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"People refer to this location the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, his breath creating clouds of vapor in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "So many individuals have gone missing here, it's thought it's a portal to another dimension." This expert is guiding a guest on a evening stroll through commonly known as the globe's spookiest grove: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval indigenous forest on the outskirts of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of bizarre occurrences here date back centuries – the forest is titled for a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, along with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu gained worldwide fame in 1968, when a military technician called Emil Barnea photographed what he reported as a unidentified flying object floating above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and never came out. But no need to fear," he adds, turning to the visitor with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a flawless completion rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has attracted meditation experts, traditional medicine people, ufologists and supernatural researchers from across the world, eager to feel the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Current Risks

It may be one of the world's premier destinations for supernatural fans, the grove is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, described as the tech capital of the region – are encroaching, and developers are advocating for permission to cut down the woods to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a small area containing area-specific oak varieties, this woodland is without conservation status, but the guide hopes that the company he helped establish – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, encouraging the government officials to recognise the forest's value as a tourist attraction.

Eerie Encounters

While branches and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their footwear, Marius describes some of the traditional stories and claimed supernatural events here.

• One famous story describes a five-year-old girl vanishing during a group gathering, later to return five years later with no memory of what had happened, having not aged a single day, her clothes without the tiniest bit of dirt.
• Regular stories explain mobile phones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses vary from absolute fear to moments of euphoria.
• Certain individuals state noticing strange rashes on their bodies, hearing unseen murmurs through the forest, or experience palms pushing them, even when convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

Despite several of the stories may be impossible to confirm, there are many things before my eyes that is certainly unusual. Everywhere you look are plants whose bases are warped and gnarled into unusual forms.

Various suggestions have been given to account for the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the ground cause their unusual development.

But research studies have turned up inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

The guide's tours allow participants to engage in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the meadow in the forest where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO pictures, he gives his guest an ghost-hunting device which detects electromagnetic fields.

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

The plants abruptly end as the group enters into a flawless round. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's clear that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the creation of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

This part of Romania is a location which fuels fantasy, where the division is unclear between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, appearance-altering vampires, who emerge from tombs to frighten nearby villages.

The novelist's well-known fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith situated on a stone formation in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But including folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the place beyond the forest" – seems tangible and comprehensible versus these eerie woods, which give the impression of being, for causes nuclear, climatic or simply folkloric, a hub for creative energy.

"Within this forest," Marius states, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is remarkably blurred."