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"People refer to this location the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," remarks a local guide, his exhalation creating wisps of vapor in the chilly evening air. "Countless visitors have vanished here, it's thought it's an entrance to a parallel world." The guide is guiding a guest on a nocturnal tour through commonly known as the planet's most ghostly woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of old-growth native woodland on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of strange happenings here date back centuries – this woodland is titled for a local shepherd who is said to have vanished in the distant past, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved global recognition in 1968, when an army specialist called Emil Barnea captured on film what he reported as a unidentified flying object floating above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and never came out. But no need to fear," he continues, facing his guest with a smirk. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has brought in meditation experts, spiritual healers, ufologists and paranormal investigators from worldwide, curious to experience the strange energies reported to reverberate through the forest.

Current Risks

Although it is among the planet's leading hotspots for supernatural fans, the grove is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, described as the tech capital of the region – are expanding, and construction companies are pushing for authorization to clear the trees to build apartment blocks.

Aside from a small area containing regionally uncommon specific tree species, this woodland is without conservation status, but Marius hopes that the organization he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the government officials to recognise the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and seasonal debris break and crackle beneath their boots, Marius recounts various traditional stories and reported ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale describes a five-year-old girl going missing during a family picnic, later to reappear half a decade later with complete amnesia of her experience, without aging a moment, her garments lacking the tiniest bit of dust.
• Frequent accounts detail mobile phones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on venturing inside.
• Reactions range from complete terror to feelings of joy.
• Some people report seeing strange rashes on their skin, hearing unseen murmurs through the trees, or experience palms pushing them, even when sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

Despite several of the accounts may be impossible to confirm, there are many things clearly observable that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are trees whose trunks are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been suggested to explain the abnormal growth: strong gales could have shaped the young trees, or typically increased radioactivity in the soil cause their unusual development.

But scientific investigations have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's excursions allow guests to engage in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the opening in the forest where Barnea photographed his well-known UFO images, he passes his guest an EMF meter which detects electromagnetic fields.

"We're entering the most active area of the forest," he says. "Try to detect something."

The plants immediately cease as they step into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath the ground; it's obvious that it hasn't been mown, and looks that this strange clearing is natural, not the work of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

This part of Romania is a place which stirs the imagination, where the division is indistinct between fact and folklore. In traditional settlements belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, appearance-altering vampires, who return from burial sites to frighten nearby villages.

The famous author's famous character Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure perched on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But despite myth-shrouded Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – feels real and understandable compared to this spooky forest, which give the impression of being, for reasons nuclear, atmospheric or entirely legendary, a nexus for creative energy.

"Inside these woods," Marius says, "the line between reality and imagination is extremely fine."