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"Locals dub this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, his breath producing puffs of mist in the cold dusk atmosphere. "So many visitors have vanished here, many believe it's a portal to a parallel world." This expert is escorting a visitor on a evening stroll through what is often described as the world's most haunted forest: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient local woods on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Reports of strange happenings here date back centuries – the forest is called after a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, together with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu achieved worldwide fame in 1968, when a military technician known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a unidentified flying object hovering above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But don't worry," he continues, facing the traveler with a smirk. "Our tours have a perfect safety record."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yoga practitioners, spiritual healers, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from across the world, interested in encountering the mysterious powers said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being one of the world's premier pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is under threat. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, described as the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe – are encroaching, and construction companies are advocating for authorization to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Except for a limited section housing locally rare oak varieties, the forest is not officially protected, but Marius believes that the initiative he was instrumental in creating – a local conservation effort – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the government officials to recognise the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Chilling Events

As twigs and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their footwear, the guide recounts various folk tales and reported ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story recounts a little girl disappearing during a family picnic, only to return five years later with complete amnesia of the events, without aging a single day, her garments shy of the tiniest bit of dust.
• More common reports explain cellphones and photography gear mysteriously turning off on entering the woods.
• Feelings vary from absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Some people claim noticing bizarre skin irritations on their skin, hearing unseen murmurs through the trees, or feel palms pushing them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the tales may be unverifiable, there are many things clearly observable that is undeniably strange. Everywhere you look are vegetation whose bases are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Various suggestions have been proposed to clarify the misshapen plants: that hurricane winds could have altered the growth, or naturally high radioactivity in the ground account for their strange formation.

But scientific investigations have turned up insufficient proof.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's excursions enable participants to engage in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the trees where Barnea captured his well-known UFO photographs, he passes his guest an ghost-hunting device which measures EMF readings.

"We're stepping into the most powerful section of the forest," he says. "Discover what's here."

The trees immediately cease as the group enters into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the short grass beneath the ground; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and looks that this strange clearing is wild, not the creation of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a area which stirs the imagination, where the line is blurred between reality and legend. In traditional settlements belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing creatures, who rise from their graves to terrorise nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's famous character Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – an ancient structure situated on a cliff edge in the Carpathian Mountains – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But despite legend-filled Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – seems real and understandable versus these eerie woods, which seem to be, for factors related to radiation, environmental or entirely legendary, a hub for human imaginative power.

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