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"They call this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," remarks an experienced guide, his breath creating wisps of condensation in the crisp night air. "Numerous people have gone missing here, it's thought it's a portal to a different realm." This expert is leading a traveler on a nocturnal tour through what is often described as the world's most haunted forest: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of primeval indigenous forest on the fringes of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of strange happenings here extend back hundreds of years – the grove is called after a regional herder who is said to have vanished in the long ago, together with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to global recognition in 1968, when a defense worker called Emil Barnea photographed what he claimed was a unidentified flying object hovering above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and vanished without trace. But don't worry," he states, facing the visitor with a grin. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn meditation experts, shamans, ufologists and ghost hunters from around the globe, interested in encountering the strange energies said to echo through the forest.

Current Risks

Despite being a top global destinations for lovers of the paranormal, the forest is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, described as the Silicon Valley of the region – are expanding, and real estate firms are advocating for authorization to remove the forest to erect housing complexes.

Barring a few hectares housing regionally uncommon Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is lacking legal protection, but Marius believes that the initiative he was instrumental in creating – a local conservation effort – will help to change that, persuading the local administrators to appreciate the forest's value as a travel hotspot.

Chilling Events

When small sticks and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their shoes, Marius tells some of the traditional stories and reported paranormal happenings here.

• One famous story tells of a five-year-old girl vanishing during a group gathering, only to return after five years with complete amnesia of her experience, showing no signs of aging a moment, her clothes lacking the smallest trace of dirt.
• Frequent accounts explain smartphones and camera equipment unexpectedly failing on entering the woods.
• Emotional responses vary from full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Certain individuals report seeing bizarre skin irritations on their skin, detecting ghostly voices through the trees, or experience palms pushing them, although certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

Although numerous of the tales may be hard to prove, there is much clearly observable that is undeniably strange. All around are trees whose stems are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes.

Multiple explanations have been given to clarify the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the ground cause their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have discovered insufficient proof.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's tours permit visitors to participate in a small-scale research of their own. As we approach the clearing in the trees where Barnea took his well-known UFO pictures, he passes the traveler an ghost-hunting device which detects EMF readings.

"We're venturing into the most energetic area of the forest," he states. "Discover what's here."

The trees immediately cease as the group enters into a flawless round. The single plant life is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's obvious that it's not maintained, and seems that this bizarre meadow is organic, not the creation of human hands.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a place which stirs the imagination, where the division is unclear between fact and folklore. In traditional settlements belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, form-changing bloodsuckers, who emerge from tombs to terrorise regional populations.

Bram Stoker's well-known vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a medieval building perched on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But even myth-shrouded Transylvania – literally, "the place beyond the forest" – feels solid and predictable compared to the haunted grove, which appear to be, for factors nuclear, environmental or entirely legendary, a center for fantasy projection.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide comments, "the division between reality and imagination is extremely fine."