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"They call this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," explains a tour guide, the air from his lungs producing wisps of vapor in the crisp night air. "Countless people have disappeared here, it's thought it's a portal to a different realm." Marius is escorting a visitor on a evening stroll through commonly known as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval native woodland on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Accounts of bizarre occurrences here extend back a long time – the grove is titled for a area shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea took a picture of what he described as a unidentified flying object floating above a round opening in the centre of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But don't worry," he states, turning to his guest with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a flawless completion rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, extraterrestrial investigators and supernatural researchers from across the world, interested in encountering the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is a top global pilgrimage sites for lovers of the paranormal, the forest is under threat. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of more than 400,000 people, described as the tech capital of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and construction companies are advocating for authorization to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Barring a limited section home to regionally uncommon Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is not officially protected, but Marius is confident that the initiative he helped establish – a dedicated preservation group – will contribute to improving the situation, encouraging the local administrators to appreciate the forest's value as a travel hotspot.

Chilling Events

While branches and fall foliage split and rustle beneath their shoes, the guide describes various traditional stories and reported supernatural events here.

• One famous story recounts a young child going missing during a group gathering, then to rematerialise after five years with complete amnesia of what had happened, without aging a day, her clothes shy of the slightest speck of soil.
• Regular stories describe mobile phones and imaging devices unexpectedly failing on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses range from full-blown dread to feelings of joy.
• Some people report noticing strange rashes on their skin, perceiving unseen murmurs through the forest, or experience hands grabbing them, although sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

Although numerous of the stories may be unverifiable, there is much visibly present that is definitely bizarre. All around are vegetation whose trunks are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been suggested to explain the abnormal growth: strong gales could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the ground account for their unusual development.

But research studies have discovered no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

The expert's walks allow guests to take part in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the woods where Barnea captured his famous UFO images, he hands his guest an EMF meter which measures energy patterns.

"We're entering the most powerful part of the forest," he comments. "Try to detect something."

The plants abruptly end as we emerge into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath the ground; it's obvious that it hasn't been mown, and appears that this bizarre meadow is organic, not the work of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

This part of Romania is a area which stirs the imagination, where the division is unclear between truth and myth. In countryside villages superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering creatures, who emerge from tombs to haunt local communities.

The famous author's renowned fictional vampire is forever associated with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith located on a stone formation in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But even legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – appears tangible and comprehensible in contrast to the haunted grove, which seem to be, for factors related to radiation, climatic or purely mythical, a hub for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," the guide comments, "the boundary between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."