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"They call this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," explains an experienced guide, the air from his lungs creating clouds of vapor in the crisp evening air. "Numerous visitors have disappeared here, it's thought it's an entrance to a different realm." Marius is leading a guest on a night walk through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of primeval indigenous forest on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of unusual events here extend back hundreds of years – this woodland is named after a regional herder who is said to have vanished in the distant past, accompanied by his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to global recognition in 1968, when a military technician known as Emil Barnea took a picture of what he described as a unidentified flying object suspended above a circular clearing in the heart of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But don't worry," he states, turning to the visitor with a smile. "Our excursions have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in meditation experts, traditional medicine people, extraterrestrial investigators and paranormal investigators from around the globe, eager to feel the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Although it is one of the world's premier destinations for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is at risk. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of a population exceeding 400,000, described as the tech capital of eastern Europe – are expanding, and real estate firms are advocating for permission to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Aside from a few hectares containing regionally uncommon specific tree species, the forest is not officially protected, but the guide believes that the initiative he co-founded – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will assist in altering this, persuading the government officials to acknowledge the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and autumn leaves snap and crunch beneath their boots, Marius tells some of the folk tales and claimed supernatural events here.

• A popular tale tells of a little girl vanishing during a family picnic, later to rematerialise half a decade later with no recollection of what had happened, showing no signs of aging a day, her garments shy of the smallest trace of dirt.
• Frequent accounts detail cellphones and photography gear mysteriously turning off on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings range from absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors report seeing strange rashes on their skin, detecting disembodied whispers through the trees, or sense hands grabbing them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

Despite several of the stories may be hard to prove, there are many things visibly present that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are plants whose trunks are warped and gnarled into bizarre configurations.

Different theories have been proposed to clarify the deformed trees: strong gales could have shaped the young trees, or typically increased electromagnetic fields in the earth cause their unusual development.

But scientific investigations have discovered no satisfactory evidence.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's walks permit guests to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. When nearing the opening in the trees where Barnea photographed his famous UFO photographs, he gives the visitor an EMF meter which registers EMF readings.

"We're entering the most active part of the forest," he states. "See what you can find."

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as we emerge into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the short grass beneath our feet; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and looks that this unusual opening is natural, not the work of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a location which inspires creativity, where the border is indistinct between truth and myth. In traditional settlements superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, appearance-altering vampires, who return from burial sites to haunt regional populations.

Bram Stoker's well-known character Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure located on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – literally, "the territory after the grove" – feels real and understandable compared to the haunted grove, which appear to be, for causes radioactive, environmental or purely mythical, a hub for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius says, "the boundary between reality and imagination is remarkably blurred."