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"Locals dub this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," explains a local guide, the air from his lungs creating puffs of vapor in the crisp evening air. "Countless individuals have gone missing here, many believe there's a gateway to a parallel world." Marius is guiding a guest on a evening stroll through what is often described as the globe's spookiest grove: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of old-growth indigenous forest on the edges of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of strange happenings here extend back centuries – this woodland is named after a area shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu gained worldwide fame in 1968, when a defense worker named Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a flying saucer suspended above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and vanished without trace. But don't worry," he adds, addressing his guest with a grin. "Our guided walks have a flawless completion rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yogis, spiritual healers, extraterrestrial investigators and ghost hunters from around the globe, curious to experience the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be among the planet's leading pilgrimage sites for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is facing danger. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of over 400,000 residents, called the tech capital of the region – are encroaching, and construction companies are campaigning for authorization to cut down the woods to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a small area housing regionally uncommon specific tree species, this woodland is without conservation status, but Marius hopes that the initiative he helped establish – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

When small sticks and autumn leaves snap and crunch beneath their shoes, Marius recounts some of the local legends and claimed supernatural events here.

• One famous story describes a five-year-old girl disappearing during a family outing, later to reappear five years later with complete amnesia of what had happened, having not aged a single day, her attire shy of the smallest trace of dirt.
• Frequent accounts explain cellphones and camera equipment unexpectedly failing on venturing inside.
• Feelings include absolute fear to moments of euphoria.
• Certain individuals claim observing strange rashes on their arms, hearing unseen murmurs through the woodland, or experience fingers clutching them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the accounts may be hard to prove, there is much before my eyes that is certainly unusual. All around are vegetation whose bases are curved and contorted into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been suggested to account for the misshapen plants: that hurricane winds could have shaped the young trees, or naturally high radioactivity in the soil account for their strange formation.

But research studies have found inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

The expert's tours allow participants to take part in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the woods where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO pictures, he passes the traveler an ghost-hunting device which registers energy patterns.

"We're venturing into the most powerful section of the forest," he says. "See what you can find."

The vegetation abruptly end as we emerge into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's obvious that it's not maintained, and looks that this strange clearing is natural, not the work of landscaping.

Fact Versus Fiction

Transylvania generally is a location which inspires creativity, where the border is blurred between fact and folklore. In countryside villages faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing vampires, who return from burial sites to frighten nearby villages.

The famous author's renowned fictional vampire is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure perched on a stone formation in the mountain range – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But despite legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – seems real and understandable versus the haunted grove, which appear to be, for causes related to radiation, climatic or simply folkloric, a nexus for fantasy projection.

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