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"They call this location the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," explains a tour guide, the air from his lungs forming wisps of condensation in the chilly night air. "So many visitors have disappeared here, it's thought there's a gateway to a different realm." Marius is leading a guest on a night walk through commonly known as the planet's most ghostly grove: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of primeval native woodland on the fringes of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Accounts of strange happenings here go back a long time – the grove is named after a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when a defense worker named Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a UFO suspended above a round opening in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But no need to fear," he continues, turning to the visitor with a grin. "Our tours have a 100% return rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and ghost hunters from around the globe, curious to experience the mysterious powers reported to reverberate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be one of the world's premier destinations for supernatural fans, the grove is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of a population exceeding 400,000, called the Silicon Valley of the region – are advancing, and real estate firms are campaigning for authorization to cut down the woods to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a limited section containing locally rare Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is not officially protected, but the guide believes that the organization he was instrumental in creating – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will assist in altering this, motivating the authorities to acknowledge the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

As twigs and fall foliage split and rustle beneath their shoes, the guide describes various local legends and reported supernatural events here.

• A popular tale describes a young child vanishing during a family picnic, then to reappear five years later with no recollection of her experience, without aging a day, her garments shy of the tiniest bit of dirt.
• Regular stories explain smartphones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings vary from absolute fear to moments of euphoria.
• Certain individuals report noticing strange rashes on their bodies, detecting disembodied whispers through the forest, or experience fingers clutching them, even when sure they are alone.

Research Efforts

While many of the accounts may be impossible to confirm, there are many things clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. All around are plants whose bases are bent and twisted into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been proposed to clarify the deformed trees: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or typically increased radiation levels in the soil account for their strange formation.

But research studies have discovered insufficient proof.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's walks enable participants to take part in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the forest where Barnea took his famous UFO pictures, he gives the traveler an ghost-hunting device which measures electromagnetic fields.

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

The vegetation abruptly end as they step into a complete ring. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath their shoes; it's clear that it's not maintained, and appears that this bizarre meadow is organic, not the creation of landscaping.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a location which fuels fantasy, where the border is blurred between reality and legend. In traditional settlements belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who emerge from tombs to terrorise local communities.

The famous author's well-known vampire Count Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a medieval building perched on a cliff edge in the Transylvanian Alps – is keenly marketed as "the count's residence".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – literally, "the place beyond the forest" – appears real and understandable compared to this spooky forest, which seem to be, for causes radioactive, environmental or entirely legendary, a center for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," the guide states, "the line between truth and fantasy is remarkably blurred."