Venturing into this Globe's Spookiest Grove: Gnarled Trees, Flying Saucers and Eerie Tales in Transylvania.

"They call this spot the Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania," explains an experienced guide, his breath creating puffs of condensation in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "Countless individuals have gone missing here, some say it's a portal to a parallel world." Marius is guiding a guest on a nocturnal tour through what is often described as the globe's spookiest grove: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of ancient local woods on the outskirts of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Stories of bizarre occurrences here date back a long time – the grove is named after a area shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the distant past, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved international attention in 1968, when a defense worker known as Emil Barnea photographed what he reported as a UFO suspended above a circular clearing in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and never came out. But rest assured," he continues, turning to his guest with a smirk. "Our excursions have a perfect safety record."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yoga practitioners, shamans, ufologists and paranormal investigators from around the globe, interested in encountering the strange energies said to echo through the forest.

Modern Threats

It may be among the planet's leading pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, the forest is under threat. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of more than 400,000 people, known as the Silicon Valley of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and construction companies are pushing for authorization to remove the forest to erect housing complexes.

Except for a few hectares containing regionally uncommon specific tree species, the forest is lacking legal protection, but Marius hopes that the initiative he was instrumental in creating – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will help to change that, encouraging the authorities to recognise the forest's importance as a visitor destination.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and fall foliage break and crackle beneath their shoes, the guide describes numerous local legends and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• One famous story tells of a little girl disappearing during a group gathering, later to reappear five years later with no recollection of her experience, showing no signs of aging a day, her garments shy of the slightest speck of soil.
• More common reports describe cellphones and camera equipment mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Reactions vary from absolute fear to feelings of joy.
• Various visitors state observing strange rashes on their bodies, hearing unseen murmurs through the forest, or sense fingers clutching them, even when certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

Although numerous of the accounts may be unverifiable, numerous elements clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. All around are vegetation whose stems are bent and twisted into fantastical shapes.

Various suggestions have been given to account for the deformed trees: that hurricane winds could have bent the saplings, or typically increased electromagnetic fields in the earth cause their unusual development.

But scientific investigations have discovered inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

The expert's walks permit participants to take part in a modest investigation of their own. When nearing the meadow in the trees where Barnea photographed his famous UFO pictures, he passes the visitor an electromagnetic field detector which registers energy patterns.

"We're entering the most active part of the forest," he says. "Try to detect something."

The trees suddenly stop dead as they step into a flawless round. The sole vegetation is the short grass beneath our feet; it's apparent that it hasn't been mown, and appears that this strange clearing is natural, not the result of people.

The Blurred Line

This part of Romania is a location which stirs the imagination, where the border is indistinct between truth and myth. In countryside villages faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, form-changing creatures, who return from burial sites to terrorise nearby villages.

The novelist's renowned character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith located on a cliff edge in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But including legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the land past the woods" – appears solid and predictable compared to these eerie woods, which seem to be, for reasons nuclear, environmental or simply folkloric, a hub for creative energy.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide says, "the division between truth and fantasy is remarkably blurred."