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"They call this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," remarks a local guide, the air from his lungs producing puffs of vapor in the chilly evening air. "Countless visitors have vanished here, some say there's a gateway to another dimension." This expert is leading a traveler on a night walk through what is often described as the globe's spookiest grove: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of ancient indigenous forest on the fringes of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Stories of bizarre occurrences here extend back centuries – the forest is titled for a area shepherd who is said to have vanished in the distant past, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu achieved global recognition in 1968, when a military technician named Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a unidentified flying object floating above a oval meadow in the heart of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and failed to return. But no need to fear," he states, addressing the traveler with a smile. "Our tours have a 100% return rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, shamans, ufologists and ghost hunters from worldwide, curious to experience the strange energies believed to resonate through the forest.

Current Risks

It may be one of the world's premier destinations for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, known as the innovation center of the region – are encroaching, and developers are advocating for permission to clear the trees to build apartment blocks.

Barring a small area home to area-specific oak varieties, this woodland is lacking legal protection, but Marius is confident that the company he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, encouraging the government officials to appreciate the forest's value as a visitor destination.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and seasonal debris break and crackle beneath their footwear, the guide describes various folk tales and alleged supernatural events here.

• A well-known account describes a young child disappearing during a family outing, then to rematerialise half a decade later with no memory of the events, showing no signs of aging a moment, her garments shy of the slightest speck of dust.
• More common reports describe smartphones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on stepping into the forest.
• Reactions include full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Some people report noticing unusual marks on their bodies, hearing disembodied whispers through the forest, or feel palms pushing them, even when sure they are alone.

Research Efforts

While many of the tales may be hard to prove, numerous elements before my eyes that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are trees whose stems are warped and gnarled into fantastical shapes.

Various suggestions have been suggested to explain the misshapen plants: that hurricane winds could have bent the saplings, or naturally high radiation levels in the soil account for their strange formation.

But scientific investigations have found inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

The guide's walks enable visitors to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the clearing in the trees where Barnea photographed his famous UFO pictures, he gives the traveler an electromagnetic field detector which detects energy patterns.

"We're venturing into the most energetic area of the forest," he says. "Discover what's here."

The plants suddenly stop dead as the group enters into a complete ring. The sole vegetation is the low vegetation beneath our feet; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and appears that this bizarre meadow is organic, not the result of people.

The Blurred Line

This part of Romania is a location which stirs the imagination, where the border is blurred between reality and legend. In countryside villages faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who rise from their graves to haunt nearby villages.

The famous author's famous fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure situated on a stone formation in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But despite legend-filled Transylvania – literally, "the place beyond the forest" – appears solid and predictable in contrast to the haunted grove, which seem to be, for reasons nuclear, atmospheric or purely mythical, a nexus for fantasy projection.

"Inside these woods," Marius comments, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is very thin."