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"People refer to this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, the air from his lungs producing puffs of vapor in the cold dusk atmosphere. "Countless individuals have disappeared here, many believe it's an entrance to a parallel world." This expert is guiding a visitor on a night walk through what is often described as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient indigenous forest on the edges of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of strange happenings here go back hundreds of years – the forest is named after a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to global recognition in 1968, when a defense worker called Emil Barnea took a picture of what he claimed was a flying saucer floating above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and never came out. But no need to fear," he adds, turning to the traveler with a grin. "Our guided walks have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yogis, traditional medicine people, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from worldwide, eager to feel the mysterious powers reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being one of the world's premier hotspots for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is at risk. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, known as the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe – are advancing, and developers are advocating for permission to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Except for a small area containing locally rare oak varieties, the grove is lacking legal protection, but the guide is confident that the company he was instrumental in creating – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the government officials to acknowledge the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

As twigs and fall foliage snap and crunch beneath their footwear, Marius describes various folk tales and reported paranormal happenings here.

• A well-known account tells of a five-year-old girl vanishing during a group gathering, later to return after five years with complete amnesia of her experience, having not aged a moment, her attire shy of the tiniest bit of dust.
• More common reports detail mobile phones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on venturing inside.
• Feelings include full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Certain individuals state seeing strange rashes on their skin, perceiving disembodied whispers through the woodland, or feel fingers clutching them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Study Attempts

While many of the accounts may be unverifiable, numerous elements visibly present that is definitely bizarre. All around are vegetation whose trunks are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Multiple explanations have been given to clarify the deformed trees: strong gales could have shaped the young trees, or typically increased radioactivity in the soil account for their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Legendary Opening

The expert's excursions enable participants to take part in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the clearing in the forest where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO photographs, he gives the visitor an EMF meter which detects electromagnetic fields.

"We're venturing into the most powerful section of the forest," he states. "Try to detect something."

The plants abruptly end as the group enters into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's obvious that it's not maintained, and looks that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the work of landscaping.

Between Reality and Imagination

This part of Romania is a area which fuels fantasy, where the line is indistinct between fact and folklore. In traditional settlements belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who return from burial sites to frighten nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's famous vampire Count Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure perched on a stone formation in the Transylvanian Alps – is keenly marketed as "the count's residence".

But even legend-filled Transylvania – literally, "the place beyond the forest" – feels solid and predictable versus this spooky forest, which seem to be, for reasons radioactive, atmospheric or simply folkloric, a hub for creative energy.

"Inside these woods," the guide says, "the division between fact and fiction is very thin."