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"Locals dub this location a mysterious vortex of Transylvania," remarks an experienced guide, his exhalation creating puffs of mist in the crisp dusk atmosphere. "Countless visitors have vanished here, many believe there's a gateway to another dimension." The guide is guiding a traveler on a night walk through frequently labeled as the world's most haunted woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a square mile of primeval indigenous forest on the edges of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Centuries of Mystery

Reports of strange happenings here extend back centuries – the grove is named after a regional herder who is believed to have disappeared in the long ago, accompanied by his entire flock. But Hoia-Baciu achieved global recognition in 1968, when an army specialist known as Emil Barnea photographed what he reported as a flying saucer hovering above a oval meadow in the middle of the forest.

Many came in here and failed to return. But no need to fear," he continues, turning to the traveler with a smirk. "Our tours have a 100% return rate."

In the time after, Hoia-Baciu has drawn yogis, shamans, extraterrestrial investigators and paranormal investigators from worldwide, curious to experience the strange energies reported to reverberate through the forest.

Modern Threats

Although it is among the planet's leading hotspots for supernatural fans, this woodland is under threat. The outlying areas of Cluj-Napoca – an innovative digital cluster of over 400,000 residents, called the Silicon Valley of eastern Europe – are expanding, and construction companies are advocating for permission to cut down the woods to erect housing complexes.

Barring a limited section containing regionally uncommon Mediterranean oak trees, the grove is lacking legal protection, but Marius is confident that the organization he co-founded – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, persuading the government officials to recognise the forest's importance as a tourist attraction.

Chilling Events

As twigs and autumn leaves snap and crunch beneath their footwear, Marius tells some of the traditional stories and claimed paranormal happenings here.

• A popular tale describes a young child vanishing during a family picnic, then to rematerialise half a decade later with complete amnesia of the events, without aging a moment, her clothes lacking the smallest trace of dirt.
• Frequent accounts explain smartphones and camera equipment unexpectedly failing on stepping into the forest.
• Emotional responses include full-blown dread to moments of euphoria.
• Certain individuals report observing strange rashes on their bodies, hearing disembodied whispers through the trees, or experience fingers clutching them, although sure they are alone.

Scientific Investigations

Despite several of the tales may be unverifiable, there is much clearly observable that is certainly unusual. Everywhere you look are vegetation whose stems are curved and contorted into unusual forms.

Various suggestions have been given to account for the abnormal growth: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or typically increased radioactivity in the soil explain their strange formation.

But research studies have found inconclusive results.

The Famous Clearing

The expert's walks allow visitors to participate in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the trees where Barnea took his well-known UFO pictures, he passes his guest an ghost-hunting device which registers electromagnetic fields.

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

The plants suddenly stop dead as the group enters into a perfect circle. The single plant life is the trimmed turf beneath the ground; it's clear that it hasn't been mown, and looks that this strange clearing is organic, not the result of people.

The Blurred Line

Transylvania generally is a location which inspires creativity, where the border is indistinct between fact and folklore. In countryside villages superstition remains in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, form-changing vampires, who emerge from tombs to terrorise regional populations.

The famous author's renowned fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and the legendary fortress – a medieval building perched on a rocky outcrop in the Transylvanian Alps – is actively advertised as "Dracula's Castle".

But despite legend-filled Transylvania – truly, "the territory after the grove" – seems tangible and comprehensible in contrast to these eerie woods, which give the impression of being, for causes radioactive, environmental or entirely legendary, a center for fantasy projection.

"Inside these woods," the guide states, "the division between reality and imagination is extremely fine."