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"Locals dub this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states a local guide, his exhalation producing wisps of condensation in the crisp evening air. "Countless individuals have disappeared here, it's thought it's a portal to a parallel world." The guide is escorting a visitor on a nocturnal tour through commonly known as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of old-growth local woods on the edges of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Reports of unusual events here date back a long time – the forest is named after a regional herder who is said to have vanished in the long ago, accompanied by two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu achieved worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a UFO hovering above a oval meadow in the heart of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and failed to return. But don't worry," he continues, addressing his guest with a smirk. "Our excursions have a perfect safety record."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted meditation experts, traditional medicine people, extraterrestrial investigators and supernatural researchers from worldwide, curious to experience the strange energies said to echo through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is among the planet's leading hotspots for supernatural fans, the grove is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of more than 400,000 people, called the tech capital of eastern Europe – are advancing, and real estate firms are campaigning for permission to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Barring a few hectares home to regionally uncommon oak varieties, the forest is without conservation status, but the guide hopes that the company he co-founded – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, motivating the government officials to recognise the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and fall foliage break and crackle beneath their boots, Marius tells some of the traditional stories and reported ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story describes a five-year-old girl going missing during a family outing, later to rematerialise half a decade later with no recollection of the events, having not aged a moment, her garments without the slightest speck of dirt.
• Frequent accounts describe smartphones and imaging devices unexpectedly failing on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses range from full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Certain individuals claim noticing strange rashes on their bodies, detecting disembodied whispers through the trees, or experience fingers clutching them, even when sure they are alone.

Scientific Investigations

Despite several of the tales may be impossible to confirm, numerous elements before my eyes that is undeniably strange. Everywhere you look are trees whose stems are curved and contorted into fantastical shapes.

Different theories have been suggested to clarify the abnormal growth: that hurricane winds could have altered the growth, or typically increased radiation levels in the earth explain their unusual development.

But formal examinations have turned up no satisfactory evidence.

The Famous Clearing

Marius's excursions enable visitors to engage in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the forest where Barnea captured his well-known UFO pictures, he passes the traveler an electromagnetic field detector which measures energy patterns.

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

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as they step into a complete ring. 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 work of people.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a location which inspires creativity, where the line is blurred between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities 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 permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a medieval building perched on a rocky outcrop in the Carpathian Mountains – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But even myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – appears tangible and comprehensible in contrast to this spooky forest, which appear to be, for reasons radioactive, atmospheric or entirely legendary, a nexus for fantasy projection.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide states, "the division between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."