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"They call this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," remarks a local guide, his exhalation forming clouds of vapor in the cold dusk atmosphere. "Countless people have gone missing here, some say it's a portal to another dimension." This expert is leading a visitor on a night walk through commonly known as the world's most haunted forest: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of ancient native woodland on the edges of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Reports of unusual events here date back centuries – the grove is called after a local shepherd who is said to have vanished in the distant past, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained global recognition in 1968, when a defense worker called Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a UFO suspended above a circular clearing in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and failed to return. But don't worry," he states, facing the visitor with a smile. "Our tours have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted meditation experts, spiritual healers, extraterrestrial investigators and paranormal investigators from around the globe, eager to feel the unusual forces said to echo through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is a top global pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, the forest is at risk. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, called the innovation center of Eastern Europe – are encroaching, and construction companies are advocating for permission to clear the trees to build apartment blocks.

Aside from a few hectares housing locally rare specific tree species, the forest is not officially protected, but the guide believes that the initiative he was instrumental in creating – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, encouraging the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their boots, Marius recounts some of the local legends and reported paranormal happenings here.

• A well-known account describes a five-year-old girl going missing during a family picnic, later to reappear after five years with no memory of what had happened, showing no signs of aging a single day, her clothes shy of the tiniest bit of dust.
• Regular stories describe cellphones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses range from complete terror to feelings of joy.
• Some people claim noticing bizarre skin irritations on their bodies, perceiving unseen murmurs through the woodland, or feel hands grabbing them, although sure they are alone.

Research Efforts

While many of the accounts may be unverifiable, there are many things visibly present that is undeniably strange. Throughout the area are vegetation whose trunks are bent and twisted into unusual forms.

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

But formal examinations have turned up no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

The guide's excursions permit visitors to participate in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the forest where Barnea photographed his well-known UFO photographs, he hands the visitor an EMF meter which registers energy patterns.

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

The plants immediately cease as the group enters into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the short grass beneath the ground; it's clear that it hasn't been mown, and looks that this unusual opening is organic, not the work of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a area which inspires creativity, where the division is indistinct between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing creatures, who rise from their graves to haunt nearby villages.

The famous author's renowned fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a Saxon monolith perched on a stone formation in the Carpathian Mountains – is keenly marketed as "Dracula's Castle".

But despite myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – feels solid and predictable versus this spooky forest, which appear to be, for factors nuclear, climatic or entirely legendary, a center for creative energy.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide says, "the line between fact and fiction is very thin."