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"Locals dub this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," remarks an experienced guide, his breath forming puffs of vapor in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "So many people have vanished here, it's thought it's a portal to another dimension." Marius is leading a guest on a evening stroll through what is often described as the planet's most ghostly grove: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of old-growth local woods on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of bizarre occurrences here date back hundreds of years – the grove is titled for a regional herder who is believed to have disappeared in the distant past, accompanied by his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea captured on film what he reported as a flying saucer hovering above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and never came out. But don't worry," he states, facing the traveler with a grin. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yoga practitioners, spiritual healers, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from worldwide, eager to feel the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being among the planet's leading destinations for supernatural fans, the forest is at risk. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, known as the innovation center of the region – are advancing, and developers are pushing for permission to remove the forest to construct residential buildings.

Except for a limited section containing regionally uncommon Mediterranean oak trees, this woodland is without conservation status, but Marius believes that the initiative he helped establish – a dedicated preservation group – will help to change that, motivating the government officials to appreciate the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and fall foliage break and crackle beneath their shoes, Marius tells various local legends and claimed ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story tells of a little girl vanishing during a family picnic, later to rematerialise five years later with complete amnesia of her experience, without aging a day, her attire without the smallest trace of soil.
• More common reports detail smartphones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on stepping into the forest.
• Reactions include full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Certain individuals state observing strange rashes on their skin, detecting ghostly voices through the forest, or sense palms pushing them, even when sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

Despite several of the tales may be impossible to confirm, there are many things before my eyes that is certainly unusual. All around are trees whose trunks are curved and contorted into fantastical shapes.

Multiple explanations have been proposed to explain the abnormal growth: strong gales could have bent the saplings, or naturally high radiation levels in the ground explain their unusual development.

But formal examinations have found inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

The guide's walks enable participants to take part in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the clearing in the forest where Barnea captured his renowned UFO photographs, he gives the traveler an electromagnetic field detector which measures energy patterns.

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

The plants suddenly stop dead as the group enters into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the short grass beneath their shoes; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this strange clearing is natural, not the creation of human hands.

Between Reality and Imagination

This part of Romania is a place which fuels fantasy, where the border is blurred between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing creatures, who emerge from tombs to terrorise nearby villages.

The novelist's well-known vampire Count Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith perched on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – seems real and understandable versus these eerie woods, which give the impression of being, for reasons radioactive, atmospheric or entirely legendary, a hub for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius comments, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is remarkably blurred."