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"They call this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," explains a tour guide, the air from his lungs producing clouds of mist in the chilly night air. "Numerous visitors have disappeared here, some say it's an entrance to another dimension." This expert is leading a guest on a nocturnal tour through frequently labeled as the planet's most ghostly grove: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of primeval local woods on the outskirts of the metropolis of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Stories of strange happenings here extend back hundreds of years – the forest is named after a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the long ago, along with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu gained global recognition in 1968, when a military technician named Emil Barnea took a picture of what he described as a unidentified flying object floating above a round opening in the heart of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and vanished without trace. But don't worry," he continues, addressing the visitor with a smirk. "Our guided walks have a 100% return rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, extraterrestrial investigators and paranormal investigators from across the world, eager to feel the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is among the planet's leading pilgrimage sites for paranormal enthusiasts, this woodland is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a contemporary technology center of more than 400,000 people, known as the innovation center of eastern Europe – are expanding, and construction companies are pushing for approval to remove the forest to build apartment blocks.

Barring a limited section home to area-specific oak varieties, the grove is not officially protected, but Marius hopes that the company he was instrumental in creating – the Hoia-Baciu Project – will contribute to improving the situation, motivating the government officials to acknowledge the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and autumn leaves snap and crunch beneath their shoes, Marius describes numerous local legends and reported supernatural events here.

• A popular tale tells of a little girl disappearing during a family picnic, then to rematerialise after five years with no recollection of the events, showing no signs of aging a single day, her attire without the slightest speck of dust.
• Regular stories detail smartphones and camera equipment unexpectedly failing on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses range from full-blown dread to states of ecstasy.
• Certain individuals claim seeing unusual marks on their skin, perceiving disembodied whispers through the forest, or feel hands grabbing them, although sure they are alone.

Study Attempts

While many of the tales may be hard to prove, there are many things visibly present that is certainly unusual. Throughout the area are trees whose stems are warped and gnarled into fantastical shapes.

Various suggestions have been suggested to explain the deformed trees: that hurricane winds could have altered the growth, or inherently elevated radiation levels in the ground explain their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have discovered inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's excursions allow guests to engage in a modest investigation of their own. As we approach the meadow in the trees where Barnea photographed his famous UFO images, he gives the visitor an EMF meter which detects energy patterns.

"We're venturing into the most powerful area of the forest," he comments. "See what you can find."

The vegetation abruptly end as we emerge into a flawless round. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath their shoes; it's apparent that it hasn't been mown, and appears that this strange clearing is natural, not the creation of people.

Between Reality and Imagination

Transylvania generally is a place which fuels fantasy, where the division is blurred between fact and folklore. In traditional settlements faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, form-changing creatures, who return from burial sites to terrorise nearby villages.

The famous author's famous fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure located on a rocky outcrop in the Transylvanian Alps – is actively advertised as "the count's residence".

But despite legend-filled Transylvania – literally, "the land past the woods" – seems real and understandable versus this spooky forest, which seem to be, for causes radioactive, atmospheric or simply folkloric, a center for human imaginative power.

"Within this forest," Marius comments, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is very thin."