Within Romania UFOs
Why Hoia Baciu Became Romania's UFO Forest
Hoia-Baciu became Romania's most famous UFO location through the Barnea photographs and decades of paranormal retelling.
On this page
- The 1968 Barnea sighting and photographs
- How the forest became a paranormal destination
- What skeptics and researchers can actually test
Page outline Jump by section
Introduction
Hoia-Baciu Forest, on the western edge of Cluj-Napoca, occupies a unique place in Romania’s UFO and paranormal culture. Many Romanian UFO cases are known mainly to specialists, but Hoia-Baciu became an international legend. The reason is not a long chain of military records or radar evidence. It is a combination of one famous photographic incident, decades of retelling, and a growing reputation as a place where visitors claim to experience strange lights, unusual sensations, electronic malfunctions, or unexplained fear.
The forest is often marketed as “Romania’s Bermuda Triangle” or one of the world’s most haunted forests. Yet the gap between reputation and evidence is large. The photographs taken by Emil Barnea in 1968 remain the central event behind the forest’s fame, while most later paranormal claims are anecdotal, difficult to verify, or shaped by tourism and folklore. Understanding Hoia-Baciu therefore requires looking at both sides: the photographs that made it famous and the reasons its reputation grew far beyond those original images. [ASFAN]asfanufo.roASFANBaciu Forest Cluj-NapocaAugust 18, 1968Returning home, Emil Barnea, uninformed about UFOs, has not rushed to take out the film from the camera. Only after a whil…
The 1968 Barnea sighting and photographs
The event that transformed Hoia-Baciu from a local woodland into Romania’s most famous UFO location took place on 18 August 1968.
According to Romanian UFO researchers and later accounts, Emil Barnea, a military technician, was spending time in the forest with his partner and two friends when they noticed an unusual object in the sky above a clearing. Barnea photographed the object several times as it appeared to move away. The resulting images showed a disc-like shape against the sky and quickly became some of the best-known UFO photographs ever associated with Romania. [ASFAN]asfanufo.roASFANBaciu Forest Cluj-NapocaAugust 18, 1968Returning home, Emil Barnea, uninformed about UFOs, has not rushed to take out the film from the camera. Only after a whil… [2ufologie.patrickgross.org]ufologie.patrickgross.orgEmil Barnea's photographs, Cluj, Romania, 1968 - Patrick Gross31 May 2005 — ufo - UFOS at close sight: pictures by amateurs in Romania…
What made the case influential was not simply the photographs themselves. Several features gave the story unusual staying power:
- Multiple witnesses reportedly observed the object.
- Barnea was not known as a UFO enthusiast before the event.
- The photographs emerged during Communist Romania, a period not generally associated with public promotion of paranormal claims.
- The images appeared during a broader wave of Romanian UFO reports in 1968. [ASFAN]asfanufo.roASFANBaciu Forest Cluj-NapocaAugust 18, 1968Returning home, Emil Barnea, uninformed about UFOs, has not rushed to take out the film from the camera. Only after a whil…
Romanian UFO researchers such as Florin Gheorghiță later investigated the case and helped circulate the photographs nationally and internationally. Within Romanian ufology, the images became a landmark case and are still cited as some of the country’s strongest photographic evidence of an unidentified object. [ufologie.patrickgross.org]ufologie.patrickgross.orgEmil Barnea's photographs, Cluj, Romania, 1968 - Patrick Gross31 May 2005 — ufo - UFOS at close sight: pictures by amateurs in Romania…
Why the photographs remain controversial
The Barnea photographs are famous largely because they resist easy classification rather than because they conclusively prove anything extraordinary.
Supporters argue that no definitive demonstration of fraud has emerged. They note that the object appears structured rather than resembling a simple blur, bird, or obvious photographic defect. The witness testimony is also part of the argument: believers emphasise that several people reportedly observed the object directly before it was photographed. [J.H. Moncrieff]jhmoncrieff.comhaunted travel romanias hoia baciu forestJ.H. MoncrieffHaunted Travel: Romania's Hoia Baciu Forest9 Jun 2015 — The area gained more notoriety when military technician Emil Barnea…
Sceptics take a different approach. They point out that a photograph alone rarely establishes the true nature, distance, speed, or size of an object. Without the original physical circumstances being reproducible, many ordinary explanations remain possible. Critics have suggested possibilities ranging from a nearby object creating a misleading perspective effect to photographic misinterpretation. The images are intriguing, but they do not contain enough information to determine what was actually present in the sky. [ufologie.patrickgross.org]ufologie.patrickgross.orgEmil Barnea's photographs, Cluj, Romania, 1968 - Patrick Gross31 May 2005 — ufo - UFOS at close sight: pictures by amateurs in Romania…
This uncertainty is one reason the photographs remain relevant. Unlike many UFO images that can be rapidly dismissed as obvious hoaxes, the Barnea photographs sit in a middle category: difficult to authenticate conclusively and equally difficult to explain with complete confidence.
How Hoia-Baciu became a paranormal destination
The forest’s modern reputation rests on far more than the 1968 photographs.
During the following decades, stories accumulated around the location. Visitors described strange lights, shadowy figures, feelings of being watched, headaches, anxiety, missing time, electronic malfunctions, and unusual photographic anomalies. Many of these accounts centred on Poiana Rotundă, the so-called Round Clearing, an open circular area that became the symbolic heart of the forest’s mysteries. [Romanian Friend]romanianfriend.comRomanian FriendA Night Tour of Haunted Hoia Baciu ForestClose to Cluj-Napoca is Hoia Baciu haunted forest. Known for its UFO sightings, i… [Tripadvisor At the same time]tripadvisor.comTripadvisorHoia-Baciu Project (2026) - All You MUST Know Before…Hoia Baciu forest near Cluj-Napoca is a seemingly quiet woodland that…, older local legends became attached to the UFO story. Popular retellings connected the forest to disappearances, wandering spirits, and supernatural folklore. As often happens with famous paranormal locations, separate traditions gradually merged into a single narrative. Ghost stories, UFO sightings, folklore, and modern internet culture began reinforcing one another.
Several factors accelerated this transformation:
Television and paranormal media
International paranormal programmes and documentaries repeatedly featured Hoia-Baciu, introducing it to audiences who had never heard of Romanian UFO cases. The forest’s visual qualities helped enormously: twisted trees, isolated clearings, and dense woodland create imagery that fits paranormal storytelling. [Wikipedia]WikipediaHoia-Baciu ForestHoia-Baciu Forest
Tourism branding
Tour operators increasingly marketed the forest as a haunted destination. Night walks, paranormal tours, and ghost-hunting experiences became common parts of the local tourism economy. The UFO photographs provided a concrete historical anchor around which broader supernatural narratives could be built. [Tripadvisor]tripadvisor.comTripadvisorHoia-Baciu Project (2026) - All You MUST Know Before…Hoia Baciu forest near Cluj-Napoca is a seemingly quiet woodland that… [Romanian Friend]romanianfriend.comRomanian FriendA Night Tour of Haunted Hoia Baciu ForestClose to Cluj-Napoca is Hoia Baciu haunted forest. Known for its UFO sightings, i…
Internet amplification
Online forums, social media, YouTube videos, and paranormal websites helped turn Hoia-Baciu into a global curiosity. The same handful of stories and images were often repeated across hundreds of articles, giving the impression of a vast archive of evidence even when many accounts ultimately traced back to the same small set of sources. [Reddit]reddit.com18 august 1968 hoia forest romania photos byHoia Forest, Romania / Photos by military technician Emil Barnea: r/UFOs… r/europe - Hoia-Baciu Forest UFO Sightings: BEST UFO PICTUR… [Reddit]reddit.comthe hoia baciu forest in transylvania romaniaThe Hoia Baciu Forest in Transylvania, Romania: r/mrballen… 1968 when Emil Barnea, a military technician, photographed what he claimed…
By the early twenty-first century, Hoia-Baciu was arguably more famous internationally than most Romanian UFO incidents that had stronger documentation.
The Round Clearing and the mystery of the trees
One reason Hoia-Baciu stands out visually is the appearance of certain trees and the unusual clearing that appears in countless photographs.
The Round Clearing became especially important in paranormal narratives because vegetation patterns there seemed unusual. Stories developed claiming that nothing could grow within the area and that it represented a portal, energy field, or site of unknown forces. Yet reports discussing soil testing have generally failed to identify a clear anomaly capable of proving paranormal activity. Investigations cited by tourism and paranormal sources often acknowledge that no definitive explanation for supernatural claims has emerged from the soil itself. [My Best Place]mybestplace.comMy Best PlaceHoia Baciu, Haunted Forest of Mystery in TransylvaniaThe soil of this vegetation-free area has been tested and no anomalies…
The twisted trees have generated similar speculation. Their bent forms are visually striking and frequently appear in promotional material. However, unusual tree growth can arise from natural causes including environmental stress, disease, weather exposure, competition for light, or historical disturbance. The presence of unusual vegetation shapes does not itself establish a paranormal explanation. [Territorial Identity]territorial-identity.roTerritorial IdentityTHE HOIA-BACIU FORESTby MG OPREA · Cited by 2 — We answered why the Hoia-Baciu Forest is a niche destination for dark…
The important point is that these features create an environment that feels unusual before any paranormal story is told. That visual atmosphere helps explain why witnesses may interpret ambiguous experiences through a supernatural lens.
What sceptics and researchers can actually test
The strongest sceptical criticism of Hoia-Baciu is not that every reported experience is false. It is that most claims are difficult to test independently.
Researchers can investigate certain categories of evidence:
The photographs
The Barnea images can be examined for signs of manipulation, perspective effects, or optical explanations. This makes them one of the few pieces of evidence that remain available for ongoing analysis decades later. Even so, photographic analysis has limits because the original event cannot be recreated under identical conditions. [ufologie.patrickgross.org]ufologie.patrickgross.orgEmil Barnea's photographs, Cluj, Romania, 1968 - Patrick Gross31 May 2005 — ufo - UFOS at close sight: pictures by amateurs in Romania…
Environmental measurements
Claims involving electromagnetic anomalies, unusual radiation levels, or soil abnormalities are in principle testable. The challenge is consistency. A scientific result becomes meaningful when it can be repeated by independent investigators. Reports of strange readings in Hoia-Baciu have rarely produced a stable body of peer-reviewed evidence demonstrating a unique physical phenomenon. [Romanian Friend]romanianfriend.comRomanian FriendA Night Tour of Haunted Hoia Baciu ForestClose to Cluj-Napoca is Hoia Baciu haunted forest. Known for its UFO sightings, i…
Witness experiences
Reports of fear, nausea, headaches, or feelings of presence are genuine experiences from the perspective of the person reporting them. However, they are among the hardest categories of evidence to interpret. Expectation, suggestion, group psychology, darkness, unfamiliar environments, and prior knowledge of local legends can all influence perception.
This does not mean witnesses are inventing experiences. It means the experience itself does not automatically reveal its cause.
Repeated sightings
A location that genuinely produces unusual aerial phenomena should ideally generate a large archive of independently documented observations. Hoia-Baciu has accumulated many stories, but comparatively few cases with the level of documentation needed to move beyond anecdote. That difference is crucial when assessing the forest’s reputation. [Wikipedia]WikipediaHoiaHoia may refer to: Hoia Forest, in Romania; Hoia (crustacean), a genus of parasitic crustaceans in the family Chondracanthidae…
Why Hoia-Baciu remains important in Romanian UFO culture
Hoia-Baciu occupies a special position because it combines nearly every element that fuels a lasting mystery.
It has a named location, a memorable landscape, a famous photograph, witness testimony, local folklore, paranormal tourism, and decades of media repetition. Most UFO cases possess only one or two of these ingredients. Hoia-Baciu accumulated all of them.
Its significance therefore extends beyond the question of whether a UFO was photographed in 1968. The forest became a cultural symbol of Romania’s unexplained phenomena. For international audiences, it is often the first Romanian UFO story they encounter. For paranormal tourism, it functions as a destination where visitors can physically enter a landscape already loaded with expectations and stories. [Romanian Friend]romanianfriend.comRomanian FriendA Night Tour of Haunted Hoia Baciu ForestClose to Cluj-Napoca is Hoia Baciu haunted forest. Known for its UFO sightings, i… [2jaywaytravel.com]jaywaytravel.comromanias haunted hoia baciu forestRomania's Haunted Hoia Baciu ForestAug 25, 2018 — Why? Over the years there have been thousands of reports about paranormal activity here…
The strongest evidence connected to the forest remains the Barnea photographs and the historical record surrounding them. The broader claims of hauntings, portals, supernatural forces, and persistent anomalies are far harder to verify. That tension between a documented photographic incident and a much larger mythology explains why Hoia-Baciu continues to attract both believers and sceptics more than half a century after the original sighting. [ASFAN]asfanufo.roASFANBaciu Forest Cluj-NapocaAugust 18, 1968Returning home, Emil Barnea, uninformed about UFOs, has not rushed to take out the film from the camera. Only after a whil… [2ufologie.patrickgross.org]ufologie.patrickgross.orgEmil Barnea's photographs, Cluj, Romania, 1968 - Patrick Gross31 May 2005 — ufo - UFOS at close sight: pictures by amateurs in Romania…
Amazon book picks
Further Reading
Books and field guides related to Why Hoia Baciu Became Romania's UFO Forest. Use these as the next step if you want deeper reading beyond the article.
Passport to Magonia
Perfect fit for Hoia-Baciu's blend of folklore, paranormal claims, and UFO stories.
Hunt for the Skinwalker
Explores a location where folklore and unexplained reports overlap.
Endnotes
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Source: asfanufo.ro
Title: ASFANBaciu Forest Cluj-Napoca
Link: https://www.asfanufo.ro/index.php/romanian-cases/197-baciu-forest-cluj-napoca-august-18-1968Source snippet
August 18, 1968Returning home, Emil Barnea, uninformed about UFOs, has not rushed to take out the film from the camera. Only after a whil...
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: Hoia-Baciu Forest
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoia-Baciu_Forest -
Source: ufologie.patrickgross.org
Link: https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/htm/picamaro01.htmSource snippet
Emil Barnea's photographs, Cluj, Romania, 1968 - Patrick Gross31 May 2005 — ufo - UFOS at close sight: pictures by amateurs in Romania...
Published: May 2005
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Source: tripadvisor.com
Link: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g298474-d6609174-Reviews-or40-Hoia_Baciu_Project-Cluj_Napoca_Cluj_County_Northwest_Romania_Transylvania.htmlSource snippet
TripadvisorHoia-Baciu Project (2026) - All You MUST Know Before...Hoia Baciu forest near Cluj-Napoca is a seemingly quiet woodland that...
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Source: reddit.com
Title: 18 august 1968 hoia forest romania photos by
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/o2ztoa/18_august_1968_hoia_forest_romania_photos_by/Source snippet
Hoia Forest, Romania / Photos by military technician Emil Barnea: r/UFOs... r/europe - Hoia-Baciu Forest UFO Sightings: BEST UFO PICTUR...
Published: august 1968
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Source: reddit.com
Title: the hoia baciu forest in transylvania romania
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/mrballen/comments/ie89wc/the_hoia_baciu_forest_in_transylvania_romania/Source snippet
The Hoia Baciu Forest in Transylvania, Romania: r/mrballen... 1968 when Emil Barnea, a military technician, photographed what he claimed...
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Source: territorial-identity.ro
Link: https://territorial-identity.ro/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/5_OPREA_1_2016.pdfSource snippet
Territorial IdentityTHE HOIA-BACIU FORESTby MG OPREA · Cited by 2 — We answered why the Hoia-Baciu Forest is a niche destination for dark...
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Source: jaywaytravel.com
Title: romanias haunted hoia baciu forest
Link: https://jaywaytravel.com/blog/romanias-haunted-hoia-baciu-forestSource snippet
Romania's Haunted Hoia Baciu ForestAug 25, 2018 — Why? Over the years there have been thousands of reports about paranormal activity here...
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Source: tripadvisor.com
Title: Hoia-Baciu Project
Link: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g298474-d6609174-Reviews-Hoia_Baciu_Project-Cluj_Napoca_Cluj_County_Northwest_Romania_Transylvania.htmlSource snippet
Interesting tour filled with goosebumps stories and jaw-dropping...Read more...
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Source: tripadvisor.com
Title: Hoia Baciu Forest
Link: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g298474-d3822459-Reviews-Hoia_Baciu_Forest-Cluj_Napoca_Cluj_County_Northwest_Romania_Transylvania.htmlSource snippet
A typical forest with a...
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Source: reddit.com
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/UrbanMyths/comments/1j10ti7/hoia_baciu_forest_in_romania_is_one_of_the_most/Source snippet
estinations in the world. Ghost hunters, thrill-seekers, and...Read more...
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Source: Wikipedia
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HoiaSource snippet
HoiaHoia may refer to: Hoia Forest, in Romania; Hoia (crustacean), a genus of parasitic crustaceans in the family Chondracanthidae...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: Pădurea Hoia
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMPkM8E532YSource snippet
Baciu, cel mai bântuit loc din România...Pădurea Hoia - Baciu ar fi considerată una dintre cele mai bântuite locații din România. Oameni...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: World’s Most HAUNTED Forest!
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1I4OWBmju0Source snippet
UFO Romania: Investigations with Alexandru Mironov and Dan D Farcas...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: UFO Romania: Investigations with Alexandru Mironov and Dan D Farcas
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia7m59bPBZsSource snippet
Blink Twice | The Place People Say Changes You Forever, The Hoia-Baciu Forest...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: Blink Twice | The Place People Say Changes You Forever, The Hoia-Baciu Forest
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y70qF0NPLoSource snippet
A Chilling Surprise in Dracula's Forest | Expedition X | Discovery...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: A Chilling Surprise in Dracula’s Forest | Expedition X | Discovery
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbUMHwZBvCUSource snippet
Romania's HAUNTED Forest! | Hoia Baciu Forest...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: Romania’s HAUNTED Forest! | Hoia Baciu Forest
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D00MgX-WtNY -
Source: jhmoncrieff.com
Title: haunted travel romanias hoia baciu forest
Link: https://www.jhmoncrieff.com/haunted-travel-romanias-hoia-baciu-forest/Source snippet
J.H. MoncrieffHaunted Travel: Romania's Hoia Baciu Forest9 Jun 2015 — The area gained more notoriety when military technician Emil Barnea...
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Source: romanianfriend.com
Link: https://www.romanianfriend.com/tours/haunted-forest-romania-tourSource snippet
Romanian FriendA Night Tour of Haunted Hoia Baciu ForestClose to Cluj-Napoca is Hoia Baciu haunted forest. Known for its UFO sightings, i...
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Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
Link: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/AttractionProductReview-g298474-d23684722-Night_Tour_in_Hoia_Baciu_Forest-Cluj_Napoca_Cluj_County_Northwest_Romania_Transylv.htmlSource snippet
We will walk for about 3.5 km (shorter version of the tour is...Read more...
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Source: romanianfriend.com
Title: a day trip in a haunted forest
Link: https://www.romanianfriend.com/tours/a-day-trip-in-a-haunted-forestSource snippet
Day tour in Hoia Baciu haunted forestHoia Baciu is a forest near Cluj-Napoca, Romania, where a UFO was sighted in 1968. Since then, paran...
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Source: mybestplace.com
Link: https://www.mybestplace.com/en/article/hoia-baciu-haunted-forest-of-mystery-in-transylvaniaSource snippet
My Best PlaceHoia Baciu, Haunted Forest of Mystery in TransylvaniaThe soil of this vegetation-free area has been tested and no anomalies...
Additional References
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Source: andreeamosila.com
Link: https://andreeamosila.com/into-the-veil-a-journey-through-romanias-enigmatic-hoia-forest/Source snippet
A Journey Through Romania's Enigmatic Hoia ForestReaching Poiana Rotundă, we stood in the famed treeless expanse, where, in 1968, militar...
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Source: hoiahomespa.com
Link: https://hoiahomespa.com/Source snippet
HOIA homespaHOIA Homespa – natural skincare from Estonia inspired by Nordic nature. Botanical formulas for hydration, glow, and healthy-l...
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Source: bioskina.com
Link: https://bioskina.com/pages/hoiaSource snippet
HOIAHOIA homespa products are 100% natural and have not been tested on animals, they are tested on humans. HOIA products do not contain p...
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Source: koha.net
Link: https://www.koha.net/en/bote/pylli-me-i-frikshem-ne-bote-peme-te-shtremberuara-ufo-dhe-tregime-rreqethese-ne-transilvaniSource snippet
"The scariest forest in the world": Twisted trees...1 Nov 2025 — But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when a military...
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Source: independent.co.uk
Link: https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/romania/hoia-baciu-haunted-forest-travel-guide-b2256555.htmlSource snippet
It defies the investigations of soil scientists and attracts Romanian witches, sword-wielding...Read more...
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Source: hauntedwalk.com
Link: https://hauntedwalk.com/podcasts/episode-161-forest-of-shadows-hoia-baciu/Source snippet
Haunted WalkEpisode 161 - Forest of Shadows: Hoia BaciuSee the overhead view of the circular “dead zone” or Poiana Rotundă on Google Maps...
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Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/visitclujnapoca/posts/-hoia-forest-in-cluj-napoca-takes-the-first-place-among-romanias-halloween-desti/1220265110135952/Source snippet
d international attention, appearing in paranormal documentaries...Read more...
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Source: theguardian.com
Title: worlds most haunted forest transylvania romania
Link: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/oct/30/worlds-most-haunted-forest-transylvania-romaniaSource snippet
'The world's most haunted forest': twisted trees, UFOs and...30 Oct 2025 — But Hoia-Baciu came to international attention in 1968, when...
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Source: clujwebstory.ro
Title: Cluj Web Story Celebrare ȋn Pădurea Hoia-Baciu
Link: https://clujwebstory.ro/celebrare-%C8%8Bn-padurea-hoia-baciu-povestea-lui-emil-barnea/Source snippet
Celebrare ȋn Pădurea Hoia-Baciu - povestea lui Emil...Pe 18 august 1968, aveau să fie fotografiate, ȋn Poiana Rotundă, unele dintre cele...
Published: august 1968
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Source: agorapress.ro
Title: Padurea Baciu din Cluj este prezenta in TOP 5
Link: https://www.agorapress.ro/padurea-baciu-din-cluj-este-prezenta-top-5-cele-mai-inspaimantatoare-locuri-din-lume-misterele-din-padurea-baciu/Source snippet
Baciu. Pe data de 18 august 1968, tehnicianul-militar Emil Barnea in varsta de 45 de ani, ignorand avertismentele satenilor, se afla in p...
Published: august 1968
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