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"They call this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," explains a tour guide, his breath forming puffs of vapor in the cold dusk atmosphere. "Numerous individuals have gone missing here, it's thought it's an entrance to a parallel world." Marius is leading a visitor on a evening stroll through commonly known as the planet's most ghostly grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of primeval native woodland on the outskirts of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Reports of bizarre occurrences here extend back centuries – this woodland is called after a regional herder who is said to have vanished in the distant past, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when a defense worker called Emil Barnea photographed what he described as a flying saucer floating above a circular clearing in the centre of the forest.

Many came in here and failed to return. But don't worry," he states, turning to the visitor with a smile. "Our tours have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted meditation experts, traditional medicine people, extraterrestrial investigators and paranormal investigators from worldwide, curious to experience the strange energies reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being one of the world's premier destinations for supernatural fans, this woodland is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of more than 400,000 people, called the innovation center of eastern Europe – are expanding, and developers are pushing for approval to cut down the woods to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a limited section containing area-specific specific tree species, this woodland is lacking legal protection, but Marius hopes that the organization he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will help to change that, persuading the authorities to appreciate the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Chilling Events

When small sticks and fall foliage split and rustle beneath their shoes, the guide recounts numerous local legends and claimed ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story recounts a little girl going missing during a group gathering, only to reappear five years later with complete amnesia of the events, having not aged a moment, her garments shy of the smallest trace of soil.
• Frequent accounts describe cellphones and imaging devices inexplicably shutting down on entering the woods.
• Emotional responses vary from complete terror to states of ecstasy.
• Some people report observing strange rashes on their arms, detecting ghostly voices through the trees, or feel hands grabbing them, although sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

While many of the accounts may be unverifiable, there is much visibly present that is certainly unusual. All around are trees whose trunks are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Different theories have been suggested to explain the misshapen plants: strong gales could have shaped the young trees, or inherently elevated electromagnetic fields in the ground account for their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have discovered no satisfactory evidence.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's walks allow guests to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the clearing in the forest where Barnea took his well-known UFO pictures, he hands the visitor an EMF meter which registers electromagnetic fields.

"We're stepping into the most energetic part of the forest," he states. "Try to detect something."

The vegetation abruptly end as we emerge into a complete ring. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath our feet; it's obvious that it hasn't been mown, and looks that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the result of landscaping.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a place which stirs the imagination, where the line is indistinct between fact and folklore. In traditional settlements belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, shapeshifting bloodsuckers, who emerge from tombs to haunt local communities.

The famous author's well-known fictional vampire is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith located on a stone formation in the Transylvanian Alps – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But including myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the territory after the grove" – appears real and understandable compared to the haunted grove, which give the impression of being, for reasons nuclear, atmospheric or simply folkloric, a center for human imaginative power.

"Inside these woods," the guide states, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is extremely fine."