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"People refer to this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, his breath producing wisps of mist in the chilly night air. "So many individuals have vanished here, many believe it's an entrance to a different realm." The guide is escorting a visitor on a evening stroll through what is often described as the globe's spookiest forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of old-growth local woods on the outskirts of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Reports of unusual events here extend back a long time – the grove is titled for a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the distant past, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when a military technician known as Emil Barnea photographed what he claimed was a unidentified flying object hovering above a oval meadow in the centre of the forest.

Many came in here and failed to return. But don't worry," he continues, turning to the traveler with a grin. "Our excursions have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, spiritual healers, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from worldwide, eager to feel the strange energies said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being one of the world's premier hotspots for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, described as the tech capital of Eastern Europe – are advancing, and real estate firms are campaigning for approval to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Barring a limited section home to regionally uncommon specific tree species, this woodland is without conservation status, but the guide believes that the organization he was instrumental in creating – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, encouraging the government officials to recognise the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Chilling Events

When small sticks and seasonal debris snap and crunch beneath their boots, Marius recounts various local legends and claimed paranormal happenings here.

• A well-known account tells of a five-year-old girl going missing during a group gathering, then to reappear after five years with no recollection of what had happened, without aging a moment, her attire lacking the slightest speck of dirt.
• More common reports detail mobile phones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Reactions vary from full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Some people claim seeing strange rashes on their skin, perceiving disembodied whispers through the forest, or sense fingers clutching them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Study Attempts

Despite several of the tales may be impossible to confirm, there are many things visibly present that is undeniably strange. Throughout the area are plants whose trunks are warped and gnarled into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been given to explain the misshapen plants: strong gales could have altered the growth, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the ground account for their strange formation.

But research studies have found no satisfactory evidence.

The Legendary Opening

The expert's walks enable visitors to participate in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the forest where Barnea took his famous UFO pictures, he gives the traveler an ghost-hunting device which detects energy patterns.

"We're entering the most powerful part of the forest," he states. "Discover what's here."

The plants immediately cease as the group enters into a complete ring. The only greenery is the short grass beneath our feet; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and appears that this bizarre meadow is organic, not the result of landscaping.

Fact Versus Fiction

This part of Romania is a area which inspires creativity, where the division is indistinct between fact and folklore. In traditional settlements superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting creatures, who rise from their graves to haunt nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's well-known fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – an ancient structure situated on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the place beyond the forest" – seems real and understandable versus this spooky forest, which give the impression of being, for reasons radioactive, atmospheric or purely mythical, a hub for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," the guide says, "the division between truth and fantasy is remarkably blurred."