When people think of Transylvania, the first scary thing that comes to mind is Dracula, a character that everyone knows, part of the myths and legends that scare small children.
But something much worse, more mystical and much more difficult to understand rationally is what in Romania they also call the Romanian Triangle of Bermuda, the "Hoia Baciu" forest.
This forest is a 20-minute drive from the center of Cluj-Napoca, in the heart of Transylvania.
Many locals believe that the forest is truly haunted and avoid entering it, and if they must do so – then they are required to be in company and strictly during the day. Legend has it that the forest got its name for a shepherd who entered it with his 200 sheep and was never seen again.
Although the search lasted for days, they found only scattered sheep to be found everywhere, while the shepherd had lost all track. After that, at least 20 more disappearances were reported in the forest.
Visitors and witnesses of unusual events say that deep in the forest, screams and unusual sounds can be heard that do not seem to come from people, and more have reported "apparitions" in the form of waving heads appearing among the trees. When they got closer, they found that there was nothing.
In addition, there are several documented cases of people in the forest who suddenly felt great anxiety and inexplicable fear, and upon leaving the forest noticed scratches and rashes, which they do not know where they came from, nausea and migraine. For researchers, these are typical signs of places of obsession and the unusual phenomenon of feeling lost in time and space in that forest.
In modern times, the forest has confirmed its bad reputation after the biologist Alexandru Sift noticed an inexplicable phenomenon in it in the 50s – unusual lights whose source he could not determine. Later, in 1968, photographer Emil Barnea recorded in it what many people believe to be UFOs.
Meanwhile, in one part of the forest there is a place where there are no trees at all, while in other parts the trees grow bent at an unusual angle. Biologists have no rational explanation for this, which gives mystery fans even more confirmation that something is going on in the forest that the human brain cannot understand.
All these strange happenings have led many people to believe that the forest offers a view of another dimension, and those who enter it will never be able to come out again.
Therefore, "Hoia Baciu" is reserved exclusively for the bravest...
Three documentaries about the mystical forest: