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"Locals dub this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states a local guide, his breath creating clouds of vapor in the crisp night air. "Numerous people have gone missing here, some say it's an entrance to a different realm." The guide is leading a visitor on a evening stroll through commonly known as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of ancient native woodland on the edges of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of bizarre occurrences here extend back centuries – this woodland is called after a area shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, along with his entire flock. 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 floating above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and failed to return. But don't worry," he states, turning to his guest with a grin. "Our tours have a flawless completion rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yoga practitioners, spiritual healers, extraterrestrial investigators and supernatural researchers from across the world, curious to experience the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is among the planet's leading pilgrimage sites for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is at risk. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, described as the Silicon Valley of eastern Europe – are expanding, and developers are campaigning for authorization to remove the forest to build apartment blocks.

Except for a few hectares home to area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, the forest is lacking legal protection, but Marius believes that the organization he co-founded – a local conservation effort – will help to change that, motivating the local administrators to recognise the forest's value as a travel hotspot.

Chilling Events

As twigs and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their boots, Marius tells various folk tales and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale describes a five-year-old girl disappearing during a family picnic, then to return half a decade later with no recollection of what had happened, showing no signs of aging a day, her clothes shy of the smallest trace of dirt.
• More common reports describe smartphones and photography gear mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses include complete terror to feelings of joy.
• Various visitors report observing unusual marks on their arms, hearing ghostly voices through the woodland, or experience fingers clutching them, despite being convinced they're by themselves.

Scientific Investigations

Despite several of the tales may be impossible to confirm, numerous elements clearly observable that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are trees whose trunks are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Various suggestions have been given to clarify the deformed trees: that hurricane winds could have altered the growth, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the ground cause their strange formation.

But research studies have discovered insufficient proof.

The Famous Clearing

Marius's excursions enable guests to participate in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the forest where Barnea took his famous UFO pictures, he passes the traveler an EMF meter which measures electromagnetic fields.

"We're stepping into the most active part of the forest," he comments. "Discover what's here."

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as we emerge into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath the ground; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this unusual opening is organic, not the result of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

Transylvania generally is a location which fuels fantasy, where the border is blurred between fact and folklore. In countryside villages superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting creatures, who emerge from tombs to terrorise regional populations.

The famous author's famous vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith located on a stone formation in the Transylvanian Alps – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the place beyond the forest" – appears tangible and comprehensible in contrast to the haunted grove, which seem to be, for causes radioactive, atmospheric or entirely legendary, a center for creative energy.

"Within this forest," the guide says, "the line between reality and imagination is remarkably blurred."