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"They call this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," remarks a local guide, his exhalation producing puffs of condensation in the cold dusk atmosphere. "So many people have vanished here, many believe it's an entrance to another dimension." The guide is escorting a traveler on a nocturnal tour through what is often described as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of old-growth local woods on the edges of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Reports of bizarre occurrences here go back centuries – the grove is named after a regional herder who is said to have vanished in the far-off times, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when an army specialist called Emil Barnea photographed what he claimed was a flying saucer suspended above a round opening in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and failed to return. But no need to fear," he adds, facing the traveler with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, ufologists and supernatural researchers from across the world, eager to feel the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Modern Threats

It may be a top global pilgrimage sites for lovers of the paranormal, the forest is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of a population exceeding 400,000, known as the tech capital of the region – are advancing, and developers are advocating for permission to remove the forest to build apartment blocks.

Barring a limited section containing locally rare specific tree species, the forest is without conservation status, but Marius is confident that the company he was instrumental in creating – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, motivating the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Eerie Encounters

When small sticks and fall foliage snap and crunch beneath their shoes, the guide recounts numerous local legends and claimed ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale describes a young child disappearing during a family picnic, later to return five years later with complete amnesia of the events, having not aged a single day, her attire without the smallest trace of dust.
• Frequent accounts explain smartphones and camera equipment mysteriously turning off on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses vary from absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Certain individuals claim seeing unusual marks on their arms, perceiving ghostly voices through the forest, or sense palms pushing them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Research Efforts

While many of the tales may be unverifiable, numerous elements before my eyes that is certainly unusual. All around are trees whose trunks are bent and twisted into unusual forms.

Various suggestions have been suggested to clarify the deformed trees: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or naturally high radioactivity in the ground cause their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have discovered inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

The expert's excursions allow participants to take part in a small-scale research of their own. As we approach the opening in the woods where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO images, he gives his guest an electromagnetic field detector which registers EMF readings.

"We're stepping into the most powerful section of the forest," he states. "See what you can find."

The plants immediately cease as the group enters into a complete ring. The only greenery is the low vegetation beneath our feet; it's obvious that it hasn't been mown, and seems that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the result of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a area which inspires creativity, where the line is blurred between reality and legend. In traditional settlements faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering vampires, who emerge from tombs to haunt local communities.

The novelist's famous character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith perched on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is actively advertised as "the vampire's home".

But even legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the place beyond the forest" – feels real and understandable in contrast to these eerie woods, which give the impression of being, for causes related to radiation, environmental or entirely legendary, a center for creative energy.

"Inside these woods," the guide comments, "the line between truth and fantasy is extremely fine."