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"People refer to this location the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states a tour guide, the air from his lungs forming puffs of condensation in the cold dusk atmosphere. "Countless visitors have vanished here, it's thought there's a gateway to a different realm." This expert is guiding a visitor on a evening stroll through commonly known as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of ancient local woods on the outskirts of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of bizarre occurrences here date back hundreds of years – this woodland is named after a area shepherd who is said to have vanished in the far-off times, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved worldwide fame in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea photographed what he reported as a flying saucer floating above a circular clearing in the heart of the forest.

Many came in here and vanished without trace. But rest assured," he adds, facing his guest with a smirk. "Our tours have a 100% return rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in meditation experts, traditional medicine people, ufologists and supernatural researchers from worldwide, curious to experience the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be one of the world's premier pilgrimage sites for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is under threat. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of over 400,000 residents, described as the innovation center of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and real estate firms are campaigning for approval to cut down the woods to construct residential buildings.

Except for a small area containing regionally uncommon Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is not officially protected, but the guide believes that the initiative he co-founded – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will assist in altering this, encouraging the local administrators to appreciate the forest's importance as a tourist attraction.

Eerie Encounters

As twigs and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their boots, Marius recounts some of the traditional stories and claimed supernatural events here.

• One famous story describes a little girl going missing during a group gathering, later to reappear after five years with complete amnesia of her experience, showing no signs of aging a moment, her garments without the slightest speck of dust.
• Frequent accounts describe mobile phones and camera equipment mysteriously turning off on entering the woods.
• Emotional responses vary from full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Various visitors report seeing bizarre skin irritations on their skin, detecting disembodied whispers through the forest, or feel palms pushing them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Research Efforts

Although numerous of the stories may be hard to prove, there is much clearly observable that is undeniably strange. All around are vegetation whose trunks are warped and gnarled into unusual forms.

Various suggestions have been given to explain the deformed trees: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the earth cause their unusual development.

But formal examinations have turned up no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

The guide's walks enable guests to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the forest where Barnea photographed his well-known UFO pictures, he gives the traveler an ghost-hunting device which registers energy patterns.

"We're entering the most active part of the forest," he comments. "Discover what's here."

The trees abruptly end as we emerge into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's obvious that it hasn't been mown, and appears that this strange clearing is wild, not the creation of people.

Fact Versus Fiction

This part of Romania is a location which inspires creativity, where the division is blurred between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting bloodsuckers, who emerge from tombs to frighten regional populations.

The novelist's renowned character Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – an ancient structure situated on a rocky outcrop in the Carpathian Mountains – is keenly marketed as "the count's residence".

But despite legend-filled Transylvania – actually, "the land past the woods" – seems tangible and comprehensible versus the haunted grove, which seem to be, for factors nuclear, climatic or purely mythical, a center for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide states, "the boundary between reality and imagination is very thin."