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"They call this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," explains an experienced guide, the air from his lungs producing clouds of condensation in the cold dusk atmosphere. "Numerous people have gone missing here, many believe it's an entrance to a parallel world." The guide is leading a guest on a evening stroll through commonly known as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of old-growth local woods on the edges of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Accounts of bizarre occurrences here date back a long time – this woodland is titled for a local shepherd who is said to have vanished in the long ago, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu achieved global recognition in 1968, when a military technician called Emil Barnea took a picture of what he described as a flying saucer hovering above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and failed to return. But no need to fear," he adds, addressing the traveler with a grin. "Our tours have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yogis, spiritual healers, ufologists and supernatural researchers from across the world, interested in encountering the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Current Risks

It may be a top global hotspots for lovers of the paranormal, the forest is facing danger. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, called the tech capital of the region – are encroaching, and construction companies are advocating for authorization to remove the forest to erect housing complexes.

Barring a small area housing area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is not officially protected, but Marius is confident that the organization he helped establish – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, persuading the authorities to appreciate the forest's importance as a tourist attraction.

Eerie Encounters

While branches and fall foliage snap and crunch beneath their boots, Marius tells various local legends and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• A well-known account tells of a little girl disappearing during a group gathering, only to reappear half a decade later with no recollection of her experience, without aging a day, her attire shy of the tiniest bit of soil.
• More common reports describe mobile phones and photography gear mysteriously turning off on stepping into the forest.
• Reactions vary from absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Some people state noticing strange rashes on their arms, perceiving unseen murmurs through the trees, or feel hands grabbing them, although certain nobody is nearby.

Study Attempts

While many of the accounts may be unverifiable, there are many things visibly present that is certainly unusual. Everywhere you look are plants whose stems are bent and twisted into unusual forms.

Multiple explanations have been given to clarify the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or naturally high electromagnetic fields in the soil account for their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have found inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

The expert's tours allow visitors to participate in a small-scale research of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the trees where Barnea took his famous UFO images, he gives the visitor an EMF meter which detects energy patterns.

"We're stepping into the most active section of the forest," he comments. "Try to detect something."

The trees abruptly end as they step into a perfect circle. The only greenery is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's clear that it's not maintained, and seems that this unusual opening is wild, not the result of landscaping.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a area which fuels fantasy, where the division is indistinct between truth and myth. In countryside villages belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting bloodsuckers, who rise from their graves to terrorise local communities.

Bram Stoker's famous character Dracula is always connected with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – a Saxon monolith located on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But even legend-filled Transylvania – actually, "the territory after the grove" – seems tangible and comprehensible compared to these eerie woods, which give the impression of being, for factors related to radiation, climatic or entirely legendary, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"In Hoia-Baciu," the guide says, "the division between reality and imagination is extremely fine."