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"People refer to this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," explains a local guide, the air from his lungs creating wisps of condensation in the chilly evening air. "Numerous individuals have gone missing here, many believe it's a portal to a different realm." This expert is escorting a visitor on a evening stroll through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of primeval local woods on the fringes of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of bizarre occurrences here date back centuries – the grove is called after a local shepherd who is said to have vanished in the distant past, together with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu achieved worldwide fame in 1968, when a defense worker called Emil Barnea took a picture of what he claimed was a flying saucer suspended above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and failed to return. But no need to fear," he continues, facing the visitor with a smile. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and ghost hunters from around the globe, interested in encountering the strange energies reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is a top global pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is facing danger. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of more than 400,000 people, described as the tech capital of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and construction companies are campaigning for authorization to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a few hectares housing area-specific specific tree species, the forest is without conservation status, but Marius believes that the organization he was instrumental in creating – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will help to change that, motivating the government officials to appreciate the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Chilling Events

When small sticks and seasonal debris break and crackle beneath their footwear, the guide tells some of the folk tales and claimed ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale recounts a little girl disappearing during a family picnic, later to reappear five years later with no recollection of her experience, showing no signs of aging a moment, her garments shy of the tiniest bit of soil.
• More common reports describe mobile phones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses vary from complete terror to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors report observing bizarre skin irritations on their bodies, hearing disembodied whispers through the trees, or experience hands grabbing them, despite being sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

Although numerous of the accounts may be impossible to confirm, there is much visibly present that is definitely bizarre. Everywhere you look are trees whose trunks are warped and gnarled into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been suggested to account for the abnormal growth: that hurricane winds could have bent the saplings, or naturally high radioactivity in the soil cause their crooked growth.

But research studies have turned up insufficient proof.

The Famous Clearing

Marius's walks enable visitors to engage in a small-scale research of their own. As we approach the opening in the forest where Barnea photographed his famous UFO images, he hands the traveler an EMF meter which registers electromagnetic fields.

"We're entering the most energetic section of the forest," he comments. "Discover what's here."

The plants suddenly stop dead as the group enters into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath their shoes; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and looks that this strange clearing is organic, not the work of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

The broader region is a place which fuels fantasy, where the division is indistinct between fact and folklore. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, appearance-altering vampires, who emerge from tombs to haunt local communities.

Bram Stoker's well-known fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith located on a stone formation in the Transylvanian Alps – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – seems real and understandable compared to these eerie woods, which seem to be, for reasons radioactive, climatic or purely mythical, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide comments, "the line between truth and fantasy is extremely fine."