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"People refer to this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," explains a local guide, the air from his lungs forming clouds of mist in the crisp evening air. "So many people have disappeared here, many believe there's a gateway to another dimension." This expert is guiding a visitor on a nocturnal tour through commonly known as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of ancient native woodland on the edges of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of unusual events here extend back hundreds of years – this woodland is called after a area shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, along with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu gained global recognition in 1968, when a military technician called Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a unidentified flying object floating above a circular clearing in the heart of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and failed to return. But no need to fear," he adds, turning to his guest with a grin. "Our excursions have a 100% return rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, traditional medicine people, ufologists and supernatural researchers from worldwide, curious to experience the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being among the planet's leading hotspots for supernatural fans, this woodland is under threat. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of a population exceeding 400,000, called the Silicon Valley of eastern Europe – are expanding, and developers are pushing for authorization to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Barring a few hectares housing area-specific oak varieties, this woodland is lacking legal protection, but Marius believes that the organization he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the authorities to appreciate the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and fall foliage snap and crunch beneath their boots, the guide tells some of the local legends and claimed ghostly incidents here.

• A well-known account recounts a young child vanishing during a group gathering, then to rematerialise after five years with no memory of her experience, having not aged a single day, her garments without the slightest speck of dirt.
• Regular stories detail cellphones and imaging devices inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses include full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Some people state noticing strange rashes on their skin, perceiving disembodied whispers through the woodland, or experience hands grabbing them, even when convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

Despite several of the tales may be impossible to confirm, there are many things clearly observable that is undeniably strange. All around are plants whose trunks are bent and twisted into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been given to account for the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the earth cause their crooked growth.

But research studies have turned up no satisfactory evidence.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's excursions allow visitors to participate in a modest investigation of their own. When nearing the opening in the forest where Barnea captured his well-known UFO pictures, he gives the traveler an EMF meter which registers EMF readings.

"We're venturing into the most active area of the forest," he comments. "Discover what's here."

The plants abruptly end as the group enters into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath their shoes; it's clear that it hasn't been mown, and appears that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the work of human hands.

The Blurred Line

The broader region is a place which fuels fantasy, where the line is indistinct between fact and folklore. In traditional settlements faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, shapeshifting bloodsuckers, who rise from their graves to frighten local communities.

The famous author's famous vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a Saxon monolith located on a stone formation in the Carpathian Mountains – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the place beyond the forest" – seems tangible and comprehensible compared to the haunted grove, which seem to be, for reasons related to radiation, climatic or simply folkloric, a center for fantasy projection.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius says, "the boundary between fact and fiction is extremely fine."