The Devil’s Tree Romania: Folklore and Hauntings

Across the sweeping Romanian Plains, stories still circulate about a solitary, gnarled oak that locals call Copacul Dracului - the Devil’s Tree. From afar, it looks no different than any other twisted silhouette on the horizon, yet in the villages that border the plains, it has become the subject of centuries of whispers.

A Tree That Shouldn’t Grow

According to local legend, no grass grows in a circle around the Devil’s Tree. Farmers tell of animals refusing to graze nearby, and hunters say their dogs whimper and refuse to approach. Some versions of the tale claim that the tree grew overnight on land that had once been a battlefield, its roots fed by the blood of the fallen. Others insist it marks a cursed grave, where an unbaptised child or a witch was secretly buried.

A Place of Dark Rituals

Folklore suggests that the Devil’s Tree was once a meeting place for secret nocturnal gatherings. In some stories, witches tied red threads and charms to its branches, leaving offerings of milk or wine to the spirits said to dwell within. Villagers, fearful of crossing paths with these rituals, learned to avoid the plains at night, claiming to hear chanting carried by the wind.

Hauntings and Paranormal Accounts

Over the years, travelers have described unsettling phenomena near the Devil’s Tree. Some report hearing screams or laughter without a source, others describe a sudden chill as though the air itself shifted. Carriages and later cars are said to have stalled near the tree, as if engines refused to cross its invisible boundary. One enduring story tells of a shepherd who tied his flock near the tree overnight; come morning, he was found unconscious, and half his sheep were gone without a trace.

Folklore’s Warning

In Romanian tradition, trees often carry spiritual power - from sacred groves to the protective pomul vieții (tree of life). The Devil’s Tree inverts this symbolism: instead of life, it suggests death, misfortune, and entanglement with the unseen. Parents in nearby villages once used its story to keep children from wandering too far, warning them that the Devil himself sat beneath its branches, waiting to lure them in.

The Tree Today

Modern paranormal enthusiasts seek out the site, searching for proof of the old legends. Many claim the tree still carries an aura of menace, while skeptics see only coincidence. Whether or not the Devil’s Tree truly holds supernatural power, it remains deeply rooted in Romanian folklore as a symbol of places humans instinctively fear - thresholds where the natural world brushes too close to the unknown.