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"They call this location the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," states a local guide, his breath creating puffs of vapor in the cold evening air. "Numerous visitors have vanished 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 planet's most ghostly grove: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of ancient native woodland on the fringes of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of unusual events here go back hundreds of years – the grove is called after a regional herder who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, together with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu achieved global recognition in 1968, when a defense worker called Emil Barnea captured on film what he reported as a unidentified flying object hovering above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But rest assured," he states, turning to the visitor with a smile. "Our tours have a 100% return rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and supernatural researchers from around the globe, eager to feel the mysterious powers said to echo through the forest.

Current Risks

Despite being one of the world's premier hotspots for paranormal enthusiasts, the forest is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of more than 400,000 people, known as the innovation center of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and developers are pushing for permission to remove the forest to build apartment blocks.

Barring a limited section home to regionally uncommon oak varieties, the forest is not officially protected, but the guide believes that the initiative he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, motivating the authorities to recognise the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Chilling Events

When small sticks and seasonal debris break and crackle beneath their shoes, Marius tells numerous local legends and reported supernatural events here.

• One famous story describes a little girl disappearing during a group gathering, then to return half a decade later with complete amnesia of the events, without aging a single day, her attire lacking the slightest speck of dirt.
• More common reports describe smartphones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on entering the woods.
• Reactions range from full-blown dread to feelings of joy.
• Some people report observing unusual marks on their skin, hearing disembodied whispers through the trees, or sense palms pushing them, although certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

While many of the tales may be hard to prove, there are many things visibly present that is undeniably strange. Throughout the area are trees whose trunks are bent and twisted into bizarre configurations.

Multiple explanations have been proposed to account for the abnormal growth: strong gales could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the soil explain their crooked growth.

But research studies have turned up no satisfactory evidence.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's walks allow participants to engage in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the trees where Barnea captured his renowned UFO photographs, he gives the visitor an ghost-hunting device which measures electromagnetic fields.

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

The trees suddenly stop dead as they step into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath the ground; it's obvious that it hasn't been mown, and seems that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the creation of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a area which stirs the imagination, where the division is unclear between fact and folklore. In traditional settlements belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, appearance-altering vampires, who return from burial sites to terrorise nearby villages.

The novelist's famous character Dracula is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – an ancient structure perched on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is heavily promoted as "Dracula's Castle".

But even myth-shrouded Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – seems tangible and comprehensible compared to the haunted grove, which give the impression of being, for reasons nuclear, environmental or simply folkloric, a hub for human imaginative power.

"Within this forest," Marius says, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is extremely fine."