest area has been landscaped. Now there are comfortable paths, sports grounds and picnic areas. The old crooked trees have gradually been replaced by healthy and beautiful beeches, oaks and pines. However, if you want, you can still find gloomy corners in Hoia-Baciu, although their number is decreasing every year.
Scientists are skeptical about the mystical stories about the Hoia-Baciu forest. When asked about this place, they most often recommend turning to folklorists. However, journalists have managed to initiate research in the forest several times. People with serious faces and scientific instruments have appeared in its remote corners. However, physicists, biologists and geologists have failed to find anything anomalous.
But Hoia-Baciu is a place where psychics, paranormal researchers, magicians and sorcerers are active. They claim to communicate with spirits, look into the past and future, and establish contacts with extraterrestrial civilizations. Thanks to these eccentrics and the "yellow" press, the reputation of the most eerie forest in Romania is still maintained.
Would you risk a walk through the Hoia-Baciu forest? Or would you prefer to learn more about it from legends and eyewitness accounts? Share your opinion in the comments!