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"Locals dub this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," explains a tour guide, his breath producing clouds of mist in the chilly night air. "Numerous people have disappeared here, some say it's an entrance to another dimension." This expert is escorting a visitor on a evening stroll through commonly known as the world's most haunted forest: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of ancient native woodland on the edges of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of unusual events here go back centuries – this woodland is titled for a regional herder who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, accompanied by his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to global recognition in 1968, when a military technician named Emil Barnea photographed what he described as a flying saucer floating above a oval meadow in the heart of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and vanished without trace. But rest assured," he adds, turning to the visitor with a smile. "Our excursions have a perfect safety record."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, shamans, ufologists and paranormal investigators from around the globe, eager to feel the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Current Risks

Although it is a top global pilgrimage sites for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of a population exceeding 400,000, called the innovation center of the region – are expanding, and construction companies are pushing for approval to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a small area containing area-specific specific tree species, the grove is not officially protected, but the guide hopes that the organization he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, persuading the authorities to appreciate the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and fall foliage snap and crunch beneath their footwear, the guide tells various local legends and reported ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story describes a five-year-old girl disappearing during a family outing, then to reappear five years later with no recollection of the events, without aging a moment, her clothes lacking the tiniest bit of dirt.
• Frequent accounts detail smartphones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on entering the woods.
• Feelings vary from complete terror to feelings of joy.
• Various visitors claim observing unusual marks on their bodies, detecting unseen murmurs through the forest, or experience palms pushing them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

Despite several of the stories may be hard to prove, there is much clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are plants whose bases are warped and gnarled into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been suggested to clarify the deformed trees: strong gales could have shaped the young trees, or naturally high radioactivity in the soil cause their crooked growth.

But formal examinations have turned up inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's tours allow participants to participate in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the woods where Barnea captured his well-known UFO images, he gives his guest an ghost-hunting device which registers energy patterns.

"We're entering the most active section of the forest," he says. "See what you can find."

The trees suddenly stop dead as they step into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the trimmed turf beneath their shoes; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and looks that this strange clearing is organic, not the creation of human hands.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a location which inspires creativity, where the border is unclear between reality and legend. In countryside villages superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, appearance-altering creatures, who rise from their graves to haunt regional populations.

Bram Stoker's renowned character Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure located on a rocky outcrop in the Transylvanian Alps – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But even folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the place beyond the forest" – appears solid and predictable compared to these eerie woods, which appear to be, for factors radioactive, climatic or entirely legendary, a hub for creative energy.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius states, "the boundary between fact and fiction is extremely fine."