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"People refer to this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states a tour guide, his breath creating puffs of vapor in the chilly evening air. "So many people have gone missing here, it's thought it's a portal to another dimension." Marius is leading a visitor on a nocturnal tour through commonly known as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of old-growth indigenous forest on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Accounts of unusual events here extend back hundreds of years – the grove is titled for a area shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, together with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a UFO floating above a circular clearing in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and failed to return. But don't worry," he states, facing the visitor with a smirk. "Our tours have a perfect safety record."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yogis, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and supernatural researchers from worldwide, interested in encountering the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being among the planet's leading pilgrimage sites for supernatural fans, this woodland is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of more than 400,000 people, known as the tech capital of eastern Europe – are expanding, and construction companies are advocating for approval to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Aside from a small area containing area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, this woodland is not officially protected, but the guide is confident that the organization he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, persuading the government officials to recognise the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Eerie Encounters

When small sticks and seasonal debris snap and crunch beneath their footwear, the guide describes various local legends and alleged supernatural events here.

• A well-known account recounts a five-year-old girl going missing during a family picnic, later to return after five years with no memory of what had happened, showing no signs of aging a moment, her garments lacking the smallest trace of dust.
• Regular stories describe smartphones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings include full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors state observing unusual marks on their bodies, hearing unseen murmurs through the woodland, or experience palms pushing them, although certain nobody is nearby.

Research Efforts

While many of the tales may be impossible to confirm, there are many things visibly present that is undeniably strange. Throughout the area are trees whose trunks are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Different theories have been suggested to account for the misshapen plants: strong gales could have bent the saplings, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the earth explain their unusual development.

But formal examinations have turned up inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

The expert's tours enable guests to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. As we approach the clearing in the woods where Barnea photographed his famous UFO pictures, he hands the visitor an electromagnetic field detector which measures EMF readings.

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

The plants immediately cease as we emerge into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the trimmed turf beneath our feet; it's obvious that it's naturally occurring, and looks that this unusual opening is organic, not the work of landscaping.

Fact Versus Fiction

This part of Romania is a area which stirs the imagination, where the division is indistinct between truth and myth. In traditional settlements faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, shapeshifting bloodsuckers, who return from burial sites to haunt nearby villages.

The famous author's well-known fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure perched on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the land past the woods" – seems solid and predictable compared to this spooky forest, which seem to be, for causes related to radiation, climatic or entirely legendary, a nexus for human imaginative power.

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