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"People refer to this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states a local guide, the air from his lungs forming puffs of mist in the cold evening air. "So many people have gone missing here, it's thought it's an entrance to a different realm." This expert is guiding a visitor on a night walk through frequently labeled as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of primeval indigenous forest on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Reports of unusual events here date back hundreds of years – this woodland is called after a regional herder who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained global recognition in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea photographed what he described as a flying saucer floating above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and vanished without trace. But no need to fear," he states, turning to the traveler with a grin. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn meditation experts, spiritual healers, ufologists and supernatural researchers from worldwide, eager to feel the strange energies believed to resonate through the forest.

Current Risks

Despite being among the planet's leading destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, known as the innovation center of the region – are expanding, and real estate firms are campaigning for permission to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Aside from a few hectares containing locally rare oak varieties, the forest is lacking legal protection, but Marius hopes that the company he co-founded – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, encouraging the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and fall foliage break and crackle beneath their footwear, the guide tells numerous local legends and reported supernatural events here.

• A popular tale recounts a five-year-old girl disappearing during a family picnic, then to rematerialise half a decade later with no recollection of what had happened, having not aged a moment, her attire shy of the slightest speck of dust.
• Frequent accounts describe mobile phones and photography gear mysteriously turning off on entering the woods.
• Feelings range from absolute fear to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors claim noticing strange rashes on their bodies, hearing ghostly voices through the trees, or experience hands grabbing them, even when convinced they're by themselves.

Scientific Investigations

Although numerous of the accounts may be unverifiable, numerous elements visibly present that is undeniably strange. Throughout the area are vegetation whose trunks are curved and contorted into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been proposed to account for the deformed trees: strong gales could have altered the growth, or naturally high radioactivity in the ground account for their strange formation.

But formal examinations have found insufficient proof.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's walks allow guests to engage in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the trees where Barnea took his famous UFO images, he gives the traveler an EMF meter which measures energy patterns.

"We're stepping into the most energetic area of the forest," he says. "See what you can find."

The vegetation immediately cease as we emerge into a complete ring. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath our feet; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the creation of people.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a area which fuels fantasy, where the division is unclear between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering creatures, who emerge from tombs to frighten nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's well-known vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a medieval building located on a stone formation in the Transylvanian Alps – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – feels tangible and comprehensible compared to the haunted grove, which appear to be, for factors related to radiation, atmospheric or entirely legendary, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"Within this forest," Marius comments, "the division between reality and imagination is remarkably blurred."