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"Locals dub this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states a local guide, his exhalation creating clouds of mist in the crisp evening air. "Numerous visitors have gone missing here, some say it's an entrance to a different realm." Marius is guiding a visitor on a evening stroll through what is often described as the globe's spookiest grove: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of old-growth native woodland on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Accounts of unusual events here go back centuries – the forest is titled for a local shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, along with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu gained global recognition in 1968, when a defense worker called Emil Barnea photographed what he described as a unidentified flying object floating above a round opening in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and vanished without trace. But rest assured," he continues, addressing the visitor with a smirk. "Our tours have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yoga practitioners, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and ghost hunters from across the world, eager to feel the mysterious powers said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being one of the world's premier hotspots for supernatural fans, this woodland is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, known as the Silicon Valley of eastern Europe – are advancing, and real estate firms are advocating for permission to clear the trees to build apartment blocks.

Aside from a limited section containing locally rare Mediterranean oak trees, this woodland is lacking legal protection, but Marius is confident that the organization he helped establish – a dedicated preservation group – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the authorities to recognise the forest's value as a tourist attraction.

Eerie Encounters

As twigs and autumn leaves break and crackle beneath their boots, Marius tells numerous local legends and reported paranormal happenings here.

• A well-known account recounts a young child vanishing during a family picnic, then to return half a decade later with no memory of the events, having not aged a single day, her attire without the smallest trace of dirt.
• Frequent accounts explain smartphones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on entering the woods.
• Emotional responses include absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Some people state noticing strange rashes on their skin, hearing ghostly voices through the woodland, or experience hands grabbing them, even when convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

While many of the stories may be unverifiable, there are many things clearly observable that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are plants whose bases are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Multiple explanations have been given to account for the deformed trees: strong gales could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated electromagnetic fields in the soil account for their crooked growth.

But research studies have discovered no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

The expert's tours permit guests to take part in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the forest where Barnea took his well-known UFO images, he passes the visitor an electromagnetic field detector which measures energy patterns.

"We're stepping into the most energetic part of the forest," he states. "Discover what's here."

The plants immediately cease as the group enters into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and seems that this unusual opening is wild, not the creation of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

The broader region is a location which fuels fantasy, where the line is indistinct between truth and myth. In countryside villages faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering creatures, who emerge from tombs to haunt local communities.

The novelist's renowned vampire Count Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith located on a rocky outcrop in the Transylvanian Alps – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But even folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – feels real and understandable versus this spooky forest, which give the impression of being, for reasons related to radiation, atmospheric or simply folkloric, a nexus for fantasy projection.

"Inside these woods," the guide comments, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is extremely fine."