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"Locals dub this location the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states an experienced guide, his exhalation creating puffs of vapor in the crisp dusk atmosphere. "Countless visitors have vanished here, many believe it's a portal to another dimension." This expert is guiding a guest on a night walk through frequently labeled as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of ancient local woods on the fringes of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of unusual events here go back a long time – the grove is called after a area shepherd who is said to have vanished in the distant past, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a flying saucer floating above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But no need to fear," he continues, facing the traveler with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, spiritual healers, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from worldwide, eager to feel the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Modern Threats

It may be among the planet's leading hotspots for paranormal enthusiasts, the grove is facing danger. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, called the innovation center of the region – are expanding, and developers are campaigning for approval to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Aside from a limited section home to regionally uncommon specific tree species, this woodland is lacking legal protection, but the guide hopes that the company he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, encouraging the government officials to acknowledge the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

When small sticks and seasonal debris snap and crunch beneath their footwear, Marius recounts various folk tales and claimed supernatural events here.

• A well-known account tells of a young child disappearing during a family picnic, then to return five years later with no recollection of what had happened, without aging a day, her clothes shy of the tiniest bit of dust.
• More common reports explain mobile phones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on entering the woods.
• Emotional responses range from full-blown dread to feelings of joy.
• Certain individuals state noticing bizarre skin irritations on their arms, detecting ghostly voices through the forest, or feel palms pushing them, despite being sure they are alone.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the accounts may be unverifiable, there are many things before my eyes that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are plants whose trunks are warped and gnarled into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been proposed to explain the deformed trees: strong gales could have shaped the young trees, or naturally high radioactivity in the earth account for their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have found inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's excursions enable guests to participate in a little scientific inquiry of their own. When nearing the meadow in the forest where Barnea took his famous UFO photographs, he gives the visitor an EMF meter which detects EMF readings.

"We're stepping into the most energetic part of the forest," he comments. "See what you can find."

The plants abruptly end as we emerge into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath our feet; it's obvious that it's not maintained, and seems that this strange clearing is natural, not the result of human hands.

The Blurred Line

The broader region is a place which fuels fantasy, where the line 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 local communities.

The famous author's famous character Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a medieval building situated on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But despite folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – appears tangible and comprehensible in contrast to these eerie woods, which seem to be, for reasons nuclear, environmental or purely mythical, a hub for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius states, "the division between truth and fantasy is very thin."