Hoia Baciu Forest: Baffling Possibly Toxic Mystery


In followup of my post about that fantastically impressive season 3 opener of "Destination Truth," I decided to learn a bit more about the unique location in the woods of Western Romania in the Hoia Baciu Forest.

Anyone who's followed this blog in the last few months knows about my findings on my haunted formula that included the importance of geology. I looked up the geology of that area--actually not all that easy. Apparently, Romania has laws against aerial maps. Whatever.

Still, I was able to find that gold and copper mining in this mountain range is extensive, loads of limestone and salt. When I think of gold, copper, and salt, I think of electrical conductivity. Hmm...

Going a bit further, I discovered that the copper mining had leached copper into the streams and there were huge issues with toxicity. On the show "Destination Truth" they probed for what sort of symptoms people exhibited in the haunted forest. They rattled off things like vomiting, anxiety, insomnia, headaches, skin rashes, and fatigue to name a few. Ironically, these are all copper toxicity symptoms. Had they done a 24-hour urine on the team member who was vomiting, it might have helped to rule in or rule out one possible issue with making people very uncomfortable there. They did check the soil for signs that things may not grow there, but those are very broad-parameters for imbalances. Checking copper levels in the soil might have helped, as well.

Could there be natural "earth lights" caused by high copper in the land? Could the electrically conductive ingredients of gold, copper, and salt make for some sort of spook lights? Could it be a potent enough mix to affect living things like the strangely gnarled trees and the feelings in human bodies? Interestingly, in Wisconsin there is a phenomenon of light called "The Paulding Light" near an old copper mining area. Could spook lights be a phenomenon found around other mining areas? If anyone finds a case of it, let me know.

Then again, if UFO's are truly tied to the area, could it have something to do with the earth concentration of such geological components? A sort of attraction or refueling station?

The more I learn about things, the more questions I have. Giving you all this that I've found, I'd love to get your input. You're quite a highly intelligent group of people and I think your observations will be very valid.

Comments

  1. Here in North Carolina we have the Brown Mountain lights. Lights appear on it for no reason. It's probably NC's most famous piece of mysterious folklore.

    Here in the part of North Carolina where I live we have what is called the "Vander Light" (it's in a small town called Vander, near Fayetteville, NC). It's not as famous as the Brown Mountain lights, but it's fairly well known in this area of the state. Basically it's just a mysterious light that appears around a particular section of railroad track in the woods. Myself and a friend of mine went out there one night to look for it. We didn't see it, but we did make note of it being a swampy area. I've since noticed that some other spook lights are seen around railroad tracks and swampy areas. Makes me wonder if the lights have something to do with the railroad tracks and swampiness.

    Of course, that apparently wouldn't relate to that forest in Romania on Destination Truth. I don't recall seeing any railroad tracks or swampy areas in the episode. It's interesting though that certain types of rock or elements may have some connection to paranormal activity. In some cases, like the Vander light I mentioned above, I think the phenomena is probably just related to swampiness and railroad tracks (although I'm not really sure how), but in other cases, such as this forest in Destination Truth, the situation is more complex. Just ask the guy that got tossed out of his seat! While I think certain rocks or material may be connected to the phenomena somehow, I think there is probably more to it that just that.....I'm just not sure what it is. Perhaps there is some form of energy (or entity) residing there or flowing through there, and the copper just amplifies the effects somehow?

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    1. Your lights are called Aurora borealis. Others known as northern lights. It's a wave of lights in the sky at night. I can't give you the scientific answer. But in sure somewhere else on Google you could

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    2. This is not pertaining to the sky - these are single pinpoints of light within the forest, like a flashlight, something different.

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  2. I'm wondering if that is true of the lights, then did places like Bisbee and Jerome experience them as well? I can also see where the human figures in those photos could be the lighting and shapes of trees giving the elusion of ghost people. But they could not expain why this circle had no vegetation and how a grown man can be picked up an hurled like a doll. This particular forest and the other one DT investigated are pretty creepy at best. Interesting post as always, Autumn.

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  3. Years ago, I really wanted to get into Ghost Hunting and checking out paranormal activity. It's one of the things I really regret not doing. Reading your blog just makes me wanna do it even more. It's so informative and intriguing.

    Do you have any recommendations for neophyte wannabe ghost hunter?

    But, one point about your post. Salt is not conductive. Salt-water is conductive because the water separates salt into component ions, but dry salt is not conductive.

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  4. hi, autumn!
    i think i remember reading about spook lights in kentucky sometime a loong time ago, which would kind of fit into this...or it was west virginia...

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  5. Jeff;
    I did a post on the Brown Mountain Lights. You're right about swamps and train tracks. The best I can guess about swamps (our summer home had the lights in a swampy graveyard directly across from it) is the old "swamp gas" scenario. Something from the slime that grows there? Train tracks--the only thing that comes to mind is some potential for static electricity. Honestly, it is really weird.

    Julie;
    I've seen the lights near some tailings at the mines in Bisbee. I know Tombstone has seen them and I heard in Globe near some old closed mines they had seen them. Hmm...

    Ben;
    You're right. They have one of the largest salt mines there in that area, the combination of exposed layers of salt and rainwater made me wonder. There seem to be certain geological features that make haunting type activity go nuts. If you're starting out, I'd suggest either you find a group locally that's taking members or you take the independent method (I did both). I occasionally do things with a local group when they sound interesting and then otherwise go on my own with another couple hunters. You'll find getting access to places when you're not a big formal group that gets publicity is hard. Your best to start out with haunted hotels and stay in the haunted rooms, set up your equipment in the room and sit there all night waiting for activity. Some abandoned hospitals/jails offer tours and special weekend ghost hunting packages. I try to avoid abandoned places--you'll get arrested, as well as cemeteries, although some country cemeteries that are isolated aren't bad to check out. To find haunted places in your area, you might try this site:
    http://theshadowlands.net/places/
    I have an enormous amount of info in the past months on this blog, so you might want to check them out.

    Libby;
    There's spook lights in just about every state. Check out this site for more about the spook lights around the world
    http://www.earthlights.org/

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  6. What about the winds? One of the explanations for crop circles is some sort of circular wind (or even energy) vortex.
    Could the clearing be a long-term or even permanent crop circle? A kind of vortex where who-knows-what is concentrated?
    Ones thing's for certain: that area needs much more investigation!

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  7. very cool post, there are so many things to considered in haunted areas. like you say, the more you search, the more questions that come up. fascinating stuff.

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  8. EXCELLENT post, Autumnforest! You know, when I was watching the show and they said people felt those symptoms, the first thing I thought was, "Something's in the area causing it. Either something with radioactivity, radiation, something."

    But leave it to you and your inquiring mind to delve further and scope out the geology. This is just another example why I did your haunting formula. Gets put to so many neat uses and comes up with some really neat possible explanations!

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  9. Gummer;
    You're right--it does have a certain strange symmetry to it. Most speculate it has to do with where a UFO landed. I didn't see anyone with a Geiger counter in their pocket, so I don't know about that. I grew up in the middle of woods and I have to say, there were some great clearings that remained clear for many many decades without a tree in them. There's no great explanation for it. However, none of the clearings I encountered were circular. I'm hoping with the attention this is getting, they'll go back. It really deserves a week's time with serious monitoring and people sitting alone and cameras in the woods where the lights are, as well as someone using a Geiger and taking soil samples for copper and such. I hope! I hope! I hope!

    Sandra;
    It is a real puzzle. I love coming up with theories and trying to find similarities and things that might tie it all together. It's easier if you take all the different phenomenon and think of them as separate incidences and explain each one if you can. Trying to take them all as a whole event means accepting all of it as paranormal when some could be explainable like the lights which could be spook lights (still undetermined how they occur, but believed to be a natural occurrence).

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  10. Courtney;
    We think the same. I couldn't help thinking that you have a piece of land with obvious spook lights, a circular area that won't grow trees, a mountainous region, someone getting sick, someone getting hurt. It just seemed very much earth-oriented, like the land itself was holding something. Online you can find some pictures of the trees and they do grow very weird there. I'd love to see them bring in the big equipment and do a serious study with Geiger counters, soil samples for copper, compasses, tree bark samples, et cetera. For some weird reason, I couldn't stop thinking of Tunguska (spelling?) in Russia.

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  11. While watching this episode I couldn't stop thinking about your ghost haunting formulas. That forest just instantly sent a red flag up that said "it's something to do with the geology." Also the way their EMF detectors just started jumping made me think "natural battery"?

    Then the fact that the one guy was thrown through the air I think means that these areas really need more study. Not just because they are interesting and bizarre, but because they are potentially dangerous.

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  12. Naveed;
    This post had me wanting to expand on the theory of especially gold/copper mines and phenomenon. The starchild skull was found in a copper mine, the flying humanoids happen around the mining areas in Mexico, spooklights occur near these metals too. I'm hoping to have a new post out soon on some correlations I find.

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  13. RE the Paulding light in Michigan's Upper Peninsula bordering Wisconsin & other light displays: Crystalline structures like salt, quartz & others can redirect, amplify, refract light rays from the Sun, Moon, or any light source. we know crystalline rock formations exist all over Canadian & American Rockies & other mountains areas in Canada, & US, since that Paulding light is a daily event, around dusk or just after sunset, low on the horizon, I would think it may be a reflection or re-fraction off the Mountains to the West where the sun is low enough in the sky to shine on it 'just so'?

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  14. This is a first time reading one of your blogs and I find it interesting by the comments left by the others here.
    I have noticed something that could have caused the man being launched from his chair... I've been looking into it (being one of the most paranormal things through the episode when copper, salt and gold have been added into the equation) and it seems it could have been a Microburst? They are a pretty strong and small gust that have been known to cause much damage and throw people from their feet or even fell trees

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  15. James; I have been in one and it was so strong that I couldn't get my home's door open, but I don't think I've ever seen one so localized, but that is a potential explanation. I don't think it's a coincidence the kind of geology they have and the strange occurrences. There is a very strong link with such kind of forcible phenomena.

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  16. Autumn; Seeming as I've never encountered those winds, only read about them, I thought it may have been a possibility.... But then again, it wouldn't have explained the injuries he encountered there for as far as we can see is no reason... There definitely should be more research going into the area but I don't think any of it can explain the girl found in the same clothes after going missing for half a decade with no recollection of anything over the past 5 years

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  17. Hey James; I heard Destination Truth is going back there this next season that begins this fall, so I guess we'll see what happens then. I have a lot of theories, but I think it would have been neat to try some things like seismograph, metal detectors, Geiger counter, anything else they can think of. I'd also want to know about caves in the area and what's under that land.

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  18. good point with all of them.... There'd be so many people I doubt all of them would get paid...

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  19. Just watched new DT in Romanian forest, started looking up forest for explanations like geological ones. It seems pretty obvious that a geologist should have been consulted, DT droped the ball on that, but we still love DT and Josh is such a hoot to watch.

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  20. I was there , i am from Romania ... it is not only the gold and copper .. of course it is not how they described in destination truth either. It is something in that forest, i do not know what it is but there is a link to a set of pictures taken there between 09.00 AM and 22.00 PM https://plus.google.com/photos/111420257576286758583/albums/5529829729226456785?banner=pwa&authkey=CJ2DqMjVwuH3GQ

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  21. All I know is Josh Gates and his team were scared and rattled by the events of the night that they spent there in the woods of Romania. The one team member was picked up and he had scratches on his arms. Also a team member got sick and they seen lights. Because the Romanian scientist they interviewed told them this is some of the things that would occur at the site.

    All I know there is another legend that turned back a large invading Muslim army in that part of the world. Supposedly the army camped in a woods and the next morning numerous soldiers found dead with their throats cut. The thing is there were no tracks no sentries heard anything. So the leader of the army said what can you do against such a thing. He turned his army around and left. I do not know if they camped near this forest and its circle but there are some strange things that have happened in that part of the world.

    The Hoia Baciu Forest that Josh Gates visited I would say it was one of his best paranormal findings.

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  22. In my neck of the woods here in western North Carolina we have more than our share of old copper mine sites, running water, amphibolite rock substrate and "spook lights" (along with some other associated phenomenon).

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