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"Locals dub this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states a local guide, the air from his lungs producing wisps of mist in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "So many individuals have disappeared here, some say it's a portal to another dimension." This expert is escorting a traveler on a night walk through frequently labeled as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of ancient indigenous forest on the fringes of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Reports of strange happenings here date back centuries – the forest is named after a regional herder who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, along with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when a defense worker called Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a flying saucer floating above a circular clearing in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But no need to fear," he adds, turning to the traveler with a grin. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, shamans, ufologists and ghost hunters from worldwide, curious to experience the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is among the planet's leading hotspots for supernatural fans, this woodland is under threat. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, known as the innovation center of eastern Europe – are expanding, and construction companies are campaigning for approval to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a few hectares home to regionally uncommon Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is not officially protected, but Marius hopes that the initiative he helped establish – a dedicated preservation group – will help to change that, persuading the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

As twigs and autumn leaves break and crackle beneath their boots, the guide tells some of the traditional stories and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale tells of a little girl going missing during a family picnic, later to return five years later with no recollection of what had happened, having not aged a moment, her clothes without the slightest speck of soil.
• Frequent accounts describe mobile phones and camera equipment unexpectedly failing on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings range from full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Certain individuals claim observing unusual marks on their bodies, hearing disembodied whispers through the trees, or feel palms pushing them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

While many of the stories may be unverifiable, there are many things before my eyes that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are vegetation whose bases are warped and gnarled into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been suggested to account for the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or inherently elevated electromagnetic fields in the earth explain their strange formation.

But scientific investigations have discovered inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's excursions allow visitors to take part in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the opening in the woods where Barnea captured his well-known UFO photographs, he hands the traveler an EMF meter which registers EMF readings.

"We're entering the most powerful section of the forest," he comments. "Try to detect something."

The plants suddenly stop dead as the group enters into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the low vegetation beneath their shoes; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this strange clearing is natural, not the work of human hands.

The Blurred Line

This part of Romania is a location which inspires creativity, where the division is blurred between reality and legend. In countryside villages faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, shapeshifting vampires, who emerge from tombs to frighten nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's famous vampire Count Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a medieval building situated on a rocky outcrop in the Carpathian Mountains – is heavily promoted as "Dracula's Castle".

But including myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the land past the woods" – seems real and understandable versus this spooky forest, which seem to be, for reasons related to radiation, climatic or purely mythical, a nexus for creative energy.

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