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"Locals dub this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," remarks a local guide, his breath producing wisps of condensation in the cold evening air. "So many visitors have vanished here, some say there's a gateway to a parallel world." Marius is guiding a visitor on a nocturnal tour through what is often described as the world's most haunted forest: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient indigenous forest on the outskirts of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Reports of strange happenings here date back a long time – the forest is titled for a regional herder who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when a defense worker called Emil Barnea took a picture of what he described as a unidentified flying object hovering above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But rest assured," he continues, facing his guest with a grin. "Our tours have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has drawn meditation experts, traditional medicine people, UFO researchers and ghost hunters from across the world, curious to experience the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being among the planet's leading destinations for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is under threat. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of a population exceeding 400,000, called the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe – are expanding, and real estate firms are pushing for authorization to clear the trees to erect housing complexes.

Aside from a few hectares home to area-specific specific tree species, this woodland is without conservation status, but the guide believes that the company he was instrumental in creating – a local conservation effort – will help to change that, persuading the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's value as a visitor destination.

Eerie Encounters

As twigs and autumn leaves break and crackle beneath their boots, Marius describes numerous local legends and reported ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale tells of a young child disappearing during a family outing, then to return half a decade later with complete amnesia of her experience, having not aged a day, her garments shy of the smallest trace of dust.
• Regular stories describe mobile phones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses include complete terror to feelings of joy.
• Certain individuals claim observing unusual marks on their arms, hearing disembodied whispers through the woodland, or feel hands grabbing them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

Although numerous of the tales may be unverifiable, numerous elements before my eyes that is certainly unusual. Everywhere you look are vegetation whose bases are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been suggested to explain the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or naturally high radiation levels in the earth explain their unusual development.

But scientific investigations have found inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

The guide's walks permit participants to participate in a small-scale research of their own. When nearing the clearing in the trees where Barnea photographed his famous UFO images, he passes his guest an ghost-hunting device which registers EMF readings.

"We're entering the most active section of the forest," he comments. "See what you can find."

The vegetation immediately cease as the group enters into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this unusual opening is wild, not the result of human hands.

The Blurred Line

The broader region is a place which stirs the imagination, where the line is blurred between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering creatures, who emerge from tombs to frighten local communities.

The novelist's famous character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a medieval building situated on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is actively advertised as "the vampire's home".

But including myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the territory after the grove" – seems solid and predictable versus the haunted grove, which seem to be, for causes nuclear, environmental or simply folkloric, a center for creative energy.

"Within this forest," the guide comments, "the line between truth and fantasy is extremely fine."