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"They call this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," explains an experienced guide, his exhalation creating puffs of mist in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "So many individuals have vanished here, some say it's an entrance to another dimension." This expert is leading a traveler on a evening stroll through frequently labeled as the globe's spookiest forest: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of old-growth local woods on the outskirts of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Reports of unusual events here extend back centuries – the forest is named after a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, accompanied by two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu achieved global recognition in 1968, when a military technician known as Emil Barnea photographed what he reported as a UFO suspended above a oval meadow in the heart of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and failed to return. But no need to fear," he adds, facing the traveler with a grin. "Our excursions have a perfect safety record."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, ufologists and paranormal investigators from worldwide, curious to experience the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Current Risks

It may be a top global destinations for lovers of the paranormal, the forest is at risk. The western districts 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 permission to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Except for a few hectares housing regionally uncommon specific tree species, the forest is lacking legal protection, but the guide is confident that the company he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, persuading the local administrators to appreciate the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and fall foliage snap and crunch beneath their shoes, the guide recounts various local legends and alleged paranormal happenings here.

• One famous story recounts a young child vanishing during a family outing, only to reappear half a decade later with no memory of what had happened, having not aged a single day, her clothes without the tiniest bit of dust.
• Frequent accounts detail mobile phones and camera equipment mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Feelings vary from full-blown dread to feelings of joy.
• Certain individuals claim noticing unusual marks on their arms, perceiving disembodied whispers through the trees, or feel fingers clutching them, although sure they are alone.

Research Efforts

Despite several of the stories may be hard to prove, there is much visibly present that is definitely bizarre. All around are plants whose stems are warped and gnarled into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been suggested to explain the deformed trees: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or inherently elevated radioactivity in the ground cause their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have turned up inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's tours permit visitors to engage in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the trees where Barnea took his well-known UFO photographs, he gives the traveler an EMF meter which detects electromagnetic fields.

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

The vegetation immediately cease as we emerge into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this unusual opening is wild, not the creation of human hands.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a place which inspires creativity, where the border is unclear between fact and folklore. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering vampires, who return from burial sites to haunt local communities.

Bram Stoker's renowned vampire Count Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith located on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But including myth-shrouded Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – feels solid and predictable compared to the haunted grove, which give the impression of being, for reasons nuclear, climatic or entirely legendary, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius comments, "the division between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."