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"People refer to this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," remarks a tour guide, his breath producing clouds of mist in the cold dusk atmosphere. "So many visitors have disappeared here, it's thought it's an entrance to a parallel world." This expert is escorting a traveler on a night walk through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of primeval native woodland on the fringes of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Reports of bizarre occurrences here extend back a long time – this woodland is titled for a area shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, along with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu gained global recognition in 1968, when a defense worker known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he reported as a UFO hovering above a circular clearing in the heart of the forest.

Many came in here and failed to return. But don't worry," he states, facing the visitor with a grin. "Our tours have a flawless completion rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, ufologists and ghost hunters from around the globe, curious to experience the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being among the planet's leading destinations for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of a population exceeding 400,000, known as the Silicon Valley of the region – are advancing, and developers are pushing for authorization to clear the trees to erect housing complexes.

Except for a limited section housing locally rare specific tree species, the grove is without conservation status, but the guide believes that the organization he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will help to change that, persuading the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and fall foliage snap and crunch beneath their boots, the guide describes numerous traditional stories and claimed ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story tells of a little girl disappearing during a family picnic, later to reappear after five years with no recollection of what had happened, showing no signs of aging a single day, her clothes without the smallest trace of soil.
• Frequent accounts explain mobile phones and imaging devices unexpectedly failing on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses range from complete terror to feelings of joy.
• Certain individuals report seeing bizarre skin irritations on their skin, hearing disembodied whispers through the forest, or feel fingers clutching them, even when sure they are alone.

Research Efforts

Although numerous of the stories may be hard to prove, there is much clearly observable that is undeniably strange. All around are trees whose stems are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been suggested to clarify the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or inherently elevated radioactivity in the earth cause their crooked growth.

But formal examinations have discovered insufficient proof.

The Notorious Meadow

The guide's excursions enable participants to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the woods where Barnea photographed his famous UFO pictures, he hands his guest an electromagnetic field detector which detects electromagnetic fields.

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

The trees suddenly stop dead as they step into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's clear that it hasn't been mown, and seems that this unusual opening is wild, not the work of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

The broader region is a place which stirs the imagination, where the line is blurred between reality and legend. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, form-changing 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 legendary fortress – an ancient structure perched on a stone formation in the Carpathian Mountains – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But including folklore-rich Transylvania – literally, "the place beyond the forest" – seems tangible and comprehensible versus this spooky forest, which give the impression of being, for reasons radioactive, atmospheric or simply folkloric, a nexus for creative energy.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius says, "the line between truth and fantasy is remarkably blurred."