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"People refer to this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, the air from his lungs creating wisps of vapor in the cold night air. "Numerous people have gone missing here, many believe it's a portal to a different realm." The guide is guiding a guest on a night walk through what is often described as the globe's spookiest forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of primeval native woodland on the fringes of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Reports of strange happenings here extend back hundreds of years – the forest is titled for a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the far-off times, together with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu achieved global recognition in 1968, when a defense worker named Emil Barnea photographed what he described as a unidentified flying object suspended above a oval meadow in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and failed to return. But no need to fear," he continues, turning to his guest with a smirk. "Our tours have a flawless completion rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, shamans, UFO researchers and ghost hunters from across the world, interested in encountering the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being a top global pilgrimage sites for supernatural fans, the forest is facing danger. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, called the innovation center of Eastern Europe – are expanding, and construction companies are pushing for authorization to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Aside from a limited section housing locally rare specific tree species, this woodland is without conservation status, but the guide hopes that the company he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, encouraging the authorities to appreciate the forest's value as a visitor destination.

Spooky Experiences

As twigs and fall foliage break and crackle beneath their footwear, Marius tells various folk tales and reported ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale recounts a little girl going missing during a family picnic, later to return five years later with no memory of what had happened, having not aged a day, her attire without the smallest trace of dirt.
• Regular stories describe cellphones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Reactions vary from full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Some people state noticing bizarre skin irritations on their arms, hearing ghostly voices through the forest, or feel palms pushing them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

While many of the accounts may be hard to prove, there are many things before my eyes that is certainly unusual. Everywhere you look are plants whose stems are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been proposed to clarify the abnormal growth: strong gales could have altered the growth, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the ground explain their strange formation.

But research studies have turned up no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's tours allow guests to participate in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the meadow in the woods where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO pictures, he passes the visitor an EMF meter which registers electromagnetic fields.

"We're entering the most energetic section of the forest," he comments. "See what you can find."

The trees immediately cease as they step into a flawless round. The single plant life is the short grass beneath their shoes; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this unusual opening is natural, not the work of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

This part of Romania is a area which fuels fantasy, where the border is indistinct between reality and legend. In traditional settlements belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting vampires, who rise from their graves to terrorise nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's well-known fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – an ancient structure perched on a rocky outcrop in the Transylvanian Alps – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But even folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the territory after the grove" – appears solid and predictable compared to these eerie woods, which appear to be, for reasons nuclear, atmospheric or purely mythical, a center for creative energy.

"Inside these woods," Marius comments, "the division between reality and imagination is very thin."