The Hoia Baciu Forest: UFO Hotspot, Haunted, Or Both?

When most people think of Transylvania, their minds conjure up images of castles, Dracula, and other vampire happenings. More recently however, Transylvania has become known for its Hoia Baciu Forest. Some people have gone as far as to state that this forest is the “Bermuda Triangle” of Romania.

Located just outside the city of Cluj Napoca, one of the historical regions of Transylvania, the Hoia Baciu Forest originally gained notoriety outside of Romania when a biologist, Alexandru Sift, took a picture of a disc-shaped UFO in the forest whilst on a scientific research trip in 1968.

The UFO sightings that have occurred in the forest are further fueled by the fact that there is a large clearing in the forest that is in the shape of an almost perfect circle. Nothing grows in this area of the forest, and it’s termed as a “dead vegetation” zone.

Soil samples have been taken from this clearing and analyzed. The results of these tests show no reason why vegetation shouldn’t grow in this area of the forest. Many Ufologists speculate that this clearing could be a landing zone for UFO’s.

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The locals believe that the clearing is the home of the ghosts that haunt the forest. Numerous photographs have been taken at the clearing that appear to show floating shapes and the outlines of human beings. These photographs may add credence to the claims of the townspeople.

The people who live around the forest believe that if they enter the forest they will not come out. According to a local legend the forest is actually named after a shepherd that disappeared in the forest along with his 200 sheep.

Their fear may be well founded. There are stories of people disappearing in the forest and when they come out, they have no memory of what happened.

One such story is that of a 5 year old child that disappeared in the forest. She re-appeared 5 years later wearing the same clothes, which were like new, and that she had no memory of what happened to her during the time she was gone. This has led to some people believing that the forest may be a gateway to another dimension.

Another local legend surrounding the forest claims that the forest houses the spirits of murdered villagers who have been trapped in the forest and are unable to cross over. To add validity to this legend, there have been many people who have visited the forest that report hearing disembodied voices and that have witnessed ghostly heads of people floating among the trees.

To add fuel to the fire, many of the trees in the forest are distorted, twisted, and misshapen to the point they resemble something out of a nightmare. This chilling landscape does little to calm anyone who dares to walk among the trees.

In fact, there have been numerous reports of people being physically harmed in the forest. Their injuries have included rashes, feelings of nausea, period of vomiting, burns, scratches and extreme anxiety, just to name a few.

However the forest, especially the barren circle shaped clearing is also the subject of intense interest for paranormal investigators. During a season of the television show, Destination Truth, one of the cameramen while filming in the circle was violently attacked and thrown to the ground by something unseen and unknown.

People who live near the forest have reported seeing unexplainable flashes of light, orbs, and other strange things occurring in the area. In addition, when a thermal imaging camera is used on the alleged orbs that seem to flit through the trees, no heat signature is apparent.

Paranormal investigators who’ve ventured into the forest have reported equipment malfunctions when close to the forest and attribute the equipment problems as being a sign of paranormal activity.

There have also been reports of people remembering all of their past experiences and then forgetting them immediately upon leaving the forest.

The Hoia Baciu Forest is undoubtedly a mysterious and fascinating place and although we cannot say for sure that all the reported phenomena are true, we can certainly say that if one is brave enough, they should travel to Transylvania and try to discover what’s really going on in one of the most haunted forests in the world.

So is the forest a UFO hot spot, haunted, or both?

Our vote is that it’s both.

What do you think?