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"People refer to this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," remarks a tour guide, his breath producing puffs of mist in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "Countless individuals have disappeared here, some say there's a gateway to another dimension." This expert is leading a traveler on a nocturnal tour through what is often described as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of old-growth native woodland on the fringes of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Stories of unusual events here go back centuries – this woodland is titled for a local shepherd who is said to have vanished in the long ago, along with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when a defense worker named Emil Barnea captured on film what he claimed was a unidentified flying object hovering above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and vanished without trace. But don't worry," he adds, addressing his guest with a grin. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yoga practitioners, shamans, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from around the globe, interested in encountering the unusual forces reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Despite being one of the world's premier hotspots for supernatural fans, the forest is under threat. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, known as the tech capital of the region – are advancing, and real estate firms are advocating for permission to cut down the woods to build apartment blocks.

Barring a limited section housing area-specific oak varieties, the forest is lacking legal protection, but Marius is confident that the initiative he was instrumental in creating – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, encouraging the government officials to recognise the forest's significance as a visitor destination.

Eerie Encounters

As twigs and fall foliage break and crackle beneath their footwear, Marius tells numerous folk tales and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story tells of a five-year-old girl going missing during a family outing, later to return after five years with complete amnesia of what had happened, having not aged a day, her attire shy of the slightest speck of dirt.
• Frequent accounts explain smartphones and camera equipment unexpectedly failing on entering the woods.
• Feelings range from absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors state noticing unusual marks on their skin, detecting disembodied whispers through the forest, or experience palms pushing them, although certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

Although numerous of the tales may be hard to prove, numerous elements clearly observable that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are trees whose trunks are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes.

Various suggestions have been given to account for the deformed trees: strong gales could have altered the growth, or typically increased electromagnetic fields in the ground account for their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have discovered no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's walks allow visitors to engage in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the meadow in the trees where Barnea photographed his famous UFO pictures, he hands the traveler an electromagnetic field detector which registers EMF readings.

"We're venturing into the most energetic area of the forest," he comments. "Try to detect something."

The plants immediately cease as the group enters into a complete ring. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath the ground; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and looks that this bizarre meadow is natural, not the work of human hands.

Fact Versus Fiction

The broader region is a location which inspires creativity, where the division is indistinct between reality and legend. In traditional settlements belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing bloodsuckers, who rise from their graves to haunt nearby villages.

Bram Stoker's renowned vampire Count Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith located on a stone formation in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "the count's residence".

But including folklore-rich Transylvania – truly, "the land past the woods" – appears real and understandable versus these eerie woods, which appear to be, for reasons radioactive, environmental or purely mythical, a hub for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide says, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is extremely fine."