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"People refer to this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," remarks an experienced guide, his breath producing wisps of mist in the chilly evening air. "So many individuals have disappeared here, many believe it's an entrance to another dimension." Marius is guiding a traveler on a night walk through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval native woodland on the fringes of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Accounts of unusual events here date back a long time – this woodland is named after a local shepherd who is said to have vanished in the far-off times, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when a military technician known as Emil Barnea took a picture of what he claimed was a flying saucer floating above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and never came out. But rest assured," he continues, facing his guest with a smile. "Our excursions have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in meditation experts, traditional medicine people, extraterrestrial investigators and supernatural researchers from around the globe, eager to feel the strange energies said to echo through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be one of the world's premier pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of a population exceeding 400,000, described as the Silicon Valley of eastern Europe – are expanding, and developers are pushing for permission to remove the forest to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a small area containing locally rare specific tree species, this woodland is lacking legal protection, but the guide is confident that the initiative he co-founded – a dedicated preservation group – will help to change that, motivating the authorities to appreciate the forest's value as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and seasonal debris split and rustle beneath their shoes, the guide describes some of the local legends and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale recounts a five-year-old girl vanishing during a group gathering, only to reappear after five years with complete amnesia of the events, having not aged a day, her attire lacking the smallest trace of dust.
• Regular stories describe mobile phones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on stepping into the forest.
• Reactions vary from absolute fear to feelings of joy.
• Some people claim seeing strange rashes on their bodies, hearing ghostly voices through the forest, or sense palms pushing them, even when convinced they're by themselves.

Scientific Investigations

Although numerous of the stories may be hard to prove, there is much visibly present that is certainly unusual. Everywhere you look are plants whose bases are bent and twisted into bizarre configurations.

Different theories have been given to clarify the misshapen plants: that hurricane winds could have shaped the young trees, or typically increased electromagnetic fields in the ground explain their unusual development.

But formal examinations have found inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

The expert's walks allow guests to engage in a small-scale research of their own. As we approach the opening in the woods where Barnea photographed his famous UFO images, he passes the traveler an ghost-hunting device which detects electromagnetic fields.

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

The trees suddenly stop dead as we emerge into a complete ring. The single plant life is the trimmed turf beneath our feet; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and appears that this unusual opening is wild, not the creation of human hands.

The Blurred Line

This part of Romania is a area which inspires creativity, where the division is unclear between reality and legend. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, appearance-altering vampires, who return from burial sites to terrorise nearby villages.

The novelist's well-known fictional vampire is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith perched on a stone formation in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "the count's residence".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – actually, "the territory after the grove" – feels solid and predictable versus these eerie woods, which appear to be, for factors related to radiation, climatic or entirely legendary, a nexus for creative energy.

"Within this forest," the guide says, "the division between reality and imagination is extremely fine."