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"Locals dub this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," explains a local guide, the air from his lungs creating wisps of mist in the cold dusk atmosphere. "Countless individuals have gone missing here, it's thought it's a portal to a parallel world." The guide is leading a traveler on a nocturnal tour through commonly known as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of ancient local woods on the fringes of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of strange happenings here date back hundreds of years – the forest is called after a regional herder who is believed to have disappeared in the long ago, together with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea took a picture of what he claimed was a flying saucer suspended above a round opening in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But don't worry," he continues, addressing the traveler with a grin. "Our excursions have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted meditation experts, spiritual healers, extraterrestrial investigators and supernatural researchers from around the globe, eager to feel the strange energies believed to resonate through the forest.

Current Risks

Despite being among the planet's leading destinations for lovers of the paranormal, the forest is facing danger. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of more than 400,000 people, described as the Silicon Valley of the region – are advancing, and construction companies are advocating for authorization to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a small area home to area-specific oak varieties, the grove is not officially protected, but Marius is confident that the initiative he co-founded – a local conservation effort – will help to change that, persuading the authorities to appreciate the forest's value as a visitor destination.

Chilling Events

As twigs and seasonal debris break and crackle beneath their footwear, the guide recounts some of the folk tales and claimed paranormal happenings here.

• A popular tale recounts a little girl disappearing during a family picnic, later to rematerialise half a decade later with no recollection of the events, showing no signs of aging a day, her clothes lacking the tiniest bit of dust.
• More common reports explain smartphones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Feelings range from complete terror to states of ecstasy.
• Certain individuals report seeing strange rashes on their skin, hearing unseen murmurs through the woodland, or experience hands grabbing them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Scientific Investigations

Although numerous of the accounts may be hard to prove, numerous elements before my eyes that is definitely bizarre. All around are plants whose bases are bent and twisted into unusual forms.

Different theories have been given to explain the deformed trees: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or naturally high radiation levels in the earth cause their strange formation.

But formal examinations have discovered inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's walks enable visitors to take part in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the forest where Barnea captured his renowned UFO images, he passes the traveler an ghost-hunting device which registers EMF readings.

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

The vegetation abruptly end as they step into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the low vegetation beneath our feet; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and looks that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the creation of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a place which stirs the imagination, where the border is blurred between fact and folklore. In countryside villages faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering creatures, who rise from their graves to terrorise nearby villages.

The famous author's famous fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith perched on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "the count's residence".

But even folklore-rich Transylvania – actually, "the land past the woods" – seems real and understandable compared to this spooky forest, which seem to be, for causes related to radiation, climatic or simply folkloric, a center for human imaginative power.

"Inside these woods," the guide comments, "the division between reality and imagination is remarkably blurred."