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"Locals dub this location the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," explains a tour guide, his exhalation creating wisps of mist in the crisp dusk atmosphere. "Numerous visitors have disappeared here, some say it's a portal to another dimension." The guide is guiding a traveler on a evening stroll through commonly known as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of old-growth indigenous forest on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Reports of bizarre occurrences here date back hundreds of years – the grove is called after a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the distant past, together with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu came to worldwide fame in 1968, when a military technician named Emil Barnea photographed what he reported as a unidentified flying object suspended above a oval meadow in the centre of the forest.

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

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, ufologists and ghost hunters from across the world, eager to feel the mysterious powers said to echo through the forest.

Current Risks

Although it is a top global destinations for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is under threat. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of more than 400,000 people, called the tech capital of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and developers are campaigning for approval to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Aside from a few hectares containing locally rare specific tree species, this woodland is not officially protected, but Marius believes that the company he co-founded – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, motivating the government officials to acknowledge the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Eerie Encounters

While branches and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their boots, Marius describes numerous folk tales and alleged supernatural events here.

• A popular tale tells of a young child vanishing during a group gathering, then to reappear after five years with complete amnesia of the events, having not aged a single day, her clothes shy of the tiniest bit of soil.
• Frequent accounts detail cellphones and imaging devices inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses include absolute fear to moments of euphoria.
• Some people claim noticing unusual marks on their arms, detecting unseen murmurs through the woodland, or experience hands grabbing them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Research Efforts

While many of the accounts may be unverifiable, there are many things clearly observable that is undeniably strange. All around are trees whose stems are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Different theories have been suggested to clarify the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated electromagnetic fields in the ground account for their unusual development.

But research studies have discovered no satisfactory evidence.

The Legendary Opening

The expert's walks permit visitors to participate in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the clearing in the forest where Barnea captured his renowned UFO images, he hands the visitor an ghost-hunting device which detects energy patterns.

"We're venturing into the most active section of the forest," he comments. "See what you can find."

The trees abruptly end as we emerge into a complete ring. The single plant life is the trimmed turf beneath their shoes; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and looks that this strange clearing is wild, not the result of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

The broader region is a place which inspires creativity, where the line is blurred between reality and legend. In countryside villages faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering vampires, who return from burial sites to terrorise nearby villages.

The famous author's renowned fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a medieval building perched on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But even legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the land past the woods" – appears tangible and comprehensible in contrast to the haunted grove, which seem to be, for factors radioactive, climatic or purely mythical, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"Within this forest," the guide says, "the division between truth and fantasy is remarkably blurred."