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"Locals dub this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks a local guide, his exhalation producing wisps of mist in the chilly night air. "So many people have vanished here, some say there's a gateway to a different realm." The guide is leading a visitor on a night walk through what is often described as the world's most haunted forest: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of old-growth local woods on the edges of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

A Long History of the Unexplained

Accounts of unusual events here go back a long time – the forest is called after a area shepherd who is believed to have disappeared in the distant past, accompanied by two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu gained international attention in 1968, when an army specialist named Emil Barnea took a picture of what he reported as a UFO hovering above a circular clearing in the heart of the forest.

Many came in here and failed to return. But rest assured," he adds, addressing the visitor with a grin. "Our excursions have a 100% return rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has brought in yoga practitioners, traditional medicine people, UFO researchers and paranormal investigators from worldwide, curious to experience the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

It may be one of the world's premier hotspots for paranormal enthusiasts, the grove is facing danger. The western districts of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of over 400,000 residents, called the Silicon Valley of eastern Europe – are advancing, and construction companies are campaigning for authorization to remove the forest to construct residential buildings.

Barring a few hectares home to locally rare specific tree species, this woodland is without conservation status, but Marius believes that the initiative he helped establish – a dedicated preservation group – will assist in altering this, motivating the government officials to acknowledge the forest's significance as a travel hotspot.

Eerie Encounters

As twigs and autumn leaves break and crackle beneath their shoes, the guide describes numerous local legends and reported paranormal happenings here.

• A well-known account describes a young child disappearing during a family picnic, only to return half a decade later with complete amnesia of what had happened, having not aged a moment, her clothes without the slightest speck of dirt.
• Regular stories describe mobile phones and imaging devices mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Feelings vary from absolute fear to moments of euphoria.
• Certain individuals claim seeing strange rashes on their bodies, detecting ghostly voices through the woodland, or sense hands grabbing them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Study Attempts

Although numerous of the stories may be unverifiable, numerous elements clearly observable that is undeniably strange. All around are vegetation whose trunks are warped and gnarled into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been proposed to clarify the deformed trees: powerful storms could have altered the growth, or typically increased radiation levels in the earth explain their unusual development.

But scientific investigations have turned up inconclusive results.

The Notorious Meadow

The expert's walks enable visitors to take part in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the opening in the woods where Barnea photographed his well-known UFO images, he hands the traveler an ghost-hunting device which detects EMF readings.

"We're entering the most powerful area of the forest," he says. "See what you can find."

The trees suddenly stop dead as they step into a complete ring. The single plant life is the low vegetation beneath our feet; it's apparent that it hasn't been mown, and appears that this strange clearing is wild, not the work of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

This part of Romania is a location which inspires creativity, where the line is unclear between truth and myth. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – undead, shapeshifting bloodsuckers, who rise from their graves to terrorise regional populations.

The famous author's famous vampire Count Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a medieval building located on a cliff edge in the Carpathian Mountains – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But even myth-shrouded Transylvania – actually, "the territory after the grove" – seems solid and predictable versus these eerie woods, which appear to be, for causes radioactive, environmental or purely mythical, a hub for human imaginative power.

"Within this forest," the guide says, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is remarkably blurred."