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"Locals dub this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states a tour guide, his breath creating wisps of mist in the cold night air. "Countless visitors have disappeared here, it's thought there's a gateway to a parallel world." This expert is leading a visitor on a evening stroll through what is often described as the planet's most ghostly forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of old-growth local woods on the edges of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Accounts of strange happenings here date back a long time – the grove is called after a regional herder who is believed to have disappeared in the long ago, accompanied by 200 of his sheep. But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea took a picture of what he described as a UFO floating above a circular clearing in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and vanished without trace. But don't worry," he adds, addressing his guest with a smirk. "Our tours have a perfect safety record."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, spiritual healers, UFO researchers and supernatural researchers from worldwide, interested in encountering the strange energies said to echo through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is one of the world's premier pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, the forest is under threat. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of more than 400,000 people, called the Silicon Valley of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and real estate firms are pushing for permission to clear the trees to build apartment blocks.

Aside from a small area home to regionally uncommon Mediterranean oak trees, this woodland is without conservation status, but the guide believes that the company he was instrumental in creating – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, encouraging the authorities to recognise the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

When small sticks and fall foliage snap and crunch beneath their footwear, Marius describes numerous traditional stories and reported supernatural events here.

• A well-known account tells of a little girl disappearing during a family picnic, then to rematerialise five years later with no recollection of the events, having not aged a single day, her garments lacking the tiniest bit of dirt.
• Frequent accounts describe mobile phones and camera equipment mysteriously turning off on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses include absolute fear to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors report observing strange rashes on their bodies, perceiving unseen murmurs through the trees, or sense hands grabbing them, even when convinced they're by themselves.

Research Efforts

While many of the tales may be impossible to confirm, there is much clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. Everywhere you look are trees whose trunks are curved and contorted into bizarre configurations.

Multiple explanations have been given to account for the misshapen plants: that hurricane winds could have bent the saplings, or naturally high radiation levels in the earth explain their crooked growth.

But research studies have discovered inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

The expert's excursions allow participants to take part in a small-scale research of their own. When nearing the opening in the woods where Barnea captured his renowned UFO images, he hands his guest an electromagnetic field detector which measures electromagnetic fields.

"We're stepping into the most energetic area of the forest," he states. "Discover what's here."

The trees immediately cease as the group enters into a complete ring. The single plant life is the trimmed turf beneath their shoes; it's apparent that it's not maintained, and seems that this bizarre meadow is organic, not the creation of human hands.

Between Reality and Imagination

The broader region is a area which fuels fantasy, where the border is indistinct between fact and folklore. In countryside villages faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who rise from their graves to frighten regional populations.

The famous author's well-known fictional vampire is always connected with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a medieval building located on a rocky outcrop in the Carpathian Mountains – is actively advertised as "the count's residence".

But including myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – feels tangible and comprehensible compared to these eerie woods, which give the impression of being, for causes nuclear, climatic or purely mythical, a center for human imaginative power.

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