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"People refer to this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," explains a local guide, his exhalation creating wisps of vapor in the crisp night air. "Countless individuals have gone missing here, some say it's a portal to a different realm." The guide is leading a visitor on a evening stroll through frequently labeled as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval local woods on the edges of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Accounts of strange happenings here extend back a long time – this woodland is called after a area shepherd who is said to have vanished in the long ago, along with 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu gained global recognition in 1968, when a military technician named Emil Barnea captured on film what he reported as a flying saucer suspended above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But no need to fear," he adds, turning to the traveler with a smile. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, spiritual healers, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from around the globe, curious to experience the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being one of the world's premier pilgrimage sites for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of a population exceeding 400,000, described as the tech capital of the region – are encroaching, and real estate firms are pushing for authorization to clear the trees to erect housing complexes.

Aside from a small area housing regionally uncommon Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is not officially protected, but Marius is confident that the company he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will help to change that, persuading the authorities to recognise the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Eerie Encounters

While branches and fall foliage break and crackle beneath their shoes, Marius recounts some of the traditional stories and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story describes a little girl going missing during a family outing, then to rematerialise after five years with no memory of her experience, without aging a single day, her clothes lacking the smallest trace of dirt.
• Regular stories detail smartphones and imaging devices inexplicably shutting down on entering the woods.
• Feelings range from full-blown dread to feelings of joy.
• Various visitors state observing bizarre skin irritations on their skin, hearing disembodied whispers through the woodland, or sense fingers clutching them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the stories may be hard to prove, numerous elements before my eyes that is certainly unusual. Everywhere you look are plants whose trunks are curved and contorted into fantastical shapes.

Multiple explanations have been given to account for the misshapen plants: strong gales could have bent the saplings, or naturally high radioactivity in the earth account for their unusual development.

But research studies have discovered no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

The guide's walks enable guests to take part in a small-scale research of their own. When nearing the clearing in the forest where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO photographs, he hands the visitor an ghost-hunting device which detects energy patterns.

"We're stepping into the most active part of the forest," he states. "Try to detect something."

The trees abruptly end as we emerge into a perfect circle. The sole vegetation is the low vegetation beneath their shoes; it's obvious that it hasn't been mown, and appears that this bizarre meadow is organic, not the work of human hands.

The Blurred Line

This part of Romania is a place which fuels fantasy, where the division is indistinct between fact and folklore. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, form-changing creatures, who emerge from tombs to frighten regional populations.

The novelist's well-known fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – an ancient structure located on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But including folklore-rich Transylvania – actually, "the land past the woods" – feels tangible and comprehensible compared to this spooky forest, which give the impression of being, for causes related to radiation, climatic or entirely legendary, a center for human imaginative power.

"Within this forest," Marius comments, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is very thin."