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"People refer to this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," states a local guide, his exhalation producing puffs of condensation in the cold evening air. "Countless people have disappeared here, some say it's a portal to another dimension." Marius is guiding a guest on a evening stroll through frequently labeled as the world's most haunted grove: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of old-growth indigenous forest on the outskirts of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Stories of unusual events here go back a long time – this woodland is called after a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the long ago, together with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu gained global recognition in 1968, when a defense worker known as Emil Barnea captured on film what he described as a UFO hovering above a circular clearing in the middle of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and vanished without trace. But rest assured," he adds, facing the traveler with a grin. "Our guided walks have a perfect safety record."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted yogis, shamans, UFO researchers and paranormal investigators from around the globe, interested in encountering the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being a top global pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, the forest is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of a population exceeding 400,000, described as the Silicon Valley of eastern Europe – are encroaching, and real estate firms are pushing for approval to clear the trees to construct residential buildings.

Except for a few hectares home to area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, the forest is lacking legal protection, but Marius believes that the initiative he was instrumental in creating – a local conservation effort – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the government officials to recognise the forest's importance as a travel hotspot.

Eerie Encounters

While branches and autumn leaves split and rustle beneath their footwear, the guide describes numerous folk tales and claimed ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale recounts a five-year-old girl vanishing during a family outing, later to reappear five years later with no memory of the events, having not aged a day, her attire without the tiniest bit of soil.
• More common reports detail mobile phones and photography gear inexplicably shutting down on entering the woods.
• Reactions vary from complete terror to states of ecstasy.
• Various visitors report noticing bizarre skin irritations on their arms, detecting ghostly voices through the woodland, or feel hands grabbing them, despite being certain nobody is nearby.

Scientific Investigations

Although numerous of the tales may be hard to prove, there is much visibly present that is undeniably strange. All around are plants whose bases are bent and twisted into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been given to account for the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have bent the saplings, or naturally high radioactivity in the ground explain their strange formation.

But scientific investigations have found insufficient proof.

The Notorious Meadow

The expert's excursions enable visitors to take part in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the clearing in the trees where Barnea captured his renowned UFO photographs, he gives the visitor an electromagnetic field detector which measures electromagnetic fields.

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

The trees abruptly end as the group enters into a complete ring. The single plant life is the short grass beneath our feet; it's clear that it hasn't been mown, and seems that this unusual opening is natural, not the work of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

The broader region is a location which stirs the imagination, where the line is unclear between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing vampires, who emerge from tombs to terrorise local communities.

Bram Stoker's renowned fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the historic stronghold – a medieval building located on a cliff edge in the Carpathian Mountains – is heavily promoted as "the vampire's home".

But including folklore-rich Transylvania – actually, "the place beyond the forest" – seems real and understandable compared to this spooky forest, which seem to be, for reasons related to radiation, climatic or purely mythical, a nexus for fantasy projection.

"Inside these woods," the guide states, "the division between fact and fiction is remarkably blurred."