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"People refer to this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," explains a tour guide, his breath creating wisps of vapor in the chilly evening air. "Countless individuals have disappeared here, many believe it's a portal to another dimension." Marius is escorting a guest on a evening stroll through frequently labeled as the globe's spookiest forest: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of primeval indigenous forest on the edges of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of strange happenings here extend back a long time – this woodland is named after a local shepherd who is said to have vanished in the distant past, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained worldwide fame in 1968, when a military technician known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a flying saucer floating above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But rest assured," he states, turning to the traveler with a smirk. "Our excursions have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, traditional medicine people, extraterrestrial investigators and paranormal investigators from around the globe, curious to experience the strange energies reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is one of the world's premier destinations for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of more than 400,000 people, known as the innovation center of Eastern Europe – are expanding, and developers are pushing for authorization to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a small area containing regionally uncommon oak varieties, this woodland is not officially protected, but the guide is confident that the organization he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, encouraging the authorities to recognise the forest's value as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

As twigs and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their shoes, the guide tells various traditional stories and reported ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale tells of a young child going missing during a group gathering, later to reappear five years later with no recollection of what had happened, without aging a single day, her garments without the smallest trace of dirt.
• More common reports explain cellphones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on entering the woods.
• Reactions include absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors report seeing bizarre skin irritations on their bodies, hearing ghostly voices through the trees, or experience hands grabbing them, although sure they are alone.

Research Efforts

Although numerous of the tales may be impossible to confirm, there are many things visibly present that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are trees whose trunks are curved and contorted into fantastical shapes.

Various suggestions have been suggested to explain the misshapen plants: strong gales could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated electromagnetic fields in the ground cause their unusual development.

But scientific investigations have found insufficient proof.

The Famous Clearing

Marius's walks permit visitors to engage in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the clearing in the trees where Barnea took his renowned UFO pictures, he gives his guest an EMF meter which measures electromagnetic fields.

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

The trees suddenly stop dead as we emerge into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the trimmed turf beneath their shoes; it's apparent that it hasn't been mown, and seems that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the creation of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a place which fuels fantasy, where the border is indistinct between truth and myth. In traditional settlements faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting vampires, who emerge from tombs to haunt nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's well-known character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a Saxon monolith situated on a stone formation in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the territory after the grove" – appears solid and predictable compared to the haunted grove, which seem to be, for reasons related to radiation, climatic or entirely legendary, a center for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide comments, "the division between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."