Case file · Anomaly hotspot
Hoia-Baciu Forest
A forest outside Cluj-Napoca, Romania, famed for twisted trees, a round clearing and a 1968 photo of a disc.
1968 CE · 46.78, 23.53 · status: legend
The account
Biologist Alexandru Sift studied the forest in the 1960s, and on 18 August 1968 Emil Barnea photographed what he described as a disc over the clearing. Legends of people vanishing and ghostly sightings followed, and it now attracts ghost tours and TV crews.
The sceptical view
The 'bent' trees have ordinary causes (wind, soil, cutting), the clearing is likely due to soil composition, and the photo has never been analysed independently.