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"They call this location the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states a local guide, his exhalation forming puffs of vapor in the crisp night air. "Countless people have disappeared here, it's thought there's a gateway to a parallel world." The guide is leading a traveler on a nocturnal tour through frequently labeled as the globe's spookiest grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient native woodland on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of strange happenings here go back centuries – the forest is called after a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when a defense worker known as Emil Barnea photographed what he reported as a UFO suspended above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But rest assured," he continues, turning to his guest with a smile. "Our tours have a perfect safety record."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has attracted meditation experts, traditional medicine people, UFO researchers and ghost hunters from across the world, eager to feel the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be among the planet's leading pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, the forest is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of a population exceeding 400,000, described as the innovation center of Eastern Europe – are encroaching, and developers are pushing for approval to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Barring a small area housing area-specific specific tree species, the grove is without conservation status, but the guide believes that the company he helped establish – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, motivating the local administrators to recognise the forest's value as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and autumn leaves snap and crunch beneath their footwear, Marius recounts numerous folk tales and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale recounts a young child disappearing during a family outing, only to return five years later with no memory of what had happened, having not aged a single day, her garments shy of the smallest trace of dust.
• Frequent accounts describe cellphones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on entering the woods.
• Feelings vary from absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors state noticing strange rashes on their arms, detecting disembodied whispers through the trees, or experience palms pushing them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Scientific Investigations

Despite several of the tales may be hard to prove, there are many things clearly observable that is undeniably strange. Throughout the area are vegetation whose stems are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been proposed to account for the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the ground account for their unusual development.

But research studies have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Famous Clearing

The guide's walks enable participants to participate in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the clearing in the woods where Barnea took his renowned UFO images, he passes the visitor an electromagnetic field detector which measures energy patterns.

"We're venturing into the most energetic part of the forest," he says. "Discover what's here."

The trees suddenly stop dead as they step into a complete ring. The single plant life is the short grass beneath the ground; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and seems that this bizarre meadow is organic, not the result of people.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a place which stirs the imagination, where the border is indistinct between fact and folklore. In rural Romanian communities superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who emerge from tombs to terrorise regional populations.

The famous author's renowned vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith located on a rocky outcrop in the Carpathian Mountains – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But even folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the place beyond the forest" – seems solid and predictable compared to this spooky forest, which seem to be, for causes radioactive, atmospheric or purely mythical, a nexus for fantasy projection.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius comments, "the line between truth and fantasy is remarkably blurred."