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"Locals dub this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, his exhalation producing puffs of vapor in the cold night air. "Numerous individuals have vanished here, some say it's a portal to a parallel world." This expert is leading a guest on a night walk through commonly known as the planet's most ghostly grove: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of ancient native woodland on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of strange happenings here extend back a long time – the forest is called after a regional herder who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained global recognition in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea photographed what he described as a unidentified flying object hovering above a circular clearing in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But rest assured," he adds, addressing the visitor with a grin. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn meditation experts, spiritual healers, extraterrestrial investigators and supernatural researchers from worldwide, interested in encountering the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is among the planet's leading destinations for paranormal enthusiasts, the forest is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, known as the tech capital of eastern Europe – are advancing, and real estate firms are advocating for permission to remove the forest to construct residential buildings.

Barring a limited section housing regionally uncommon oak varieties, the forest is lacking legal protection, but the guide hopes that the initiative he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the authorities to appreciate the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Eerie Encounters

As twigs and fall foliage split and rustle beneath their boots, the guide tells various folk tales and reported paranormal happenings here.

• One famous story recounts a little girl vanishing during a family outing, then to rematerialise five years later with complete amnesia of her experience, showing no signs of aging a single day, her garments shy of the slightest speck of dust.
• Regular stories explain smartphones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses range from absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors claim noticing unusual marks on their skin, perceiving disembodied whispers through the forest, or feel hands grabbing them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

While many of the stories may be unverifiable, there are many things before my eyes that is certainly unusual. Everywhere you look are trees whose bases are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been proposed to clarify the abnormal growth: strong gales could have altered the growth, or naturally high radioactivity in the earth cause their crooked growth.

But research studies have turned up inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

The guide's walks permit participants to participate in a small-scale research of their own. As we approach the clearing in the woods where Barnea took his well-known UFO images, he passes the traveler an EMF meter which measures electromagnetic fields.

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

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as they step into a flawless round. The single plant life is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this strange clearing is wild, not the work of human hands.

Fact Versus Fiction

Transylvania generally is a place which stirs the imagination, where the division is indistinct between truth and myth. In countryside villages faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting creatures, who emerge from tombs to haunt regional populations.

Bram Stoker's famous vampire Count Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure perched on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But including folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – seems tangible and comprehensible versus the haunted grove, which give the impression of being, for factors nuclear, climatic or purely mythical, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide states, "the boundary between reality and imagination is very thin."