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"Locals dub this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," explains a tour guide, his exhalation forming wisps of mist in the cold night air. "So many visitors have vanished here, many believe there's a gateway to another dimension." Marius is escorting a guest on a nocturnal tour through commonly known as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of old-growth native woodland on the fringes of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of strange happenings here extend back centuries – the grove is titled for a area shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved worldwide fame in 1968, when a defense worker called Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a UFO floating above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and failed to return. But no need to fear," he states, turning to the traveler with a smile. "Our excursions have a perfect safety record."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, UFO researchers and ghost hunters from worldwide, curious to experience the strange energies reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being one of the world's premier hotspots for supernatural fans, this woodland is facing danger. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, described as the tech capital of the region – are expanding, and developers are advocating for permission to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Except for a few hectares home to regionally uncommon specific tree species, the forest is without conservation status, but Marius hopes that the initiative he helped establish – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the authorities to recognise the forest's value as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and seasonal debris snap and crunch beneath their boots, the guide recounts some of the folk tales and claimed ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story tells of a little girl disappearing during a family picnic, later to reappear half a decade later with no recollection of the events, showing no signs of aging a moment, her garments shy of the slightest speck of dirt.
• Regular stories describe mobile phones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses include full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Certain individuals claim observing unusual marks on their bodies, perceiving ghostly voices through the forest, or experience fingers clutching them, despite being sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

Despite several of the stories may be hard to prove, there are many things before my eyes that is certainly unusual. Everywhere you look are trees whose stems are bent and twisted into unusual forms.

Different theories have been proposed to explain the deformed trees: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the earth account for their crooked growth.

But research studies have discovered inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

Marius's excursions enable visitors to take part in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the woods where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO photographs, he gives his guest an electromagnetic field detector which measures electromagnetic fields.

"We're entering the most active area 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 low vegetation beneath our feet; it's apparent that it hasn't been mown, and appears that this unusual opening is organic, not the creation of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a area which inspires creativity, where the line is blurred between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, shapeshifting creatures, who emerge from tombs to haunt local communities.

Bram Stoker's famous vampire Count Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a Saxon monolith located on a stone formation in the Carpathian Mountains – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But even folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the place beyond the forest" – seems solid and predictable versus the haunted grove, which give the impression of being, for causes radioactive, atmospheric or simply folkloric, a hub for creative energy.

"Within this forest," the guide says, "the division between truth and fantasy is remarkably blurred."