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"Locals dub this spot a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks a local guide, the air from his lungs producing wisps of mist in the chilly dusk atmosphere. "Numerous people have disappeared here, it's thought there's a gateway to a parallel world." The guide is leading a traveler on a night walk through commonly known as the globe's spookiest forest: Hoia-Baciu, an area covering one square mile of old-growth native woodland on the edges of the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Reports of strange happenings here extend back a long time – the grove is named after a area shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the long ago, along with his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu came to international attention in 1968, when a military technician named Emil Barnea took a picture of what he described as a unidentified flying object suspended above a round opening in the middle of the forest.

Countless ventured inside and failed to return. But rest assured," he adds, turning to his guest with a grin. "Our excursions have a flawless completion rate."

In the decades since, Hoia-Baciu has attracted meditation experts, traditional medicine people, ufologists and paranormal investigators from across the world, curious to experience the mysterious powers believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Although it is among the planet's leading destinations for lovers of the paranormal, this woodland is at risk. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of a population exceeding 400,000, called the Silicon Valley of the region – are advancing, and construction companies are pushing for approval to cut down the woods to construct residential buildings.

Barring a few hectares home to area-specific Mediterranean oak trees, the forest is without conservation status, but the guide is confident that the initiative he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, motivating the local administrators to acknowledge the forest's value as a travel hotspot.

Spooky Experiences

While branches and fall foliage snap and crunch beneath their shoes, Marius describes various traditional stories and alleged ghostly incidents here.

• A popular tale tells of a young child vanishing during a group gathering, only to reappear five years later with no recollection of what had happened, without aging a single day, her garments lacking the slightest speck of dust.
• Regular stories describe smartphones and camera equipment inexplicably shutting down on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses range from absolute fear to moments of euphoria.
• Some people report noticing unusual marks on their arms, perceiving ghostly voices through the woodland, or sense palms pushing them, although convinced they're by themselves.

Research Efforts

While many of the tales may be unverifiable, there are many things clearly observable that is definitely bizarre. All around are vegetation whose trunks are curved and contorted into fantastical shapes.

Various suggestions have been suggested to clarify the deformed trees: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or typically increased electromagnetic fields in the ground account for their unusual development.

But formal examinations have found inconclusive results.

The Legendary Opening

The expert's tours enable visitors to participate in a little scientific inquiry of their own. Upon reaching the clearing in the trees where Barnea photographed his renowned UFO pictures, he hands the traveler an electromagnetic field detector which registers electromagnetic fields.

"We're venturing into the most energetic part of the forest," he states. "See what you can find."

The trees immediately cease as we emerge into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the short grass beneath our feet; it's apparent that it's naturally occurring, and seems that this strange clearing is organic, not the creation of human hands.

The Blurred Line

The broader region is a area which inspires creativity, where the division is blurred between fact and folklore. In rural Romanian communities faith continues in strigoi ("screamers") – supernatural, shapeshifting creatures, who rise from their graves to frighten regional populations.

The novelist's well-known character Dracula is forever associated with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a medieval building located on a stone formation in the Carpathian Mountains – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But including myth-shrouded Transylvania – truly, "the land past the woods" – seems solid and predictable compared to the haunted grove, which give the impression of being, for causes related to radiation, atmospheric or simply folkloric, a center for creative energy.

"Within this forest," the guide states, "the boundary between truth and fantasy is extremely fine."