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"People refer to this place the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," explains a local guide, his breath producing puffs of condensation in the chilly evening air. "So many visitors have gone missing here, some say there's a gateway to a different realm." This expert is escorting a guest on a evening stroll through what is often described as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of ancient local woods on the outskirts of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of strange happenings here extend back hundreds of years – this woodland is called after a regional herder who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, accompanied by his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to international attention in 1968, when an army specialist called Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a UFO suspended above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and vanished without trace. But no need to fear," he adds, turning to his guest with a smirk. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, traditional medicine people, ufologists and supernatural researchers from across the world, interested in encountering the strange energies believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Although it is one of the world's premier hotspots for paranormal enthusiasts, the forest is under threat. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of more than 400,000 people, called the tech capital of the region – are encroaching, and developers are advocating for approval to cut down the woods to construct residential buildings.

Except for a limited section housing area-specific specific tree species, the grove is lacking legal protection, but Marius believes that the initiative he co-founded – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the government officials to recognise the forest's significance as a visitor destination.

Eerie Encounters

When small sticks and fall foliage split and rustle beneath their shoes, Marius tells some of the local legends and claimed ghostly incidents here.

• A well-known account describes a young child vanishing during a group gathering, only to rematerialise half a decade later with complete amnesia of what had happened, having not aged a single day, her clothes shy of the slightest speck of soil.
• Frequent accounts explain smartphones and photography gear unexpectedly failing on entering the woods.
• Emotional responses include absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Certain individuals report seeing strange rashes on their arms, hearing ghostly voices through the woodland, or experience hands grabbing them, despite being certain nobody is nearby.

Study Attempts

While many of the stories may be impossible to confirm, there are many things before my eyes that is undeniably strange. All around are plants whose stems are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes.

Various suggestions have been suggested to explain the misshapen plants: that hurricane winds could have bent the saplings, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the earth cause their strange formation.

But formal examinations have discovered no satisfactory evidence.

The Legendary Opening

Marius's walks allow participants to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the woods where Barnea took his famous UFO pictures, he hands the visitor an EMF meter which measures energy patterns.

"We're venturing into the most active section of the forest," he says. "Discover what's here."

The vegetation suddenly stop dead as the group enters into a flawless round. The single plant life is the short grass beneath our feet; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and seems that this bizarre meadow is wild, not the result of human hands.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a place which inspires creativity, where the line is blurred between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, form-changing creatures, who return from burial sites to haunt nearby villages.

The famous author's renowned fictional vampire is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure situated on a stone formation in the Carpathian Mountains – is actively advertised as "the vampire's home".

But despite myth-shrouded Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – seems solid and predictable versus the haunted grove, which appear to be, for factors related to radiation, atmospheric or entirely legendary, a hub for fantasy projection.

"In Hoia-Baciu," Marius says, "the line between reality and imagination is remarkably blurred."