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"People refer to this location the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states a tour guide, his exhalation creating wisps of condensation in the chilly evening air. "Numerous people have vanished here, some say it's a portal to another dimension." The guide is leading a visitor on a night walk through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of ancient local woods on the edges of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Reports of unusual events here extend back hundreds of years – this woodland is titled for a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when a defense worker known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a flying saucer suspended above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and failed to return. But don't worry," he states, turning to his guest with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, ufologists and supernatural researchers from worldwide, curious to experience the mysterious powers reported to reverberate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be 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 more than 400,000 people, called the tech capital of Eastern Europe – are advancing, and developers are pushing for permission to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Barring a small area containing locally rare oak varieties, the forest is lacking legal protection, but Marius hopes that the initiative he helped establish – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will assist in altering this, persuading the authorities to acknowledge the forest's value as a travel hotspot.

Chilling Events

While branches and fall foliage break and crackle beneath their footwear, Marius tells some of the local legends and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale tells of a five-year-old girl vanishing during a group gathering, then to return after five years with complete amnesia of her experience, showing no signs of aging a single day, her garments without the slightest speck of dust.
• Frequent accounts describe smartphones and camera equipment unexpectedly failing on venturing inside.
• Feelings vary from absolute fear to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors report seeing strange rashes on their bodies, detecting disembodied whispers through the forest, or sense fingers clutching them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Research Efforts

Despite several of the accounts may be hard to prove, there are many things visibly present that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are plants whose bases are bent and twisted into unusual forms.

Different theories have been proposed to explain the abnormal growth: strong gales could have bent the saplings, or inherently elevated radioactivity in the soil cause their strange formation.

But research studies have found insufficient proof.

The Notorious Meadow

The expert's tours enable participants to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the opening in the woods where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO pictures, he passes his guest an electromagnetic field detector which measures electromagnetic fields.

"We're stepping into the most energetic part of the forest," he states. "Try to detect something."

The trees immediately cease as we emerge into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this unusual opening is natural, not the work of people.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a place which stirs the imagination, where the division is unclear between truth and myth. In traditional settlements belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, appearance-altering vampires, who return from burial sites to frighten regional populations.

The novelist's renowned character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – an ancient structure located on a stone formation in the mountain range – is actively advertised as "the vampire's home".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – feels tangible and comprehensible compared to these eerie woods, which appear to be, for reasons nuclear, climatic or simply folkloric, a hub for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius comments, "the line between truth and fantasy is very thin."