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"Locals dub this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states a local guide, his breath creating wisps of vapor in the cold evening air. "Numerous individuals have gone missing here, it's thought it's a portal to a different realm." This expert is leading a traveler on a evening stroll through what is often described as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of ancient indigenous forest on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Accounts of strange happenings here extend back centuries – this woodland is named after a area shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to international attention in 1968, when an army specialist called Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a flying saucer floating above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and vanished without trace. But don't worry," he adds, turning to the traveler with a grin. "Our excursions have a 100% return rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yogis, spiritual healers, ufologists and paranormal investigators from around the globe, interested in encountering the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being a top global hotspots for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, known as the innovation center of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and construction companies are pushing for approval to remove the forest to build apartment blocks.

Except for a limited section home to locally rare oak varieties, the forest is not officially protected, but the guide is confident that the company he was instrumental in creating – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will assist in altering this, motivating the government officials to acknowledge the forest's significance as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

As twigs and fall foliage snap and crunch beneath their footwear, Marius tells numerous local legends and reported ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story tells of a young child going missing during a family picnic, only to return after five years with complete amnesia of what had happened, having not aged a single day, her attire shy of the smallest trace of dirt.
• More common reports describe cellphones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on stepping into the forest.
• Reactions vary from full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors state seeing unusual marks on their bodies, detecting disembodied whispers through the forest, or sense hands grabbing them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Research Efforts

Although numerous of the accounts may be impossible to confirm, there is much before my eyes that is undeniably strange. Everywhere you look are trees whose trunks are bent and twisted into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been proposed to account for the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or naturally high radiation levels in the ground cause their strange formation.

But research studies have found insufficient proof.

The Legendary Opening

The guide's walks permit guests to engage in a small-scale research of their own. When nearing the opening in the trees where Barnea photographed his well-known UFO photographs, he hands the visitor an ghost-hunting device which detects EMF readings.

"We're entering the most energetic area of the forest," he comments. "Discover what's here."

The trees immediately cease as they step into a flawless round. The single plant life is the trimmed turf beneath our feet; it's clear that it hasn't been mown, and looks that this unusual opening is organic, not the result of human hands.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a place which inspires creativity, where the division is unclear between truth and myth. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, shapeshifting vampires, who return from burial sites to frighten local communities.

Bram Stoker's famous fictional vampire is forever associated with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith situated on a cliff edge in the Carpathian Mountains – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – appears solid and predictable in contrast to these eerie woods, which appear to be, for causes radioactive, environmental or entirely legendary, a center for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," the guide states, "the line between fact and fiction is extremely fine."