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"People refer to this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," remarks an experienced guide, the air from his lungs forming wisps of condensation in the cold dusk atmosphere. "Countless people have vanished here, many believe it's an entrance to a parallel world." Marius is leading a visitor on a night walk through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of old-growth local woods on the fringes of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Reports of strange happenings here extend back hundreds of years – this woodland is called after a regional herder who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, along with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when a military technician called Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a unidentified flying object suspended above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

Many came in here and failed to return. But rest assured," he adds, turning to the traveler with a smile. "Our excursions have a perfect safety record."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, spiritual healers, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from around the globe, curious to experience the mysterious powers reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

It may be one of the world's premier hotspots for supernatural fans, the grove is under threat. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, known as the tech capital of eastern Europe – are advancing, and real estate firms are advocating for authorization to cut down the woods to construct residential buildings.

Except for a limited section housing regionally uncommon specific tree species, this woodland is without conservation status, but Marius is confident that the organization he helped establish – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, encouraging the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Eerie Encounters

While branches and fall foliage split and rustle beneath their footwear, the guide tells some of the local legends and reported paranormal happenings here.

• A popular tale tells of a young child disappearing during a group gathering, only to rematerialise five years later with no recollection of what had happened, having not aged a moment, her attire without the tiniest bit of dirt.
• Frequent accounts describe smartphones and camera equipment unexpectedly failing on entering the woods.
• Reactions include absolute fear to moments of euphoria.
• Some people state observing bizarre skin irritations on their bodies, hearing ghostly voices through the woodland, or experience hands grabbing them, although certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

Despite several of the accounts may be impossible to confirm, there is much visibly present that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are vegetation whose bases are warped and gnarled into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been given to explain the abnormal growth: that hurricane winds could have shaped the young trees, or typically increased radiation levels in the earth cause their strange formation.

But research studies have turned up inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's tours allow visitors to engage in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the clearing in the trees where Barnea photographed his famous UFO pictures, he hands his guest an electromagnetic field detector which measures energy patterns.

"We're entering the most active section of the forest," he says. "Discover what's here."

The trees abruptly end as the group enters into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath our feet; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and looks that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the creation of landscaping.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a location which fuels fantasy, where the division is blurred between truth and myth. In countryside villages faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, appearance-altering creatures, who emerge from tombs to haunt local communities.

Bram Stoker's famous fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith located on a stone formation in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "the count's residence".

But despite legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – feels solid and predictable in contrast to these eerie woods, which give the impression of being, for factors radioactive, atmospheric or entirely legendary, a nexus for fantasy projection.

"Within this forest," the guide states, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is very thin."