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"Locals dub this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," remarks an experienced guide, his exhalation producing puffs of condensation in the crisp evening air. "Countless people have disappeared here, many believe there's a gateway to a parallel world." The guide is escorting a traveler on a night walk through commonly known as the globe's spookiest grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of primeval native woodland on the edges of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Accounts of unusual events here date back a long time – the forest is titled for a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the long ago, accompanied by his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained worldwide fame in 1968, when a defense worker known as Emil Barnea photographed what he claimed was a unidentified flying object floating above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

Many came in here and vanished without trace. But don't worry," he states, facing the traveler with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in meditation experts, traditional medicine people, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from across the world, curious to experience the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being a top global pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, the forest is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of over 400,000 residents, known as the tech capital of eastern Europe – are advancing, and construction companies are campaigning for permission to clear the trees to erect housing complexes.

Except for a small area housing area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is lacking legal protection, but Marius believes that the company he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will help to change that, motivating the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Spooky Experiences

As twigs and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their footwear, the guide describes some of the folk tales and claimed ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale tells of a five-year-old girl going missing during a group gathering, only to reappear five years later with no memory of her experience, having not aged a single day, her clothes without the tiniest bit of soil.
• Regular stories explain cellphones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on venturing inside.
• Reactions range from full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors report seeing unusual marks on their skin, perceiving unseen murmurs through the trees, or feel hands grabbing them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

Despite several of the stories may be hard to prove, there is much clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are trees whose stems are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Different theories have been suggested to explain the misshapen plants: strong gales could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the earth explain their unusual development.

But scientific investigations have discovered no satisfactory evidence.

The Famous Clearing

The guide's walks permit visitors to participate in a modest investigation of their own. When nearing the opening in the trees where Barnea photographed his famous UFO images, he hands the traveler an EMF meter which detects electromagnetic fields.

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

The plants suddenly stop dead as they step into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and appears that this strange clearing is natural, not the result of human hands.

The Blurred Line

This part of Romania is a area which fuels fantasy, where the division is blurred between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who return from burial sites to terrorise regional populations.

Bram Stoker's famous vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a medieval building situated on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – seems tangible and comprehensible in contrast to the haunted grove, which seem to be, for factors radioactive, environmental or purely mythical, a nexus for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," the guide says, "the line between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."