Hoia-Baciu Forest
In a forest outside Cluj, the trees grow twisted, and in the middle is a round clearing where almost nothing grows.
What was reported
Hoia-Baciu is a forest on the edge of Cluj-Napoca. Many of its trees grow in bent and twisted shapes, and near its centre is an almost perfectly round clearing where few plants grow.
In 1968, a military technician named Emil Barnea took a photograph of a disc-shaped object over the clearing, which made the forest famous. Visitors since then have reported lights, odd feelings and lost time.
Explanations offered
Soil tests have not found anything unusual in the clearing, and twisted trees can be caused by wind, snow and soil conditions. The 1968 photograph has never been explained, but it has also never been verified.
- When
- Known since the 1960s
- Where
- Near Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Witnesses
- Visitors, a biologist's photograph
- Status
- Disputed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.